Five Questions with Lily Nabet

Midfielder Lily Nabet is in her second season with Angel City, which is also her second year as a pro, as she signed with the team last year after being chosen in the 2022 NWSL draft. A Tarzana native who attended Duke University, Nabet is the first and only Persian player in the league.

What have been your goals in this second season, and what do you still want to accomplish with what's left of it?

I think now being here for my second year, I wanted to be more of an impactful player. My rookie year I was a little quieter, just kind of watching what everyone was doing, trying to learn from everyone. This year I wanted to be more of a vocal leader and push people in training and obviously get more minutes on the pitch than last year. I completed that goal—I've had a few starts and come off the bench—so it's been going pretty well. But yeah, I would say this year I want to be more impactful and then for next year, I want to keep growing on that and eventually be the type of player that can help get results.

And then for the last little bit, obviously we're in a playoff push, so keeping the momentum going. Keep training levels high and be that person that kind of leads by example. We have a lot of great vocal leaders and I think I bring that a bit, but just being that player in training who doesn't really let a day go. I think our team is very good at that for the most part. But just keeping it locked in for this next one and a few games.

The league is always pretty tight in the final stretch, but this year it's especially close. With three games left, Chicago, the current last-place team, could theoretically still finish in second. How does that affect the team mentally? Is it more exciting or stressful?

Yeah, it's so, so close. I think next this next game coming up is going to be a big decision maker for a lot of teams. It could be one of the biggest games of our season for sure.

I would say it's more exciting. When you look at social media and the standings, then it can get a bit stressful. But I try to stay away from that, especially now with the standings so close. Anything could happen and everyone's like, 'Oh, if this happens and this team loses in this—' it's like, it's too much. There's no point in thinking about it. I'm just thinking about controlling what I can control and what the girls on the team can control.

What's something you've learned in your two years as a pro?

I've learned a lot of things. I would say the biggest thing is patience. But but at the same time, knowing that you can get to where you want to be and you should always push for that. I think sometimes girls stand on the sidelines—as a metaphor—and they just kind of let things happen when if you want something, you should go get it. But at the same time, the time will come, so don't rush that process.

Especially being a six in this league, it's a very mature position. I've learned to just take it day by day. And when I look back on my season this year, I've grown so much. I've definitely grown on the ball and tactically, with my positioning on the field, and also knowing what I can do with my strengths. A lot of that just comes with doing the extra work, so I think that has given me a lot of confidence.

You're a dog person—tell us about all the dogs in your life.

I have two dogs at home with my mom. One is a pit bull, Kaya, that I got when she was four weeks, back in high school. And then when I went to college, during COVID, my mom really wanted another dog, but she was like, 'I don't want to raise it, but we'll get it if you get it.' So I ended up getting a mini aussiedoodle, Mila, my senior year, and then I had her going into my fifth year as well. I had classes at home and then I took her to team events, like we had the NCAA Selection Show and like she came and she was kind of the team dog.

I also just fostered two puppies. Somebody told me that Angel City Pit Bulls was partnering with us for an adoption event, and I was like, 'I'm not going to let this pass by!' So I ended up going, I had no intention of fostering. They said they were Great Dane mixes.

They're not mixes at all.

I only had them for like a week and a half, and then we ended up going to Kansas City and it was just so much back and forth. They grew by the minute. I actually just saw a video of one of the Great Danes, and she's huge. She's massive. And I was like, well, this is a blessing because if I had adopted this dog thinking it was a mix—she's already the size of my aussiedoodle and she's nine weeks!

I know you're really close with your mom. Tell us about that relationship.

My mom has let me live my life the way I've wanted to live my life. Of course there's boundaries and like she's told me, 'you shouldn't be doing that,' but she's let me make a lot of choices and that's allowed me to learn a lot about myself at a young age. So I give a lot of props to my mom for all my accomplishments. She pushes me to be great and do all these great things, but at the same time, she's like, 'if you're not feeling something, you're not feeling it, on to the next.'

My mom's my best friend. I can tell her everything. She's also the strongest person that I know. And I know in days or months or years that she's had a rough time, it never shows. I think I get a lot of like my characteristics from her. She's been a rock for my entire life. I would give my mom anything in the world if I could.