Hall of Fame Class: Danielle de Seriere

Anteater women’s soccer jumped onto the national stage in 2010 – a Big West title, perfect 8-0-0 record, and an NCAA Tournament run to the Sweet Sixteen. Before then, the program was a relative unknown with one Big West title and no postseason berths in 25 years, always the underdog. For the cog in the middle of their success, Danielle de Seriere, little did she know the common ground she and the Anteaters already had.

For the de Seriere family, first and foremost was being active and involved in everything. Danielle was also on the soccer field while playing baseball starting around age seven.

De Seriere growing up in the Cerritos / Lakewood area actually grew up as a baseball player. Along with her older sister and younger brother, baseball was her first sport and first love. All-Star every year up until she stopped playing at age 12, diehard baseball and diehard Dodger fan then and still to this day.

“My parents wanted us to try different sports, and we always had a choice in what we wanted to do.”

De Seriere honed her skills at local clubs Revolution and then Cerritos Infinity initially playing keeper because her dad and coach at the time thought her hands from playing baseball would transition to between the posts well.

For de Seriere, she was already on a course to play at somewhere like UC Irvine before she knew it; loyal to the gritty underdog, ready to take on anyone, anywhere, anytime.

The Anteaters weren’t on de Seriere’s radar to start as she sent letters out all over in the recruiting process. UCI had her on their radar posting up along her 18-yard-box at times before eventually reaching out and bringing her on a visit.

“They spoke so highly about me and what the plan was. You’re probably wondering why would I want to come here, this team hasn’t been very successful, but you’re going to be someone to help turn this program around.” And the cherry on top was the tour of the campus. “I was blown away by the campus. I grew up playing on Crawford Field but had never stepped onto the campus and it was all really cool. The picturesque park that you think of when you picture yourself on a college campus.”

De Seriere’s first impressions as a freshman were a little bit intimidating. Goalkeeper coach at the time, Justin Neerhof, had a mentality of a men’s coach, fitness coach, and hockey coach all wrapped up into one. One of the big reasons why de Seriere donned #33 on her jersey, a number not typically worn by a soccer goalie.

Even with three veteran keepers on the roster, de Seriere shone on the training pitch, and her competitive mentality elevated her.

“I blended really well with the other goalkeepers. I kept training and my mentality helped. I hated being scored on, even in training. I would be pissed the rest of the training and even after practice.”

That mentality and training got her the nod as the No. 2 keeper on the travel roster for their first road trip of the year to Fresno State and Bakersfield. Fifty minutes into the season opener, the ‘Eaters allowed another goal to go down 3-0, and de Seriere heard her number called.

“D, warm up! I’m sitting at the very edge of the bench and just remember that, and they put me in and I didn’t allow a goal for five games.”

That first-year de Seriere and other freshmen entering the starting lineup shot the Anteaters up from a three-win campaign in 2006 to an 11-7-2 season.

“It was tough when you’re close with some of the older players and were getting mentored by them to just come in and take their spot as a freshman. I was so grateful that after that change happened, the other keepers and other upperclassmen were still great to me. Nothing changed, I wasn’t treated differently, and was taken under their wing.”

Seniors like Mackenzie Beahm, Erin Henry who started the year at goalie, and many other upperclassmen were some of the names de Seriere mentioned as the culture shift was beginning.

“Once we started to get shutouts, that started to change the culture, and even though I was a freshman, I was very vocal and loud and held people to higher standards. It’s something I wasn’t expecting and none of the other freshmen that were starting expected, but it grew from there.”

One of those teammates was Alyssa Humphrey, one of the numerous freshmen in the class with de Seriere, and caught off guard by how easily Danielle adapted to everything and took the reins just like that.

“The most impressive part wasn’t that she was making these amazing saves and keeping the ball out of the net, rather it was the fact that she earned the respect of the upper class not just with her play but how she humbly accepted this new role. A lot of pressure for a freshman if you ask me. This continued into the spring of our sophomore year where she was outright voted to be captain. A unanimous decision across the team. Again, it speaks volumes when your peers recognize you as a leader both on and off the field. She earned that role and contributed to what it meant to be a captain.”

The growth was steady with eight wins in her sophomore season before 12 in her junior season and a second top-four finish in the Big West bringing the plan laid out by the coaching staff to fruition. All of it was leading up to a magical 2010 campaign.

“That year was a chance to prove everybody wrong. UC Irvine at the time had always been seen by everyone else as not being that great. We were competitive in training, competitive people in life, even the training culture we had.”

Danielle refers to “The Matrix” that was implemented that is still in place today. A measuring stick that really challenged everyone on the team and brought a sense of accountability. 

“We took it seriously, we had fun, we didn’t like to lose, but it was something that shifted, and we had that quote “Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime” and that’s what we believed, it didn’t matter who was on the other side, we were going to show up.

The Anteaters did that, on and off the field. If any adversity popped up, the team dealt with it and addressed it. Nothing was going to deter what that group had been building the last four years. Now there were freshmen and newcomers and de Seriere and her now-experienced senior crew were the ones taking them under their wing.

“There was just a fight that the teams prior didn’t necessarily have and that was building. We were able to change the culture, and we were able to take the younger players under our wings and help us build on what we had been building the last four years.”

