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WORTHINGTON — Playing college soccer has been a dream of Sara Esquivel’s since the seventh grade.
Now, that dream has become reality as the Worthington High School senior signed to continue playing the sport at Waldorf University in Forest City, Iowa Thursday at the high school’s media center.
“It’s kind of a special day because I’ve been dreaming about going to college soccer and keep on going with my soccer career,” Esquivel said. “And then not only that, I felt nervous through the process because I’m like, ‘what if I don’t fit in?’ But I did meet some of the girls and I met the coach and they’re really welcoming, so I’m really excited for the season.”
Waldorf is an NAIA program that hails from the North Star Athletic Association. The Warriors women’s soccer team is coming off a 1-12-3 record last year.
Esquivel considers her biggest area of improvement in soccer to come during her freshman year. At the time, she was on the JV team, but she kept pushing herself to make varsity.
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“I would always push myself, I would always have another girl who would be at the same level as me and we would just keep going and pushing each other,” she said.
Since then, Esquivel made the varsity squad and has kept getting better over the past few years. Last season was the most successful one individually for Esquivel as she was named all-Big South Conference honorable mention.
On top of being a skilled player on the field, Esquivel was a strong communicator and veteran leader for the Trojans. She said her communication and leadership will be traits she’ll look to bring to Waldorf next year.
“I would always try to focus on the girls, see what I could fit best with them with their skills, see how they move, see how they play, see how their passes are, how hard, how soft and just be a game player,” she said.
Esquivel was also on the Worthington Trojettes dance team throughout high school and is currently in the middle of the track and field season.
With her prep soccer career now behind her, she will soon look ahead to the next chapter of her life after graduating. But she’ll also look back on the memories she made in high school.
“The memories are hanging out with the girls. They’ve made it fun, a lot of fun,” she said. “We would have jokes, we would stay up on the ride, or we would just be sleeping. It’s just bonding all the time. And then not only that, we all push each other to our limits.”
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