{"id":345508,"date":"2021-06-07T06:04:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-06T20:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=345508"},"modified":"2021-06-07T06:04:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-06T20:04:00","slug":"flores-to-join-illinois-colleges-soccer-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/flores-to-join-illinois-colleges-soccer-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Flores to join Illinois College\u2019s Soccer program"},"content":{"rendered":"
Stephanie Flores in action while suiting up for Southern United in the recently concluded 2021 Dove Spring season. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stephanie Flores is set to embark on a new adventure now that she has committed to playing college soccer with Illinois College. <\/p>\n

Flores will take off on a new journey as she enters collegiate soccer and will officially play soccer on an NCAA level since Illinois College is recognized as an NCAA Division 3 school. <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel happy and excited about moving on to play soccer on an NCAA level. I\u2019m able to face tougher teams while representing our islands as I play. This is another adventure that\u2019s pushing me to [go further than] where I am now,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

According to Flores, she chose Illinois College because of the scholarships offered and its accommodations. Although it isn\u2019t a full college ride, she is still grateful that it will cover over half of her tuition whilst also allowing her to continue playing soccer. <\/p>\n

\u201cI chose to attend Illinois College because of the scholarships I\u2019ve received from the school and the facilities\/accommodations I\u2019d be able to receive at the school. This won\u2019t be a full college ride but the scholarships I\u2019ve received cover more than half my costs,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

The athlete has played soccer for a good chunk of her teen years and has even played for the CNMI National team since 2018. <\/p>\n

\u201cI started playing for the nationals around 2018 or 2019. The trips I\u2019ve went on for the national team are Korea and the Philippines. I played for TanHoldings, Kanoa Football Club, and Southern United,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Currently, Flores plays for Southern United with her team nearly winning the 2021 Dove Spring league that concluded last Sunday. <\/p>\n

Flores said she has no idea what to expect next but she thanks all those who have helped her get to where she is now and who continue to support her on her new journey. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have no idea what to expect. I know that I\u2019ll be going against teams who are more physical and stronger but other than that I don\u2019t know what to expect. I\u2019d want to thank all the people who have made it possible for me to develop as a student and as a player. They have allowed me to be able to play in college. I\u2019d like to thank my parents for picking me up and helping me out. I\u2019d also want to thank my counselor, teachers, and Doctor Chas Algaier for helping me in school. Lastly, I\u2019d want to thank NMIFA\u2019s staff, coaches, and Jerry Tan for helping me develop as a player and giving me many opportunities and trainings throughout the years I\u2019ve played. I appreciate you all and I wouldn\u2019t have gone this far without any of you,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stephanie Flores is set to embark on a new adventure now that she has committed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":345509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-345508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345508"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345508\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}