Humphrey felt it as well on the backline in front of de Seriere in 2009 and 2010; her competitive nature in games and practice, her relentless organization, 

"She demanded perfection and practiced like it. There was going to be no better time to prepare for game day than during practice. Every time the ball hit the back of the net she would internalize it and fuel it for the next rep. That consistent mindset allowed her to show up to be the best keeper she could possibly be."

Right out of the gate, game number two of the season, was an old friend from de Seriere’s past in Alex Morgan and the Cal Golden Bears. Morgan and de Seriere often squared off at rival clubs growing up. In this matchup, Morgan got de Seriere twice, but the team had her back scoring twice for a 2-2 draw.

“When we started winning, and we tied Alex Morgan and Cal, we were like ‘we can do this.’”

The final match of the perfect campaign really stuck with de Seriere and tested the team’s mettle. Trailing at the half, 2-1, everyone was downtrodden and dreading the fact that they were going to ruin everything.

“This was the one game that we didn’t show up and was going to spoil what we have going.”

But the team rose in the second half for two goals and a 3-2 win.

The win streak would end in the Big West final meaning they had to sweat it out on selection day before hearing the Anteaters called for the first time ever in the NCAA Tournament.

More resiliency from the ‘Eaters down a goal with 70 minutes gone in their first round match to score twice in the span of two minutes and earn a monumental win on home soil. Another win by way of 2-0 shutout, de Seriere’s record-breaking 11th of the season a 31st of her career, for a second round win sent the Anteaters to the Sweet Sixteen hosting once again.

The run ended in the third round, in the 103rd minute of double overtime, but the lowly Anteaters who had hardly a trace a success were one of the final 16 teams to play in 2010, and Danielle de Seriere and her freshman class proving everybody wrong and the ones to turn the program around.

Now the Anteaters are at it again with de Seriere right in the middle of it all; her ninth season as a coach on the Anteater sidelines and guiding her protégé to tie and break several of her very own records. All the while, the ‘Eaters are back terrorizing the postseason winning three straight Big West Championships and making noise in the NCAA Tournament dropping top-15 Pac-12 teams in the first round in each year.

Now with consecutive trips to the Sweet Sixteen, 1 of just 7 programs that can say that over the last two years, Anteater women’s soccer, who were unknowns before 2010 are in the same breath as programs like North Carolina, Florida State, Penn State, and BYU, not to mention the UCLAs and USCs they’ve gone through.

“Danielle has translated her mentality as an athlete to her role as a coach,” boasted coach Juniper who has seen firsthand the student become the teacher. “The standards she sets for her goalkeepers are high, every single day. She wants them to compete for everything, to stretch them to their limits, just like she did as an athlete. To have a role model like Danielle developing these players is so powerful for our program and it stretches way beyond the goalkeeper position. She has been there, and done that.”

Among all the honors, accolades, records, and lists, just as exclusive an entry is the UC Irvine Athletics Hall of Fame that de Seriere enters as the fourth women’s soccer player alongside Nicole Bucciarelli, CoCo Goodson, and Tanya Taylor.

“It’s an amazing honor. I was really happy that Paula Smith brought the Hall of Fame back. It’s continuing on the legacy and history of athletics and the greatest student-athletes and coaches that have been a part of UC Irvine.”

It really hit de Seriere when she saw all the numbers and accomplishments laid out for her.

“It's wild to think that I have been an Anteater for 17 years, and being in the Hall of Fame now feels truly unimaginable. To my family, friends, teammates, coaches, athletic trainers, and athletics support staff - this honor is as much yours as it is mine. Thank you for being the constants in my journey as an Anteater on and off the field. I'm forever grateful for all of you. This is an incredible honor and I hope we will inspire future generations to come.”

The sentiments are felt throughout the entire program, from support staff like Mike Burns and keeper coach at the time Justin Neerhof who de Seriere credits as two of the most important people during her college career that kept her going so many times and really helped her be the person and player she was. Coach Juniper has been with her through every phase and gotten to know de Seriere beneath all the soccer the best.

“I'm happy to have seen Danielle grow through being a student-athlete, a pro-soccer player, and a coach. We have been through so much and I am happier to call Danielle a friend. She has a huge heart, she puts everyone else ahead of herself and cares for the people in her life on every level. You want D on your team!”

The sentiments are echoed throughout her teammates and are summed up by Humphrey.

“If you were to to ask me to describe who she is as a person I would quickly tell you she is an empath. She takes on the feelings of others around her and truly cares for not just her family, friends, and coworkers, but complete strangers as well. She is constantly looking at how she can help others and bring out the best in them.”

“She is thoughtful and kind and this was something that was shown to me and my family at one of my lowest times. Several years ago I lost my mom unexpectedly. She messaged me and arranged (along with some other teammates) to have some dinner delivered to my home. She orchestrated it and it was a thoughtful gesture that I will always remember. I have many more examples of how she would always extend invites to her family home to be showered with the most unbelievable food, drive us places in her insanely bright yellow mustang, and simply just check in to see how your day was. I always think back to my time playing at UCI and am insanely grateful to have had D right there along with me for the amazing ride.”