Sophia Estep '18 Recruiting Profile

Hello! My name is Sophia Estep and I currently attend Saint Helens High School where I'm a junior this year.

Playing soccer in college would be an absolute dream-come-true for me. Soccer is a huge part of my life outside of academics. I started young, and grew into the game while pursuing other sports, too. I like track, and had success in it. My sophomore year, I finished sixth in state in the 4x400 with my amazing team, but soccer is where I have learned my passion truly lies.

I am lucky enough to be playing with the ODP Thorns 2000 girls team for the second year in a row now, and I also play for FC Portland with a great group of young women, competing in the Thorns Premier League. We finished last season much stronger than we started and, to be honest, the more the team grew together, the more the results became secondary to our development, both technically and as a team. If I am honest with you, I hate to lose at anything but I think I have become a better team mate as a result of my experiences with ODP and FC Portland. The experience I have learned over the past couple of years from both of these clubs has enabled me to be successful at the game. I'm certainly not perfect, and I need to work on things like being disciplined and understanding that not everyone has the same ambition as me, but my coaches, and my family have really helped with that.

As much as I love the atmosphere and speed of play I experience with my club teams, I enjoy high school soccer the most. This year, I have the pleasure of being Varsity co-captain. Saint Helens High School is the smallest school in our 5A conference so we are used to being the underdogs. So far, we have eight wins and two losses, our best record yet. I would love to lead our team to more victories and hopefully into something Saint Helens has never before experienced: playoffs. Another goal for my high school season is to make First Team All-League as a midfielder. My freshman year, I was awarded Honorable Mention All-League as a forward and my sophomore year I was honored with Second Team All-League as a midfielder. This year, I am bouncing around between the two positions, but I believe my talent is showcased more in the attacking midfield position. 

Soccer has been a huge part of my life since I was just five years old. I have learned from many coaches and the different variety of club teams I have been on, and I continue to find success in the sport. I would love to pursue my dream of playing in college.