Raquel Soltis '23 Recruiting Profile

The most important collegiate goal is to obtain my Doctorial degree as a pediatrician. That is also my professional goal. But my personal collegiate goal is to continue playing woman's ice hockey. I have tried other sports, such as gymnastics, softball, volleyball and soccer. But my passion, since I was 5 years old, has always brought me back to ice hockey. The girls that play ice hockey, my fellow teammates, are different than I've found with other sports. We all seem to share the same values. School is at the top of our list to be successful in. Family support system in our club is outstanding and not seen with other sports. And most importantly to me is the passion that all the girls have for not only their own team, but for all girls ice hockey. My current club, the Tri Valley LadyBlue Devils, struggled the first 5 years. We barely had enough players for the games and couldn't buy a win. But our coaches continued to push us and my teammates and I never gave up. My teammates and their parents could have switched to the San Jose sharks program, but we all decided to stay.     Finally in my 7th year (last year) we added a few new girls to our program and the club made a few coaching changes. And we started winning. Of course our highlight of the season was beating the San Jose sharks and winning the silver medal at their tournament. I look forward to this seasons challenges, and I'm really excited to get back on the ice with my friends/teammates. Go Lady Blue Devil's!