To conclude his final year of high school soccer at La Salle, senior and striker Vance Sheffield scored 101 goals, making him one of the highest-scoring male high school soccer players in Oregon history. 

Playing three sports, the athlete’s stats helped the La Salle varsity boys soccer team earn the title of league champions for the sixth consecutive year and ultimately led them to the state finals game, where they left the field victorious. 

Despite their success, compared to past seasons, this one was more of a challenge. 

“Our team has had to work harder this year,” Sheffield said. “We’ve had to dig in this year and actually come together as a team.” 

Sheffield realized he had a shot at scoring 100 goals when head coach Monty Hawkins told him that he was already at 68 towards the end of his junior year. 

“I didn’t really know until the end of last year that I was even close,” Sheffield said.

In the process of making history, Sheffield has received significant praise and recognition from the public. However, although grateful, Sheffield wants to ensure that he’s not the only one in the spotlight and that his teammates are also receiving the acknowledgment that they deserve. 

“I wouldn’t even be half the player I am without them,” he said. “Sometimes I get the attention, but it’s really them. I just have to thank them because there’s no goal without an assist.” 

Now, Sheffield plans on continuing his soccer career by playing the sport at the collegiate level while pursuing a pre-med major. His dream school is Gonzaga University, but he is also considering other schools, such as the University of Portland, Oregon State University, and Seattle University.

“I’m excited to learn more about it, and I want to be a doctor,” he said. 

Currently, balancing both soccer and football on top of his schoolwork hasn’t been easy for Sheffield; however, it has helped him feel more prepared and capable of handling the heavy workload that college entails. 

“I’m going through the stress of it right now — that way, when it comes in college, it’s easier,” he said. 

Sheffield is looking forward to all of the things that college has to offer, specifically making new friends and having a fresh start. “Meeting new people is going to be the best part,” he said. “I just have to go out of my comfort zone and make new friends.”

Throughout his journey, along with his success, Sheffield has also had to cope with and overcome adversity, especially when it comes to the mental aspect of the game. 

“I get in my own head just thinking about when I have a bad performance or if we lose,” he said. “I just remember everyone has bad games. I need to stop being so hard on myself; I just have high expectations.”

Additionally, as an athlete, it can be difficult to hear demeaning criticism from outside voices, but Sheffield says that it’s important to tune that out and focus on the task at hand instead. 

“What you do on the field is more important than whatever people say,” he said. 

Although he tries not to acknowledge these negative opinions, he does concern himself with the perception his team has of him, wanting them to see him not just as a soccer player but also as a good person and a leader. 

Sheffield still has his last basketball season to look forward to, but soccer is his main sport, he said, and with college on the horizon, he is sad to leave his teammates behind. 

“Some of them I’ve been playing with for three years,” he said. “Not playing with them is going to be hard … not seeing them at school everyday is going to be hard.”

Though his high school soccer season has already concluded, Vance’s high school career is not quite finished. On Dec. 14, Sheffield will be traveling to South Carolina to take part in the All-American game for high school soccer players.

In order to achieve success, Sheffield’s best strategy has been “taking it one game at a time,” he said, and to anyone sharing similar aspirations, Sheffield advises to “keep your head down and give yourself credit, even on your bad days.”

Over the years, Sheffield has grown as a player in many ways and has learned how to maintain success in the face of adversity. 

“You just have to believe in yourself,” he said. “Everyone else is going to tell you that you’re not good, and you have to be the one to say that you are.”

This story was originally published on The La Salle Falconer on November 20, 2024.