PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Savannah Trevino, L.D. Bell

Sport: Girls soccer

Class: Junior

Position: Defender

Her story: Trevino started playing soccer when she was five years old, a sport that ran in her family. Her mother played defender at Lewisville High School. Playing on offense for most of her life, especially on her club team, she had to transition to defense in high school when coach Corey Rolf came to her during try-outs and asked her to be a defender her sophomore season. She tried out freshman year, but didn't make it. That just made her work twice as hard to get on as a sophomore and into the starting lineup. She has started the past two years as the Lady Raiders are 16 games into this season with a district record of 3-5. They have four district games left. Her ultimate goal is to play in college possibly playing at University of California, San Diego.

Fun fact: The junior defender hates running, but since soccer is her passion, she's OK with running only if she's chasing a soccer ball.

She said: “I was optimistic about playing defense. I was hesitant because I had no experience, but Coach Rolf said I had heart and the potential for the position – (that I was) easy to teach and if I took the time to work at it, I could be the best at the position. The first game I played at defender, I thought I played bad, but I knew I could do it and now I'm much better. My defensive skills have increased throughout the year. I've worked hard with the coaches, we have a close relationship.”

“We lost some star players from last season and it was hard to connect with the new girls at first, but since then we've worked hard and have worked well together.”

Coach Corey Rolf said: “Savannah has progressed quite a bit this year and has been very solid for us. I see her being an important part of the team this year and next.”

- Brian Gosset

This story was originally published March 2, 2015 at 12:56 PM with the headline "PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Savannah Trevino, L.D. Bell."