Heinrichs said the women’s landscape was undoubtedly experiencing a shift with the increase in investment overseas — Manchester United recently created a women’s team to keep up with rivals like Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal, and Real Madrid has made a public commitment to add one — but she noted that it would probably take time before the soccer calculations changed for the majority of girls in the United States. In most families, college remains the preferred destination, and the conventional wisdom remains that athletes should forgo it only if the guaranteed compensation for a professional contract exceeds the cost of a full four-year scholarship, generally valued around $300,000.

Only two current players on the current United States national team, in fact, have skipped college to pursue a professional career: Lindsey Horan, who joined P.S.G. in 2012 at age 18, and Mallory Pugh, who was 19 when she walked away from a scholarship to U.C.L.A. to join the Washington Spirit of the National Women’s Soccer League.

“It’s available,” Horan said of this alternate path. “They’ve seen me do it. They’ve seen Mal try out college and then go. The thing I have a concern with is it’s very difficult, and it’s not for everyone.”

K.C. Moultrie betrays no doubts about his daughter; everything she does now is geared toward “the goal.” She has had a personal coach since age 6. Last year, she became the first girl to play full time in U.S. Soccer’s boys development academy system. This summer, she was called in to the United States’ under-15 girls team, and she will play the coming club season for an under-17 girls team.

The home schooling gives her a more flexible training schedule. She has tried to remove sugar from her diet.

“We’re not just like, ‘Ah, she’s 12, have a Snickers,’ ” K.C. Moultrie said. “We don’t do that.”

A Girl on Tour

In their hotel room last month in Munich, as Olivia fought jet lag and recorded goofy messages on Snapchat, K.C. Moultrie suggested that she send Anson Dorrance, the longtime coach at North Carolina, a text message to congratulate him on his 1,000th victory.

Olivia attended a showcase camp last summer at U.N.C. (She was 10 when she attended her first college camp, at the University of Texas.) After one day, Dorrance — who has coached players like Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and dozens of other national team stars in almost four decades leading the program — determined Olivia, at 11, was already good enough to make the Tar Heels’ traveling roster. He described her in an interview with The New York Times as “wonderfully creative,” a “brilliant technician” and “the kind of player you pay money to watch.” Before she left campus, he offered her a scholarship.