Juliette Muro woke up at 6 a.m. Aug. 20, prepared to watch her home country of Spain take on England in the women’s World Cup with her suitemate and teammate, Jailyn Parrotte.

Muro, a first-year midfielder at St. Joe’s watched as Spain beat England, 1-0, to secure their first World Cup championship, a moment Muro described as “moving.”

Muro grew up in Madrid, Spain with two older brothers and an older sister who all played soccer. Muro wanted to join her brothers, which inspired her to pick up the game.

Having friends at home who have played with some of the women on the team, Muro felt a connection to La Roja while watching them.

“I’m really proud of the girls in Spain, how they fought for this win and how they really deserve it,” Muro said.

Muro wanted to take the next steps with her own soccer career. Lacking the opportunity to pursue a degree and play soccer at a higher level in Spain, Muro turned to the United States, after seeing other athletes do the same.

“I started the process in my junior year of high school and started working with an agency to study here in the U.S.,” she said. “They contacted me [here at] St. Joe’s to come study here, and that was it.”

Upon leaving Spain and heading for the States, Muro noticed some key differences in the way the game is played in both countries.

“In Spain, they try to be more tactical and technical,” Muro said. “The game is way more direct here. If we get the ball we’re going to go as fast as we can to attack.”

Arriving on Hawk Hill, Muro brought her Spanish style of play to St. Joe’s. Head Coach Jess Mannella said Muro plays a different style than most of her teammates, a tactical game, while also being crafty in the attack.

“Her style is very different than the college game. The college game in general is really physical and strong,” Mannella said. “What she does is she settles the ball down, looks to complete passes and calms the game down a lot more.”

This style of play is rather common in Spain — as demonstrated by the World Cup champions this summer.

“After watching [Spain] this summer, and then [Muro] coming in, I was like, ‘Oh, there’s the Spanish style of play,’” Mannella said.

Mannella described this Spanish style as possession-oriented, with the ability to take care of the ball. She said this has benefited the team by allowing them to look for her passes.

“[Spain] in general seems to have that as their priority,” Mannella said. “You can tell through youth play,[Muro] has definitely benefited from that.”

Just as Muro’s favorite Spanish players, Alexia Putellas and Olga Carmona, showed the world what the Spanish style of soccer looked like in the World Cup, Muro has shown St. Joe’s the same. Hawks’ first- year defender Alivia Colgan described her personal style of play as relying on her speed, but Muro’s different approach has taught Colgan that speed is not everything.

“Sometimes it’s OK to slow down and think about your next move and make a pass rather than just trying to go full speed,” said Colgan. “Watching her play really helps me to learn that and use that in my style of play, as well.”

Off the field, Muro continues to impact her teammates all the same.

“She’s extremely supportive,” Colgan said. “No matter what happens in practice or during a game, I can count on her to be supportive of anyone on the team.”

Within months of landing at St. Joe’s, Muro has already begun to influence her teammates with her cultural differences in the game. Mannella said she expects this to continue throughout Muro’s college career.

“I think she’ll become a big impact on the team because she is smart tactically,” Mannella said. “She is really crafty and creative, she sees the field so well.”

This article was first published by the Philadelphia Inquirer Sept. 27, 2023 as part of the Inquirer’s college correspondent program.