It's time to meet our next freshman, Sophia Viviani! Sophia is a keeper from Redwood City that brings four seasons of varsity soccer at Notre Dame High, Belmont with her to the Spartans' roster.
Viviani was a four-time letter winner and was twice-named the league's goalie of the year. As a senior, she helped her squad capture the league championship and was named Goalie of the Year, and was voted as the second-best goalie in the Bay Area. Her junior season saw Viviani earning Central Coast Section honorable mention honors as she anchored the team that won CCS Div. II Championship. As a sophomore, she made the transition from playing midfield, which earned her all-league honorable mention honors as a freshman, to playing goalie for the first time. The move bode incredibly well as she posted10 shutouts in 17 matches as was named Goalie of the Year for the first time and helped the team win the league championship for the first time in 14 seasons.
Learn more about Sophia in this week's freshman Q&A!
Q: How old were you when you first started playing soccer and at what age did you know you wanted to play at the collegiate level?
SOPHIA: I grew up in a soccer orientated household with older siblings who played high level soccer during middle school and high school which inspired me to continue to play after my parents had signed me up for our local AYSO team. I loved every minute of it which prompted my parents to then sign me up for club soccer, and from then on I knew I always wanted to play soccer. I first knew I wanted to play collegiate soccer my freshman year of high school, so I started my recruitment journey.
Q: What are some of your favorite hobbies?
SOPHIA: I love snowboarding with my family and friends, because it is so much fun to go fast down the mountain and through the trees twisting and turning. I also love making Maltese beaded flowers, a tradition in Malta made mainly during the Victoria festival.
Q: What is the best part about being a goalkeeper?
SOPHIA: The best part about playing goalie is making game-winning saves and knowing that I am what stands between the ball and the goal, and doing whatever it takes to keep it from going into the back of the net. The feeling I get when making those saves is the reason why I love to be a goalie.
Q: Who is you favorite soccer player?
SOPHIA: Since soccer was always on in my house, I quickly grew accustomed to watching professional soccer games and leagues such as The Premier League, Series A, and La Liga. As a goalie, I gravitated towards keepers as my favorite players, and after watching Gigi Buffon play he quickly became my favorite player in the game.
Q: What has been your most memorable moment on the pitch?
SOPHIA: My most memorable moment playing soccer came during the semifinals at The Surf Cup Soccer tournament in the summer of 2017 when my team had tied the game at 1-1 and headed into PK's. I hadn't been on the team very long at that point and I didn't want to disappoint my teammate who worked so hard to get to where we were in the tournament. I had made a few saves and so did the opposing keeper when it came down to the last shot of the game. All the other team had to do was score and they moved on, and if I saved it we moved on. I ended up saving it, and in shock of what I just did, my team came running after me hugging me and cheering that we had won the game and would head into the championship game.
Q: What is your favorite movie?
SOPHIA: This is definitely a loaded question since I love so many different movies, but I always have the best time watching Step Brothers with my family and friends, laughing and quoting the movie with each other.
Q: If you could have dinner with any person, past or present, real or fictional, who would it be?
SOPHIA: I would definitely have dinner with Gigi Buffon, because he is my favorite soccer player and I am a quarter Italian, and would be honored to meet someone who represents my country.
Q: What's the best piece of advice anyone has ever given you?
SOPHIA: My grandpa used to say a lot of strange things, but one piece of advice he gave was to relax sometimes because everyone always seems to be in a hurry and sometimes its okay to step back and appreciate life.
Q: What is your favorite emoji?
SOPHIA: As cliche as it might sound, my favorite emoji is the laughing face emoji because I find myself using it the most as it normally describes how I feel and my current mood.
Q: Why did you choose to come to San Jose State?
SOPHIA: I chose to play soccer at SJSU because as a Bay Area native, I love everything the Bay and surrounding area has to offer, and found it hard to leave it all behind. Also, getting the opportunity to play D1 soccer was always my biggest goal and knowing the coaching staff and school believes in me and what I have to offer has inspired me to chase after bigger dreams and goals, and I believe attending SJSU will help me reach them.
