Varsity soccer player Julia Crets stands with her feet firmly planted to the turf. An opposing player is charging straight towards her in hopes of scoring a goal. She braces herself for impact and plans how to stop her. In the back of her mind, she knows her future is closely observing her every move. Every pass, kick and charge matters. She knows this may be the game that determines where she plays soccer for the next four years. When her competition is just seconds in front of her with the ball, all coaches, students and college reps now have eyes on her.

“She’s absolutely fearless on the field,” Dave Crets, Julia’s father said. “She had the confidence to take on any player, I know she has the confidence to take on college.”

Julia has been playing soccer for 13 years, including four with the FHN varsity team. With these numerous years of dedication and passion, she and her family are more than proud of the scholarship money she has accumulated for soccer. Although she looked at several other engineering schools, she chose Missouri University of Science and Technology for her chemical engineering education and her soccer career. S&T’s average tuition is around $22,000 and they offered Julia $2,000 a year for soccer and $10,000 a year for academics. She hopes to play an offensive position, but she has experience in all areas of the field.

“I give every freshman an opportunity to play, it will be up to Julia to make a contribution to the team,” Joe McCauley, Head Coach of S&T girl’s soccer program  said. “The more she contributes, the more money she will receive throughout her career at S&T.”

Although Julia loves soccer, she doesn’t plan on pursuing it on any competitive level post-college. She plans on starting a career with chemical engineering and hopes to work with pharmaceuticals. Soccer will always be a big part of her life and what shaped her as a person, but she hopes shift gears and focus more on her career in the future. But for now, she’s going to give S&T soccer her all.

“I really hope to be successful with both engineering and soccer,” Julia said. “S&T has great programs for both of those and I’m so excited to pursue them.”