Meant To Be A Spartan: Natalia Moll
7/11/2025 10:30:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Founders Federal Credit Union is proud to support women's sports programs at USC Upstate, please enjoy the latest feature on USC Upstate women's soccer presented by Founders FCU.Â
In a way, Natalia Moll's Spartan career started with a secret.
She was already committed to Coach Sharif Saber, then at the University of Mount Olive, when she attended an ID soccer camp and struck up a conversation with the staff at USC Upstate.
"It was a definite no," Moll laughed. "I didn't want to go, but I still talked to them. I never really told Coach that until much later. He's forgiven me now."
Life, however, has a way of working out in unexpected ways.
Just a few months later, Saber was named the head coach at USC Upstate—and the same campus Moll once ruled out became her new home. She followed the coach who believed in her, sight unseen, and officially became a Spartan.
And though her playing career didn't unfold the way she imagined, Moll's impact has stretched far beyond the field.
Now, as she approaches graduation with a degree in elementary education, Moll has become one of the most beloved and influential members of the USC Upstate women's soccer program—not because of the goals she scored on the field, but because of what she has brought the program even off the field.
Raised in the small town of Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania (population: under 3,000), Moll grew up a multi-sport athlete at Conrad Weiser High School, where she captained both the soccer and basketball teams. She scored 41 goals across her career, earned All-Division honors three times, and left school ranked sixth all-time in goals.
When it came time to choose a college, she initially committed to Mount Olive University, recruited by their head coach, Sharif Saber. But when Saber got the head coaching job at USC Upstate and asked Moll to follow him, she trusted the connection more than the geography.
"I had no clue what I was getting myself into," Moll said. "But now I love it. I don't picture myself being anywhere else."
Moll's time at Upstate might be defined by injury playing wise, but her impact went well beyond that.
She arrived on campus never having fully recovered from a herniated disc suffered during her senior year of high school. Despite numerous treatments—including steroid shots and eventually surgery—her injury never fully healed. She never logged a minute of game action.
"There were definitely days where it was hard to stay hopeful," Moll admitted. "You keep telling yourself you'll make a comeback. That it'll all be worth it. But eventually, I had to accept that my health, my future, was more important."
What could have been a crushing conclusion instead became a new beginning.
With support from her trainers, family, and Coach Saber—who kept her on scholarship and in the program—Moll transitioned into a new role as team manager and an athletics media assistant. She fully embraced it, turning her lens toward new passions, including photography, storytelling, and mentorship.
Ask anyone in the USC Upstate athletic department, and you'll hear the same thing:Â Natalia Moll is the heartbeat of the women's soccer program.
"Natalia means the world to this program," said Saber. "Her journey has not been easy. She has faced more than her share of health challenges, but the way she has handled adversity is a reflection of her strength, resilience, and character. She leads with heart, serves without ego, and consistently finds ways to support and elevate everyone around her."
As a team manager, Moll is there for everything—travel, photos, team culture. And even without stepping on the field, she's left a legacy that will absolutely outlast her eligibility.
She's even started her own photography business, capturing team moments and graduation portraits for fellow students as a paid student worker.
"They've all taken me under their wing," Moll said. "I still feel like a part of the team. They never made me feel like less because I couldn't play. That truly means everything."
Moll is set to graduate this upcoming school year and plans to pursue a master's degree in special education, inspired by a high school role model and an early teaching internship that sparked her passion beyond sports.
"I want to be there for kids the way so many people were there for me," she said. "Seeing life through their eyes—it changed my perspective. I want to help them enjoy school and feel seen."
She recently completed a teaching placement in a third-grade classroom and has her sights set on teaching second through fourth grade.
Coaching could be part of her future too—either soccer or basketball, a sport that remains close to her heart thanks in part to her father's background as an AAU coach.
Through it all, Moll has learned—and now teaches—an important lesson to teammates and peers alike.
"Soccer is not your whole personality," she said. "You're so much more than your sport. That was hard to learn, but now I embrace it. Everything happens for a reason."
