Nicki Hernandez knows pressure is a constant when you play Big Ten soccer.
The former Metea Valley star has handled it well. The psychology major is a four-year starting forward who has led Michigan in scoring in two of the past three seasons, including this spring, when she had six goals and two assists.
Hernandez is spending the summer playing for the Chicago Red Stars Reserves, who train and play their home games in Oak Brook.
The Red Stars Reserves play in the Women’s Premier Soccer League, the largest amateur women’s league in the country. The team has given Hernandez a chance to hone her game in a different environment.
“For college, every single game you’re scared about ‘oh, we can’t lose this game,'” Hernandez said. “This kind of makes it more relaxing.
“It’s still very competitive, and you want to win conference. But it allows you to relax a little bit and just remember what’s important to work on, your strengths and weaknesses.”
Hernandez, who plans to return to Michigan for a fifth season, is enjoying the camaraderie and constant competition with the Red Stars Reserves.
“It’s definitely fun because I have rivalries here,” she said. “There are girls from Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and so it’s really nice seeing their personalities, and it just makes it definitely more fun.
“You always have that thought, ‘Oh, what are they going to be like?’ And then everyone is nice to you. I’m always excited to come to practice, and the intensity is 100% all the time.”
Indeed, the Red Stars Reserves have more than 40 players on the roster. Only 20 suit up for games.
“It’s always competitive,” Hernandez said. “You’re always trying to make it.”
Hernandez has made the starting lineup regularly and had a big impact. She scored in her debut, had an assist in her second game and scored on a penalty kick in her third.
Hernandez even makes a difference when she doesn’t score, as she did while playing out of position during a 1-0 victory against Milwaukee Bavarian on June 12.
“Nicki’s done well,” Red Stars Reserves coach Julianne Sitch said. “She really stepped up tonight (June 12) in a big way. We had a couple of our midfielders gone with the Canadian national team and other things, so we asked her to play in the midfield at center mid. She went for it, and she was phenomenal.
“She was great out wide. She was great in the middle. She created chances for us. She had a couple chances herself.”
That’s par for the course for Hernandez, who has 20 goals and 15 assists in 68 games for Michigan. She was named to the All-Big Ten first team as a senior.
Before that, Hernandez excelled at the high school and club levels. She played for Eclipse Select as a sophomore and junior but helped Metea Valley reach the sectional final in her freshman and senior years.
“It was a good environment there,” Hernandez said. “All of my high school friends were on the team. It helped me having fun and knowing not to take everything so seriously.”
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Hernandez is serious about pursuing a pro soccer career, either in the NWSL or overseas. The Red Stars Reserves have provided a pipeline of talent to the pro ranks, and many of those players have come from Naperville.
“I’m very proud to be from Naperville, and it’s always nice knowing that Naperville has a lot of girls that are really good at soccer,” Hernandez said. “Whenever you say you’re from Naperville, people say, ‘Oh, it’s a good place to be from because everyone is pretty good.'”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.