Senior Grace Necker has been playing soccer since she was just 6 years old. She started playing club soccer at age 9 for FC America. Throughout the years Necker has really fallen in love with the sport and has decided to continue playing in college at the University of Iowa, in Iowa City. She is a preferred walk-on for the Hawkeye soccer team, meaning she won’t be receiving an athletic scholarship this year, but is guaranteed a spot on the team and may have the opportunity to earn a scholarship in future years on the team.

Necker also contemplated playing at North Dakota State, but ultimately decided Iowa was the better fit for her. “I was deciding between North Dakota State and Iowa. I liked the size of North Dakota State, but loved the school side of things at Iowa and thought it had a lot more opportunities for what I was planning to study,” said Necker. “Also the atmosphere in Iowa City is unlike anywhere else.”

Having played soccer for 12 years now, Necker has made a lot of memories. “Some of my favorite soccer memories include going to Verona, Wisconsin for a tournament over Halloween weekend when we were 10 and painting our faces like skeletons for the game, FC America winter futsal league, going to state my freshman and sophomore year and traveling around the Midwest on Iowa City Alliance,” said Necker. “And playing high school with my partner in crime, Rory Donahue.”

All of Necker’s friends and family are excited to see where she goes with her soccer career. They have enjoyed watching her play multiple sports her entire life and are anxious to see how she will excel with the opportunity to focus all of her time on just one. Among the most eager to watch her in the future are her teammates. “Grace has been a competitive athlete so having the opportunity to be her teammate was awesome,” said senior Ellie Spelhaug, who has been on many teams with Necker. “She always pushes people to work harder yet she is so fun to be around. Grace will make a great Hawkeye and I’m excited to follow her journey.”