Kane County Chronicle Athlete of the Week: St. Charles North’s Rian Spaulding, girls soccer, senior

Name: Rian Spaulding

Sport: Girls soccer

Why she was selected: In the South Elgin Sectional semifinal match against St. Charles East, Spaulding scored the eventual game-winning goal in the first minute of play to help St. Charles North to a 1-0 victory and help them advance to their ninth straight sectional final.

Spaulding was selected the Kane County Chronicle Athlete of the Week in an online vote.

Here is her Q&A with sports reporter Joel Boenitz.

You scored just a minute into the game. Walk me through the goal.

Spaulding: So first off, Kayla Floyd played a great ball to me in the middle and it was basically a one-on-one with me and the goalie and the goalie tried to clear the ball and missed. Then I had a wide-open goal with no defenders and I just tapped it into the back of the net.

How did it feel to get up that early into the game?

Spaulding: It was super exciting. Being able to be up 1-0 within the first minute of a game is huge, especially against a team like East. It kind of relieves some pressure on us throughout the whole game, so it made us more comfortable and not super rushed and chaotic to get another goal.

How did it feel after the game knowing that your goal ended up being the game-winner?

Spaulding: It was super exciting, but also at the end of the day, I had to realize that it wasn’t just me. It was also my teammates who were able to pull the other team from not scoring and we all defended really well as a unit. But knowing that my goal was the reason why we were all there was really exciting.

How did it feel defeating a crosstown rival like St. Charles East in the postseason?

Spaulding: It’s an awesome feeling. We’ve done it for the past two years. Beating East is always huge and I know what it feels like to lose against them and it’s honestly one of the worst feelings. So being able to win, especially in my senior year, is awesome.

This is your final postseason and it’s the same for a lot of your teammates. What makes this postseason different from the first three?

Spaulding: Especially for our senior class, there’s a lot of us who aren’t playing in college, so it’s kind of the idea that each game could be our last and also our last game as a group. This team is a super close-knit group of girls and we all want to work for each other and we’re very confident and ready to go win.

What got you into soccer and what keeps you playing?

Spaulding: My older sister started playing soccer before I did and I started when I was around 3 years old. We were on the same team and my dad was the coach. He’s been one of my biggest supporters and he’s always supportive of what I do and my decisions and I just always want to make him super proud.

How close would you say you’ve gotten with the team over your four years?

Spaulding: So, so close. I’ve made some of my best friends from the team. And it’s awesome because now that some of them have graduated, they still come back to our games and it’s awesome to connect and catch up. And then I’ve made so many friends currently on the team with me and it’s awesome to grow up with them throughout the four years.

Do you have any pregame routines or superstitions?

Spaulding: So before every game we all have a dance party in our team room and that’s really fun and no game is really complete before our dance party before the game. One song that we listen to before every game is “Después de la Playa” by Bad Bunny. It’s a song we’ve listened to for the past two years.

What do you like to do outside of soccer?

Spaulding: One of my favorite things to do is spend time with my family, especially now that my sister is home from college. I also really like to bake a lot, especially banana bread.

What’s your favorite movie/TV show?

Spaulding: My favorite movie all time would have to be “Cheaper by the Dozen.” It’s kind of a kids movie, but it’s also just one of my comfort movies.