As a starter for the Wildcat soccer team, junior Drew Donica knows his job as right defender is to stop the opponent from scoring, plain and simple. In fact, he was successful taking his club team, FC Dallas, to a division championship doing just that. “I try to be relaxed,” he says of playing in such a high-intensity spot. “I try not to let stress or pressure control my mind. When I’m calm, it helps teammates who play around me stay calm.”
On the other hand, he offers, “my weakness is that I tend to be quiet, so I’m trying to be better at expressing myself during games. The different personalities on our team fit together well,” he adds. “We work in different ways but we get along because we’re all doing what we like doing.”
Drew, who attended private school at St. John’s until he enrolled in the LH Freshman Center in 9th grade, says the players were quick to welcome him as the New Guy. He credits classmate Deborah Andrews with being his biggest supporter – “She’s there at every game, even away games, watching me play.”
Drew calls sophomore Mason Miller his biggest role model (if you’re counting, that’s two upper classmen who’ve recognized Miller’s leadership). “Mason plays in the back with me and he’s always positive and gives his best.”
Drew says he probably won’t play college soccer, leaning instead toward attending OU or UT. He’s currently taking a class in graphic design and animation at LHHS, and he expects to continue those studies at the college level.
Drew is optimistic about the Wildcats’ chances tonight. “I think we can keep pulling out wins,” he says. “We really want to play the Woodlands (a Houston-area team that won the District 14-5A Championship). They’re a top ten nationally ranked team and we wanna see how we’d do against a team that strong. To get there, we need to work hard together, keep our positive attitudes and play as a team.”
In this video from the Molina game, that’s Drew scoring with a long arching ball over the keeper’s head. Go Cats!
