A former North Dakota Girls’ Soccer Gatorade Player of the Year and Minot High School and Minot State University graduate has her sights set on going pro.
Sofia Lewis says she is looking to take her talents to Europe to play soccer professionally. She says her dream would be to play in Spain, where she can immerse herself in the culture and learn Spanish.
A former coach says he has no doubt she has what it takes. “From a technical standpoint she is one of the best players the State of North Dakota has ever seen,” said Matt Pfau, Minot High School Head Girls Soccer Coach.
Anyone who has played in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) knows that it is one of the toughest conferences in all of NCAA Division 2 athletics. In the sport of soccer, it just happens to be one of the most physical conferences. Sofia Lewis has dominated the NSIC since she arrived on the scene as a freshman. She is 4th all-time in NSIC history for goals scored. She is the all-time leading scorer in Minot State history and finished her career with 51 goals and 17 assists. She is now preparing for the Professional Women’s Soccer Combines. There are multiple international combines coming up in January, the first is in Dallas, TX Jan. 3-5.
Her preparation to play in the NSIC is nothing short of incredible. A day in the life of Sofia Lewis is not for the faint of heart. Her days are filled with academics, fitness, skill work, and community service. “Summers are my absolute favorite. That was always my favorite time of the year, other than obviously playing in the season, [I] was preparing to play in the season. I just loved my days being encompassed by training,” Lewis said.
Summer training day leading into fall season:
7:00AM Weights
9:00AM Teach swimming lessons
11:00AM Individual soccer lessons
1-2:00PM Run distance or interval training at the hottest part of the day
5:00PM Play soccer in evening
6:30PM Coach youth soccer team
Post senior year day training for professional combine:
5:30AM Wake-up
6:00AM Leave for work
90 min drive – father drives while she does homework for Master's program
Work 10–11-hour day for KSI as project controller
90 min drive home – more homework
7:30PM Coach youth soccer team
9:00PM Work out at gym (closes at 10)
10:00PM Work out at home on bike or more weights
Lewis spends time coaching youth soccer and encourages teammates to be the best they can as well. Minot State Women’s Soccer Coach Chris Clements said it’s not too often a player comes along that touches so many lives like Sofia Lewis, “She is such a great example to the young girls she coaches. Seeing them come to games and watch her play and talk with her afterwards is amazing.” He continued, “Sofia spent time in the summer reaching out to players, and during the season she worked so hard to build relationships with players on the team. Like Sofia does with everything, she focused 100% of her effort on building a team that was driven to be successful on the field and in the locker room.”
Lewis says the love for training and being the best is engrained in all she does. Lewis has not only spent almost her entire life mastering her skills on the soccer field, but she has also worked just as hard academically. The proof of that is her 4.0 grade point average. And now her dream of becoming a professional soccer player is starting to come into focus. She says she has a clear understanding of how hard the journey will be and what it will take to achieve it.