From small-town roots to Division I dreams, from heartache to heart-led leadership, Natalia Moll's Spartan story didn't go how she expected. But in every sense that matters—she was meant to be here.
In a way, Natalia Moll's Spartan career started with a secret.
She was already committed to Coach Sharif Saber, then at the University of Mount Olive, when she attended an ID soccer camp and struck up a conversation with the staff at USC Upstate.
"It was a definite no," Moll laughed. "I didn't want to go, but I still talked to them. I never really told Coach that until much later. He's forgiven me now."
Life, however, has a way of working out in unexpected ways.
Just a few months later, Saber was named the head coach at USC Upstate—and the same campus Moll once ruled out became her new home. She followed the coach who believed in her, sight unseen, and officially became a Spartan.
And though her playing career didn't unfold the way she imagined, Moll's impact has stretched far beyond the field.
Now, as she approaches graduation with a degree in elementary education, Moll has become one of the most beloved and influential members of the USC Upstate women's soccer program—not because of the goals she scored on the field, but because of what she has brought the program even off the field.
Raised in the small town of Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania (population: under 3,000), Moll grew up a multi-sport athlete at Conrad Weiser High School, where she captained both the soccer and basketball teams. She scored 41 goals across her career, earned All-Division honors three times, and left school ranked sixth all-time in goals.
When it came time to choose a college, she initially committed to Mount Olive University, recruited by their head coach, Sharif Saber. But when Saber got the head coaching job at USC Upstate and asked Moll to follow him, she trusted the connection more than the geography.
"I had no clue what I was getting myself into," Moll said. "But now I love it. I don't picture myself being anywhere else."
Moll's time at Upstate might be defined by injury playing wise, but her impact went well beyond that.
She arrived on campus never having fully recovered from a herniated disc suffered during her senior year of high school. Despite numerous treatments—including steroid shots and eventually surgery—her injury never fully healed. She never logged a minute of game action.
"There were definitely days where it was hard to stay hopeful," Moll admitted. "You keep telling yourself you'll make a comeback. That it'll all be worth it. But eventually, I had to accept that my health, my future, was more important."
What could have been a crushing conclusion instead became a new beginning.
With support from her trainers, family, and Coach Saber—who kept her on scholarship and in the program—Moll transitioned into a new role as team manager and an athletics media assistant. She fully embraced it, turning her lens toward new passions, including photography, storytelling, and mentorship.
Ask anyone in the USC Upstate athletic department, and you'll hear the same thing:Â Natalia Moll is the heartbeat of the women's soccer program.
"Natalia means the world to this program," said Saber. "Her journey has not been easy. She has faced more than her share of health challenges, but the way she has handled adversity is a reflection of her strength, resilience, and character. She leads with heart, serves without ego, and consistently finds ways to support and elevate everyone around her."
As a team manager, Moll is there for everything—travel, photos, team culture. And even without stepping on the field, she's left a legacy that will absolutely outlast her eligibility.
She's even started her own photography business, capturing team moments and graduation portraits for fellow students as a paid student worker.
"They've all taken me under their wing," Moll said. "I still feel like a part of the team. They never made me feel like less because I couldn't play. That truly means everything."
Moll is set to graduate this upcoming school year and plans to pursue a master's degree in special education, inspired by a high school role model and an early teaching internship that sparked her passion beyond sports.
"I want to be there for kids the way so many people were there for me," she said. "Seeing life through their eyes—it changed my perspective. I want to help them enjoy school and feel seen."
She recently completed a teaching placement in a third-grade classroom and has her sights set on teaching second through fourth grade.
Coaching could be part of her future too—either soccer or basketball, a sport that remains close to her heart thanks in part to her father's background as an AAU coach.
Through it all, Moll has learned—and now teaches—an important lesson to teammates and peers alike.
"Soccer is not your whole personality," she said. "You're so much more than your sport. That was hard to learn, but now I embrace it. Everything happens for a reason."
From small-town roots to Division I dreams, from heartache to heart-led leadership, Natalia Moll's Spartan story didn't go how she expected. But in every sense that matters—she was meant to be here.
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