Asdis Halldorsdottir transitions from Iceland to Aggieland

Entering his 26th season as the head soccer coach at Texas A&M, G Guerrieri is known for his attention to detail.

That attention to detail and his refusal to leave any stone unturned found Guerrieri last offseason looking at highlight film of club players from Iceland, a country of roughly 335,000 people. Asdis Halldorsdottir stuck out to Guerrieri — which prompted him to get in contact with her and her father through Skype.

“We’d been looking for players in Iceland for a few years and trying to see who would be a good fit and could play at our level,” Guerrieri said. “I came across Asdis’ film and was extremely intrigued.”

Guerrieri went over to Iceland in February and evaluated the standout player, who also plays for the Icelandic national team. The long-time A&M coach saw her in person and knew he needed to have her on his team. Guerrieri convinced Halldorsdottir and her mother to come down to College Station for an official visit, and Asdis committed to the maroon and white in May.

“Growing up, I always wanted to play college soccer. I was being recruited, but Texas A&M was the only school that I ever seriously considered,” Halldorsdottir said. “I just felt like this was the best option for me. It’s a great school both academic and athletic. The team is great and the people here are so nice.”

Getting Halldorsdottir to commit to Texas A&M was one thing; getting her cleared to come to the United States was much more difficult. She had to go through a long vetting process before she was granted her Form I-20 allowing her to come to the United States for educational purposes.

“The whole process was long and hard,” Halldorsdottir said. “It took me over a year to go through the process because I had to do so many things to get permission from everyone. It was a long and difficult process but here I am. I’m just so excited to be here.”

Though new players typically arrive the January before the season starts, Halldorsdottir wasn’t able to get to the United States until early August, a few days after training camp started. Despite her late arrival, it was almost plug-and-play for Halldorsdottir who has played over a half in every match for the Aggies this season and started the first four contests.

“She comes from one of the top clubs in Iceland, which in turn is one of the better clubs in Europe, so she’s coming from a really professional environment of how people prepare,” Guerrieri said. “The easiest part of her transitioning to a new country is the soccer part. the hard part is adapting to the new environment, the climate and the culture.”

Hallsdottir has seen time at both midfield and forward throughout the season, and after multiple shots that ricocheted off the post, the Icelandic found the back of the net for the first time in last Sunday’s match against Santa Clara. Her goal in tandem with an assist she notched during Friday’s match against OU earned her SEC Freshman of the Week honors.

Elisabeth Schmitt, TexAgs

Asdis Halldorsdottir chases down a ball in the Aggies match against San Diego. 

“It was so good to score my first goal for Texas A&M. I was so happy but hopefully, it was just the first of many to come,” Halldorsdottir said. “It was great to see that I was nominated as SEC Freshman of the Week, but I always want more. I think I can do better and will keep improving with every game.”

Halldorsdottir has made the transition on the pitch seem effortless but admits the adjustment to the new surroundings has been tough — namely the Texas heat. The average August temperature in her hometown of Reykjavik, Iceland is between 50 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit. The highest recorded temperature in Iceland is 86.9 degrees.

“It’s been so hard for me to play in this heat. It’s a huge adjustment, I get very hot and tired so much more quickly,” Halldorsdottir said.

Halldorsdottir says that the hardest part of the move to the states has been the difference in culture, a culture that primarily speaks in English —  which Iceland begins teaching as a second language in the seventh grade.

“The Iceland school system is similar to the United States’,” Halldorsdottir said. “But it’s been a little difficult for me to understand everything in my classes since they’re in English, but I do my best and I get tutors and study hard.”

The standout player also pointed out the vastly different food options in America. When she was awarded the Whataburger player of the week award after her performance last weekend, she had never heard of the burger chain.

“The food is so different here. There are so many fast food options here and at home, we eat a lot of fresh food like fish,” Halldorsdottir said. “I’ve been to Chick-Fil-A but I still need to get a Whataburger.”

Halldorsdottir’s integration into American culture will come with time. Meanwhile, she will continue to be a key difference-maker for the No. 5 Texas A&M squad, and Guerrieri says that this is only the beginning.

“She’s a really good complement to those around her, but I also see her scoring a ton of goals in the future,” Guerrieri said. “The best thing about her scoring on Sunday was that I think there’s a lot more to follow. I think that she’s destined to score a lot more goals.”