SAN FRANCISCO – With the new era of the Academy of Art women's soccer beginning to take shape, the ART U coaching staff has announced the first addition of the Fall 2022 recruiting class as goalkeeper Alicia Calderon (Long Beach, Calif./Millikan High School).

A goalie by trade, Calderon comes to Academy of Art as a true freshman after most recently graduating Millikan High School in her hometown of Long Beach, Calif. where she played varsity soccer for three seasons. Last season the Millikan Rams played to a 10-1-1 regular season record, which was good enough to earn a berth in the 2022 CIF Southern Section Championships, but the Rams would fall in the second round to Final Four qualifier Los Alamitos. One of the key pieces on the squad, Calderon appeared in 21 games while allowing just six goals across a total of 945 minutes in net, leading to an 8-2-1 record while also posting eight shutouts.

Across her career, Calderon played in a total of 48 contests while logging 2,640 career minutes between the posts, while the Rams compiled an overall record of 27-3-4 (.853 winning percentage) during those seasons. For her efforts, she was named an All-Moore League Second Team selection after both the 2019-20 and 2021-22 seasons, as well as earned one Athlete of the Week award in each of those campaigns.

"I chose to come to this school for not only the amazing soccer program, but also because Academy of Art University can guide me to the path of becoming a cinematographer," Calderon said. "[The school has] great resources that will help me achieve my goal of becoming a future cinematographer. I am excited to come to this school, meet people with similar interests as me, and be able to focus on developing my love for art."

Prior to her prep career, Calderon spent two seasons with CDA Slammers FC, a club soccer team that is based in Cerritos, Calif. which was previously the home of USWNT forward Christen Press. When looking back at her favorite sports memory, Calderon recalls the time where she and the Millikan Rams won a tournament in the rain after a penalty kick shootout. Upon her arrival to ART U, Calderon will enroll in the School of Motion Pictures & Television with the goal of one day becoming a Cinematographer.