Senior varsity soccer player Cristan Aguilar has been playing soccer ever since he can remember. From day one he has brought passion to the game and now his efforts have led him to a state and even national level, playing for the Downers Grove South Varsity soccer team and the Roadrunners soccer club.

A big role model in his life is his father, who has inspired Aguilar to continue playing soccer over the years.

“He worked a lot and he was the one who started paying for my soccer, which I am grateful for,” Aguilar said.

Aguilar practices six days a week during the school season, and 4 days a week during club season. On top of that, he has games usually once a week.

Aguilar travels all over for soccer. He and his team went to Missouri for a tournament and came out victorious against teams from all over.

“We were down in Missouri, and we were playing teams from out of state, and we were doing really good. In the finals we ended up winning 1 -0 in the last minute,” Aguilar said with the biggest smile on his face.

Although, Aguilar and his team are in great shape this year, there are times when they don’t win. When he went to a tournament in Indiana sophomore year, Aguilar and his team won the first and second games and lost the third game 6-2.

“Our first game we were losing 3-1 and ended up winning 4-3. In our last game, we got destroyed. It was really bad; we lost 6-2,” Aguilar said.

For Aguilar, it is not easy when taking a loss, or when he makes an in-game mistake.

“Whenever I have a bad game it always gets in my head, and it determines how I play sometimes… I just keep on playing. I just think positive and try to assist, or score a goal,” Aguilar said.

Aguilar’s mindset is looked up to by his teammates, because of how much he cares for his counterparts, and the game.

“Cristan is a very good teammate. He’s very nice and very caring about the team. He really wants to succeed, and he shows that with compassion,” Aguilar’s teammate, senior Tariku Bahlmann said.