Soccer requires endurance, skill, and the will to win, and the freshmen athletes playing for Northside felt the pressure.

“The biggest challenge of playing with Northside was having to do school work and keep my grades up while still playing,” Alejandro Iturriaga said.

The girls’ team also felt the heat.

“The biggest challenge was balancing school and soccer,” Amy Franco said. “Often after games or practices, I had a lot of homework, but I still got it done because no matter how much I hated it, school came first.”

Even though playing with Northside brought stress, the players still loved it.

“What I liked best about playing for Northside was the fact that I got to do what I love with an amazing team,” Anitsia Nissen said.

Playing with Northside gave the players the opportunity to experience new things along with their favorite things.

“What I liked best about playing for Northside was that I could always challenge myself to do better,” Amy said. “My favorite part was playing the game every day. Also, I made new friends.”