EXCLUSIVE: UCLA Women's Soccer Star Releases Book on 2022 Championship

Madelyn Desiano, current professional soccer player and member of UCLA's 2022 Women's NCAA Division I national championship soccer team, is celebrating the release of her new book -- Bend Never Break: The inside story of UCLA Women's Soccer and their inspiring National Championship journey.

The book tells the inside story of the Bruins' path to the top of college soccer through the trust and resilience they built in each other throughout the season. Bend Never Break is available to purchase on Amazon.

Desiano's career at UCLA was worth a story in itself. She had back-to-back ACL tears during her freshman and sophomore years with the club and had yet another surgery in 2020. After making a full recovery, she was able to take the field again in 2021 when the Bruins won the Pac-12 title. Finally, as their starting right back in 2022, she helped lead UCLA to a national championship.

During the championship season, Desiano scored 11 points off three goals and five assists, starting in 23 of the 25 games she played in. Despite a journey worth a book in itself, she felt compelled to write about a team she'll never forget.

"My mom was actually the one who suggested I write our story," Desiano told UCLA Bruins on SI. "I knew just on a personal level, with my injuries and adversity, I could write a compelling and inspiring story. But then adding our incredible team and everything we went through, I knew the book would be really really special."

The writing process may have been just as tedious as her journey back to the field, what with pulling all the information she could find to spark even the faintest memories of that season. Over two years she spoke to various teammates and coaches and scrambled to find any picture, news entry or video possible. She drew inspiration from a legendary Bruins coach to find a theme and help her cultivate the perfect story.

"I knew I wanted to incorporate Coach Wooden in it," she said. "So i used each block of the pyramid of success to help tell our story. That was a fun process deciding which story or player coincided to each block.

"It wasn’t super difficult! The second part are what I considered mini essays, where the first part is a bit more story-telling and thematic messaging. The hardest part was the last two months; finishing editing and then doing the promoting/marketing. I think I will most remember just re-watching our games or looking at old pictures. That’s how I remembered a lot of moments. Memories flooded back and I was able to write with such detail."

Since raising the title trophy with UCLA, Desiano has enjoyed a professional career, playing for the Houston Dash and OB Q, a Danish women's team.

Her journey, admittedly, has been treacherous, but it's nothing compared to the struggles she had to endure early in her Bruins tenure. In fact, she finds solace in the little things along the way.

"It’s been filled with many ups and downs but I’ve had such a blast moving around the world, traveling, playing internationally, and meeting new friends," Desiano said of her professional career thus far. "I got to live in a new country and experience playing European football, which has always been a dream of mine."

Asked about what she took from her time with the 2022 squad that's helped her along her way, she admitted that there probably won't ever be another expereince like it.

"Nothing will ever compare to our 2022 team," she said. "I think having that experience is knowing that no one can ever take that away from us. The talent, trust, and joy is something I will never forget."