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Women's Soccer Spotlight: Lexie Niedoba
June 09, 2013 | Women's Soccer
June 9, 2013
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Lexie Niedoba, a rising sophomore mid-fielder for the University of Louisville women's soccer team, made a quick and seamless transition to life as a student-athlete due to the friendships made both on and off the pitch during her freshman season.
A native of Baltimore, Md., Niedoba's family and friends are 10 hours away, a distance that brought worry and nervousness before her move to Louisville.
"I wasn't sure how I was going to deal with this," said Niedoba. "It was going to be a big change that I didn't know if I was ready for. I hadn't really ever been away from my family for any real amount of time before so I never had to face a challenge like this."
Many students make the decision to attend school away from friends and family, but Niedoba's age brought additional anxiety. Niedoba skipped a grade during elementary school resulting in her being a year younger in age compared to the majority of the other incoming freshmen.
"This, along with the fact that I was going to be a year younger than everyone on the team also made me a little apprehensive," Niedoba explained. "I had skipped a grade in elementary school, which means that I was only supposed to be a senior in high school instead of a freshman in college."
August of 2012 rolled around and thousands of incoming freshmen moved into dorms on college campuses around the country. A summer of apprehension would disappear for Lexie as she immediately made friends and developed a close relationship with her Louisville teammates. She loved her decision to move to Louisville and has not looked back since.
"After only a few days, I developed a close relationship with my roommates," she said. "I was already loving college and knew that I had made a great decision to come to Louisville. Everyone from the other athletes to the coaching staff was all so nice and welcoming."
After a full year at the University of Louisville and an entire season under her belt, Niedoba considers those close to her in Louisville as a second family.
"My other teammates were so nice throughout my freshman year, that it really didn't seem like I was too far away from home," Niedoba said. "The freedom of college along with the support and friendship from my teammates was so much more than I expected. I was not missing home in the least bit. I had made a whole new family in Louisville. It was a family that I could always count on, and one that I got to spend every day with."
