Luis Diaz/ Contributing Writer
A Miami native and experienced college goalkeeper, Sophia Trujillo is happy to be back home playing for the Panthers.
Trujillo enters this season as a junior after spending her first two years of NCAA eligibility playing across the country for San Diego State. But taking a play out of “The Wizard of Oz,” Trujillo discovered there’s no place like home and decided to come back to the heat and humidity of South Florida to don the Blue and Gold this season.
This is Trujillo’s first season with FIU yet she finds herself the most experienced goalkeeper on this team’s roster. That experience has not gone unnoticed and with that comes the hype of finally solidifying what is arguably the most important position on the pitch.
But rather than playing to live up to her hype, her plan is simple.
“I’m going to give my 100 percent so I don’t let this team down,” Trujillo said.
That team first attitude has been prevalent throughout the offseason work this team has been putting in. However, being the new kid on the block, Trujillo is still working to earn the starting keeper position. To her, the experience she has means nothing when deciding the depth chart.
“A lot of people think San Diego is the same as Miami but it’s really not. It is a lot hotter and more humid in Miami than it is [in California].”
Having played in what can only be described as “Miami weather” since first grade however, the heat is the least of her worries.
“I know nothing is going to be given to me,” says Trujillo about earning her spot, “I’m still going to work hard for it.” To break this starting lineup won’t be impossible, but Sophia Trujillo plans on contributing to this team immediately. Still getting a grasp of this team’s philosophy, her work ethic and experience alone have led to a very impressive offseason. The trick will now be translating it into a productive regular season with the goal of carrying that success through the end of the post season. But with a dominant keeper standing in front of the net for the first time in a while for the Panthers, this team is in a great position to do exactly that.
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