With a predominantly German heritage, senior co-captain and varsity athlete Justin Neustaetter has always appreciated the sport of soccer as it holds lots of importance in his culture. Growing up, it was an extremely large part of his family. Ever since he was first introduced to playing the sport, he knew it was something special to him that he wanted to pursue.

“It was just something I’ve always been interested in,” Neustaetter said. “My dad enjoyed coaching me and I enjoyed playing it.”

When it came time to try out for high school soccer freshman year, Neustaetter felt prepared. Going into tryouts, Neustaetter aimed to make the JV team as a field player, but came to find out that there were many other competent athletes looking to do the same. After tryouts ended, Neustaetter was cut as a field player, but was offered a different opportunity.

“Freshman year I played goalie on JV. That kind of allowed me to be on the team, but I wasn’t on the team with what I wanted to play—on the field,” Neustaetter said.

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