Dapne Rodriguez '20 Recruiting Profile

    Soccer has only been part of my life for about five years, but in that time I have developed an interest for it. I started out by helping my uncle coach a children's soccer team, and his passion for the sport intrigued me. I soon developed a sort of passion and whenever I play soccer I do it to the best of my ability and enjoy every moment of it.

    My senior year I made the decision to join my high school's girl's soccer team. At first it seemed very difficult to get back into the habit of exercising and I was ready to quit, but I pushed on and told myself that if everybody else could do it, then I could do it too. My perseverance let me obtain a position on the varsity team as a starter. I did not play on the field often to begin with, but I did not exactly know what position to play.  Three games in, and our goalie received a kick to the head followed by a concussion. In need of a goalie my friend and I volunteered to try it out. I was sort of a natural, and I was comfortable. My coaches were amazed at my ability to dive for the ball with no fear of getting hurt, they were right. Even when I did get very hurt I played through the pain and it made very little difference with my performance. I knew my team needed me and I did not want to let them or myself down.