By Lena Moreno, December 9, 2025
From starting soccer late in her youth to becoming a national champion, former Cal Poly Pomona women’s soccer goalkeeper Bella Hara now plays for Fort Lauderdale United FC, a professional women’s soccer club in South Florida.
Offered a spot on the team after graduating from CPP, she now resides in Florida kick-starting her professional soccer career.
So far this season, Hara has tied for third place in the league in with three shutouts and a goals-against average score of 1.23, according to The Gainbridge Super League.
Above all, Hara considers her professional debut in the first Fort Lauderdale game of the season Aug. 23 versus Lexington SC her biggest accomplishment to date.
“Coming straight out of college as a rookie who’s never played at a pro level, I didn’t think I would get the opportunity to play minutes at all,” Hara said. “To get the opportunity to start and to continue to be starting this season has been huge.”
Hara is focused on remaining as a starter for the current Fort Lauderdale season and is striving to place top three in the league in goal against average by the end of the season.
In addition to playing in Fort Lauderdale’s women’s soccer team, she is also a goalkeeper for the Guam Football Association. Being of Guamanian decent qualified her with the senior national team, where she has 10 caps across all international play.
Looking ahead, Hara has set her sights on playing for the Nation Women’s Soccer League in the future, taking after renowned soccer players such as Marta and Alex Morgan. According to Hara, she understands reaching this goal will require hard work and patience.
“I feel like I’m growing a lot tactically as a goalkeeper in a lot of different ways in a very short time,” Hara said. “I think this is the perfect environment for me to just increase my game and take my game to the next level.”
Having Division II national championship player status to her name made it possible to play professionally straight out of college, she said. To get here, the training, networking and soccer trials were a long time coming.
“Having a firm foundation in my identity as a player and a person allowed me to play my best while I was on trial here and allowed me to showcase my best skills, which eventually landed me the contract,” Hara said.
After experimenting with gymnastics, ice skating, volleyball, basketball and track, Hara gave soccer a try at age 10. Initially a field player, Hara attempted goalkeeping after her middle school soccer coach let her play in the position for a weekend.
Hara grew fond of the position since she preferred short-distance sprinting. Utilizing her jumping abilities from her previous volleyball and gymnastics experience also aided her success in the position.
She then joined an all-star soccer team and club soccer to further hone her athletic skills. Hara felt she had finally specialized in goalkeeping by the age of 13.
“I eventually bounced around and found San Diego Surf, which is a very soccer dominant in the country club,” Hara said. “I was able to really grow as a player there and be around really high-level players.”
Hara’s commitment to goalkeeping grew stronger each day, continuing to pursue the position in college at Azusa Pacific University in 2021as a biology student. The transitional period between colleges placed her in a low mental state, according to Hara. Feelings of heightened competition anxiety occurred, resulting in her seeing a sports psychologist.
“I wasn’t playing like myself at Azusa, which is why I transferred,” Hara said. “I didn’t feel like that was the best environment for me to thrive, but I love the girls and the people there.”
Hara said she needed a stronger mindset going into her first spring season at CPP in 2023.
Once she joined the women’s soccer team at CPP, head coach Jay Mason and assistant coach Dan Richards created an environment that drove excellence and healthy competitiveness, Hara said, ultimately allowing her to foster a growth mindset in the game and develop as a player.
“After the sports psychology that I had gone through, I was able to compete emotionally,” Hara said. “I was emotionally well, and I was able to push myself to the highest level because I was mentally in a good space. I think that environment, that team and the girls that have gone through that program would say the same.”
Hara particularly thanks Mason for pushing her in the best way possible in her two and a half years at CPP.
“I’d like to think we did, but I think at the end of the day, it comes down to her.” Mason said. “Her determination, her perseverance, the support system she has at home that supports what she does and who she is.”
In terms of training before her Fort Lauderdale trial, Hara also thanks CPP men’s soccer head coach Matt O’Sullivan for increasing her goalkeeping speed.
“There were days she’d train with us and then step in with the men’s goalkeepers to do their pre-practice stuff,” Mason said. “She just really loved what she did, and I think that just filtered into the group because it shows how much she cared about the team’s success.”
In addition to her impact on the team, Hara also fostered a long-term friendship with current CPP forward Angelina Rivas.
Their relationship and shared beliefs kept them grounded, according to Rivas and Hara. Hara was able to be a solid form of leadership for the team, transferring her skills as a captain last year to this year’s team.
“I don’t even know if she knows it, but she was everything that got me through last year,” Rivas said. “Honestly, it’s really sad that I may not get the opportunity to play with her ever again, but hopefully our paths cross again on the field.”
The women’s soccer team is now the two-time NCAA West Regional Champions, testifying to the program’s commitment toward their players looking to play professionally outside college.
Through her support system of the entire program and her family, Hara pushed herself to her highest potential from CPP to her time now at Lauderdale.
“The girls at Cal Poly and the girls on the team right now, they are some of my best friends and also my biggest cheerleaders, even when I hadn’t gotten the contract yet,” Hara said. “I just love Cal Poly with my entire heart and soul.”
Feature image courtesy of Fort Lauderdale United FC