Portland Ice Bears FC

Bailey was playing midfield at this time last year before Panama coach Victor Suarez, himself a former midfielder, converted Bailey from a field player to a goalkeeper.

“Yes, that’s true. I’ve been a goalkeeper for a year,” Bailey told Goal. “When you like the sport, you do what you have to.”

Karina LeBlanc, Concacaf’s Head of Women’s Football, said the confederation is investigating the role it can play in bringing along young talent in the region like Bailey and Santiago.

“We’re having the conversations, we’re looking at if we can get some of these girls maybe in college. I know for her she doesn’t speak English, so NCAA there are some limitations with the SATs but we’re well aware and we’re talking through different things. Can we do things to put her as a pro? [To play in] NWSL you have to be 18 years old. Her birthday is March 29, I believe, so there’s a lot of different things but we’re having the conversation about how can we make our national teams better.”