The college recruiting process is stressful for many student-athletes, but Metea Valley’s Olivia Hernandez had a trusted adviser to guide her.
The junior midfielder is the younger sister of Nicki Hernandez, who starred at Metea Valley and Michigan and plays professional soccer in Mexico.
“I know I’ll have a lot of support from her,” Olivia Hernandez said. “She’s always there to talk me through. It was a lot of stress in the fall, so she was just telling me to wait and there will be opportunities. She was telling me not to stress too much over it, which is nice to hear.”
Olivia Hernandez completed the process Monday when she committed to play soccer at Marquette. She chose the Golden Eagles over DePaul and Purdue.
“When I went on my visit there, I got to see a practice with all the girls, and they were really nice and comforting,” Olivia Hernandez said. “The new coach, Chris Allen, is really enthusiastic about me and has a lot of confidence in me.
“It feels like a lot of stress is gone because I’ve been thinking about this moment for the last couple years. It’s kind of not real yet, but I’m really excited.”
So is Metea Valley coach Chris Whaley.
“I don’t think she could have found a better fit,” Whaley said. “Part of the struggle for kids is to find that perfect marriage of the school with the people and the soccer, and I think Liv’s done that.”
Olivia Hernandez is 8 years younger than Nicki and has always wanted to follow in her footsteps.
“She’s very competitive with me,” Nicki Hernandez said. “When I come back home and watch her play, she’ll play so good because she knows I’m watching.
“I’ll tell her something very competitive, and it will get her fired up because I’m like, ‘No, you’re not going to score.’ And she’ll be mad at me, but it’s in a way that we both understand each other.”
Indeed, the two are close despite the age difference. Nicki Hernandez is proud of Olivia’s accomplishments.
“I kind of made it a little hard for her because this is my job so I have to be good in it,” Nicki Hernandez said. “So it’s putting a lot of pressure on her, but she still plays really well, like one of the best I know.”
As a freshman, Olivia Hernandez started and recorded two goals and seven assists to help the Mustangs win their first state title.
“I don’t want to say I had my doubts, but I just kind of wondered what kind of an impact a freshman can really have,” Whaley said. “She exceeded expectations right away, not necessarily as a goal scorer, but just as a midfielder that you could count on working hard offensively and defensively, confident on the ball, connecting well with her teammates.
“She was a central part of a successful season.”
After playing club last year, Olivia Hernandez is poised to be part of another successful season for Metea Valley. She is the ninth current player to commit to playing college soccer, joining forwards Cydnie Bayless (Northern Illinois), Lucy Burk (Northern Michigan), Lily Senese (Northern Michigan) and Isabelle Leofanti (Kent State), midfielders Kyleigh Jannisch (Winona State) and Kaylee Hansen (Austin Peay), defender Zoe Kirkman (Milwaukee School of Engineering) and goalkeeper Alyssa Gluting (Fairfield).
“I’ve seen my teammates committing recently, and I’m so happy for them, I wished I could be part of that too,” Olivia Hernandez said. “Now that I finally am, it feels really good. I’ve been really looking forward to playing because the social aspect to high school is always so fun.”
Olivia Hernandez is one of the players tasked with increasing their production for the Mustangs (4-0) to make up for the graduation of Tyra King and Jordan Lange, who combined for 36 goals last season. She has a goal and two assists in three games so far.
“I asked her, ‘Are you ready to embrace a bigger role, hopefully one that involves more of the statistics like goals and assists?’” Whaley said. “She was up for it right away. She’s going to create. She likes to drive at people, take people on and go to goal.”
Whaley has enjoyed coaching both Hernandez sisters.
“Liv is a great kid,” Whaley said. “A lot like her sister, she’s just going to continue to grow as a player.
“It’s a humble family with a love for soccer. They’re just people that help make the program better, so I love having them around.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
