Five years ago, it seemed highly unlikely that any Pella Christian girl would play soccer in college — the sport had been dormant for several seasons and had moved some of the best athletes on Eagle Lane to the track or tennis court.

Now, the Eagles feature three current athletes alone who have committed to continue college in their careers, including Anna Van Zee and Emma Dunsbergen to Northwestern, and Sydney Hooyer to Dordt.

Dunsbergen says Coach Mike Buchheit reviving the program gave her a chance to compete against some of the best soccer players in Iowa, and fall even more in love with the sport.

“I’m so grateful for Coach Buchheit–he puts his heart and soul into our team, and even during this quarantine, he’s sending out drills every day and helping us stay connected to each other and that’s huge and it shows me what I want to look like and how I committed I want to be to what I’m doing and give a hundred percent,” Dunsbergen says. “It’s been an honor to be a part of the team and just see how much it’s grown. I think coach said we had barely enough to fill a varsity roster in his first year and now we were going to have 28 people on the team this year.”

Hooyer says Buchheit was critical not only in fostering her love for the game, but growing that passion for the sport across the school.

“[He’s] definitely had a big impact, and he’s been my coach for cross country too, so I spent a lot of time with Coach Buchheit and he just has inspired me a lot to work really hard, and I think that will leave a big impact in my life,” Hooyer says.

Hear more from Emma and Sydney on tonight’s Radio Sports Page at 6 p.m. on 92.1 KRLS.