Each year NIU athletic teams add new players to their rosters.

The incoming athletes come from various places and have different backgrounds. From the way they got started in sports, to their many inspirations, these athletes must gel with a new team and do their best to be successful.

Kelsey Passaglia is one new addition to the NIU women’s soccer team and brings a rich athletic background to the squad. The freshman from Cary, Ill., led the Fox Valley Conference with 19 goals and 16 assists during her senior season at Cary-Grove High School. But, her sporting background isn’t limited to just soccer.

“My family has always been really athletic, so our parents had us in sports since we were really young,” Passaglia said. “My dad played football and ran track in high school, and my mom played in softball and soccer leagues.”

Besides soccer, Passaglia has dabbled in tennis, basketball and football. While she is a forward/midfielder on the pitch, she also has experience covering wide-outs on the gridiron.

“I played cornerback in sixth and seventh grade[s] on a boys team with pads and everything,” Passaglia said. “My best game is when I had two interceptions in one game. One of them I ran it back for over 50 yards.”

Though she was involved in a number of sports, Passaglia had to choose one, and soccer turned out to be the winner. She said she loves the running as well as the team aspect of the game. Her older sister, who played at Western Kentucky, played a key role in her decision as well.

“I’ve always looked up to my sister and she has done so well with soccer from high school through college,” Passaglia said. “Ever since I was little, it was something that I loved.”

Passaglia loves soccer so much that she wants to stay involved with the sport even after graduation. The Sports and Exercise Science/Secondary Education major plans to teach physical education and coach high school soccer, and later advance to the collegiate level.

Though her career at NIU is still young, Passaglia already has a goal-score under her belt. Passaglia scored the game-winning goal in a 3-2, double-overtime victory at Northern Iowa Sept. 5.

“We were playing against a girl I went to high school with and she actually scored a goal against us so it was pretty fun and exciting,” Passaglia said. “It was awesome. It was a whole different feeling from high school.”

NIU Women’s Soccer head coach Carrie Barker expects great things of Passaglia, and so far she is living up to those expectations.

“She’s a freshman and has done a great job so far,” Barker said. “With each year she’ll get stronger and stronger. I’m excited for her to be a part of our team. She’s young but she has a bright future ahead of her.”

According to Barker, Passaglia already has the right attitude to succeed at NIU.

“She comes to training and she wants to get better,” Barker said. “She’s competing and playing soccer everyday and that’s only going to make her better. Her everyday training mentality is a great mentality, and that carries on to the game.”