Women’s lacrosse Defender Sofia Herrera: Journey to the University of Maryland
- La Voz Latina
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Written by: Sierra Green 🇺🇸
For the Maryland freshman defender, lacrosse is much more than what happens on the field; it's the legacy, family, and the journey that has been far from easy.
Sofia Herrera has always played sports, and they have played a crucial role in her childhood and family memories. She dabbled in pretty much everything: basketball, swimming, and most importantly, soccer and lacrosse.
Growing up, her dream was to play for the United States women's national soccer team.
Then, at the age of 5, she started playing recreational lacrosse alongside her older sister, Karina Herrera.
“My parents were like, ‘Oh, this could be something super cool for the girls,’ but I never would've guessed that it would have gotten us to these places,” said Sofia Herrera.
They grew up playing in the backyard together, and now, Sofia and Karina Herrera are Division I lacrosse players and represented Puerto Rico on the Women’s national lacrosse team.
International-level play and representing an entire culture is truly an unexplainable experience. It also gave them a chance to play together again on the biggest stage. They even picked the jersey numbers one and two so they could stand next to each other and hold hands during the national anthem, they explained.
Choosing a college was probably one of the toughest decisions Sofia Herrera has ever made.
On one hand, the University of Maryland was her dream school and a program she fell in love with; on the other, she has often followed in her sisters footsteps, and Yale would give them an opportunity to be teammates again after high school and the national team.
Yale junior attacker Karina Herrera said, “When she made the decision, we both cried on the phone for an hour…at the time it was so hard for her to think that she was actively making a decision that was going to keep us away from each other. ”
“She makes me a better person, a better athlete, and a better student. She’s my role model,” Sofia Herrera said when talking about her sister.
Ultimately, she chose Maryland and realized that independence would not only aid her in lacrosse but also in life.
Although they often get compared, Sofia Herrera explains, “I’m going to show my older sister that I can be just as good, but it was never like ‘oh, I need to be better than her’. It was, ‘I’m going to be better for her.’”
“I told my coaches at Yale that I want to play Maryland because I want to beat them…beat Sofia,” said Karina Herrera.
The transition from high school and club to collegiate play is difficult for anyone.
“I personally thought that college was going to be a very smooth transition…but I quickly learned that it is a huge commitment,” said Sofia Herrera.
In high school, Sofia Herrera was a two-time athlete; a crucial part of both the varsity soccer and lacrosse teams. Through that and the sports she played growing up, she gained leadership and time management skills, which transfer over to her collegiate career.
Choosing lacrosse over soccer was another very tough decision, but one she anticipated. Throughout club-level play, she realized that she was lacking in certain skills for both sports. To become the best athlete possible, she would need to choose one.
Ultimately, Sofia Herrera chose lacrosse, a decision I'm sure she doesn’t regret.
Outside of sports, Sofia Herrera’s main priority is and always will be academics. She is passionate about medicine, and has her hopes set on becoming an Orthopedic surgeon.
The one thing that Sofia Herrera lives by to set her up for success on and off the field is to have a “goldfish mentality.”
She explains that this means not letting a play in a game or a relationship issue weigh down on you for too long, and use a “second span memory” to bounce back and move on.
Sofia Herrera plans on using this mentality as she enters a new and intense level of competitive play, with her heart set on winning championships.