Rutgers soccer commit, All-American, first-team all-league athlete, Gatorade player of the year nominee and Women’s Professional Soccer League (WPSL) player. What do all of these titles have in common? Each and every one of them belongs to LOHS senior Julia Joseph.
Joseph has been a member of the LOHS girls varsity soccer team since her freshman year, but more importantly, she has been a member of various elite soccer programs across the country. Outside of the high school season, Joseph plays for Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) team, Thorns Academy, where her team plays against the most elite athletes in their age group nationally. Joseph spent a large portion of her summer participating in ECNL playoffs where her team made it to the final four, a historical accomplishment for her club and is now on track to reach her goal of playing professional soccer in the future.
Joseph graduated from LOHS early, and she is now spending her time training in order to prepare for her freshman year at Rutgers University, playing in the BIG10 conference. Although Joseph is going to miss the lifelong friends she has made through club soccer, she says that she is excited to forge new bonds and become part of an even higher-level team in college.
Most recently, Joseph traveled with the Portland Thorns National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team to Coachella Valley for their preseason training camp. Together they competed against other NWSL teams and trained for the regular season.
This high school season, Joseph was awarded First Team All Three Rivers League (TRL) as well as a nomination for Gatorade Oregon Player of the Year. She was named to the high school All-American team due to her impressive performance on the field and traveled to Charleston, South Carolina, to play in the All-American game. She was the only TRL player to be selected for this honor and one of three players from the state of Oregon.
“I loved playing with all my friends, and our team had such a good culture, and we worked hard every day. I will really miss it,” said Joseph, reflecting on her journey with LO girls soccer, where she finished her senior year as one of the team captains, guiding her team to success.
“Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t achieve your dreams or you can’t do it; stay true and confident to yourself,” suggested Joseph, giving advice to other athletes who aspire to play at a high level someday. “I would also say in order to be a high-level athlete, you have to put in the work when nobody is watching,” stated Joseph, encouraging other athletes to continue to work hard all the time.
