As tough as it is to compete with Crete-Monee’s Adrianna Vera on the soccer field, topping her in the classroom is even more difficult.
Vera, a senior midfielder, has already broken the school’s career record for goals with 100. Her more impressive numbers, though, are a 4.4 GPA and a 31 on her ACT.
She’s committed to play soccer at the University of Chicago, where she plans to study medicine or psychology.
“I’m really excited for my last season of high school soccer and I’m sad that it’s almost over, but I’m so excited about the next chapter of my life,” Vera said. “It’s going to be incredible playing at the University of Chicago.”
Vera scored 38 goals last season, skyrocketing past the previous school record of 80 career goals, which happens to have been held by Danielle Scartowzzi, Vera’s neighbor.
“She lives a few doors down from me,” Vera said. “We see her walking her dogs all the time and I’m just like ‘Hey, broke your record.’ It’s just funny. It’s an amazing coincidence.”
It’s a record Vera never imagined smashing when she began her high school career.
“For my club team, the Midwest Wings, I’m a defender,” she said. “So I never thought I’d come to high school and score this many goals. But when I got to high school, the coaches made me a forward and it’s worked out.
“A lot of scoring has to do with speed, and a lot of it is focus. It’s just knowing where you’re going to shoot it and how you’re going to shoot it, if you need to keep it simple or try to shoot high.”
Vera hopes to score 40 goals her senior season. She also wants to lead the Warriors to an outright Southland Athletic Conference title after they shared it with Bloom and Beecher last year.
Crete-Monee coach Kathy Siefert knows that kind of team success will be easier to come by with a leader like Vera.
“Our motto for the team this year is ‘Raising the bar’ and Adrianna’s modeled that for the program in athletics and academics,” Siefert said. “It’s great to have a senior leader who’s just going above and beyond both on the field and in the classroom.
“It really sets the tone for the rest of the girls in our program. Her completive nature is what makes her so successful in soccer and as a student. It definitely carries over from the field to the classroom.”
It’s helped Vera earn a spot at her dream school.
“The University of Chicago is the perfect fit for me,” she said. “Even if I wasn’t playing soccer, I’d still go there. I love that place. It’s such a great school right in the middle of the greatest city in the world.”
Vera hopes her success can inspire her younger teammates.
“Nothing’s going to be given to you,” she said. “You have to work hard. I didn’t get a spot on the University of Chicago soccer team by just having it handed to me. I got it because I feel like I deserved it.
“I hope my teammates can see if they work hard, they can get what they deserve.”
One thing she doesn’t want any of her teammates getting, though, is her record.
“We’ve got some really good freshmen,” she said. “It’s possible that they could reach it, so I’m just trying to extend that number as far as I can this year and make it tough to beat.”
Steve Millar is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown.
