Developing a passion for a sport can take years for many kids. But for Rania Fikri, that process was instantaneous.
The Benet senior midfielder was 6 when she participated in her first game. Afterward, she came off the field and began crying. Fikri’s parents, Kareem and Kelly, asked her whether she had gotten hurt or one of the other players had said something mean to her. They were stunned by their daughter’s answer.
“That was the first game, and I just fell in love with it,” Rania Fikri said. “I didn’t want to stop playing. I would always play in the backyard with my dad or with the neighbors living down the street.”
Fikri still loves soccer. If anything, her passion has only grown over the years, and she has become a key player for East Suburban Catholic Conference champion Benet (15-3-1, 6-0), which is seeded fifth in the Class 3A Plainfield North Sectional and will play 12th-seeded Plainfield Central in the West Aurora Regional semifinals on Tuesday.
“It just always felt natural to me ever since I was little,” she said.
Fikri’s uncle Wally played soccer at Northern Illinois under legendary coach Willy Roy Sr. But soccer isn’t the only athletic pursuit in the family. Kelly Fikri was on the cheerleading team that won the 1995 high school national championship at Mater Dei in California.
When Rania Fikri was in fifth grade, her mother asked her to try cheerleading but was rebuffed.
“Boys should be cheering for me,” Rania Fikri told her mother. “I shouldn’t be cheering for them.”
That quote has since become the stuff of family legend. Kelly Fikri never again brought up cheerleading to her daughter.
Which is just as well, since there has been a lot of cheering at Benet in the nearly three years since Rania Fikri transferred from Nazareth.
She has increased her role every season, helping the Redwings finish second in Class 2A in each of the past two.
“Every time she gets the ball, you can surround her with four players, and she’ll wiggle out of it because the ball is just stuck to her foot,” Benet coach Gerard Oconer said. “That’s the biggest difference between Rania now versus Rania a couple of years ago or even last year, is that she’s picked up a little bit more strength, a little bit more quickness, a little bit more speed.
“Before, defenders were able to kind of run her off the ball. But that’s not happening this year, and that makes a huge difference for us.”
Indeed, Fikri has become a force in the center of the field, teaming with sophomore Annie Fitzgerald to form what Fitzgerald calls the dynamic duo of the midfield.
“I always say to Rania that the ball is like Velcro to her feet,” Fitzgerald said. “I don’t know how she does it, but somehow she is always able to beat the defender and make the best pass.
“I look up to her as a person and as a player, so I’m lucky to share the field with her.”
Fikri has three goals and four assists, including one on Fitzgerald’s game-winning goal against St. Viator that clinched the conference title. She feels lucky to play for Benet.
“It’s been an amazing experience,” Fikri said. “I love leading this team and just communicating with everyone. It’s just such a great group of girls.”
Fikri had interest from several Division I programs but has committed to play at Chapman, a Division III university in Orange, California, in an area where some of her relatives live. She’s not ready for the cheering — or the fun — to stop.
“My ultimate goal is to always keep getting better and having fun with the game because that’s always what it’s about,” Fikri said. “I’m just growing in my game every year, just trying to get better.”
Can the Redwings get any better? They’ve won 14 of their past 15 games and outscored their last four regular-season opponents 20-4, which includes a 5-2 win against Waubonsie Valley on Thursday.
“I feel like we’re really hitting our stride right now,” Fikri said. “We’ve never played better before together this entire year. We’re really going in strong and confident, especially coming from this game. I’m very excited.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
