CICERO, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — On and off the field, soccer has shaped Emilee Rio, a senior on the C-NS girl’s soccer team, into the person she is today. She began playing soccer when she was four and had her older sister, Marissa, to look up to.
“She was a really good outside forward, and I’m a midfielder, so we kind of butt heads about scoring and different stuff like that,” Rio said. “But, she got a lot of awards like I have throughout my career. And then she decided to step away from soccer after her senior year of high school and kind of more take on the college experience.”
For Emilee, she knew playing soccer in college was what she wanted to do, and meeting Nicole Pacapelli, the head coach of women’s soccer at Marist College, sealed the deal for her.
With Division I soccer on the horizon, Emilee still fulfills her duties on the team and more.
“We do a lot of stuff during the off-season, and Emilee Rio is busy doing other things with club [soccer] and whatnot, but she always makes time to come and train with the younger players, and she enjoys it,” said Jeremy Lenchert, C-NS varsity girl’s soccer head coach. “She enjoys that aspect of the game, which we’ve always appreciated about her.”
This season for Emilee, she is focused on setting an example for the younger players, encouraging them to work their hardest and compete with each other.
“We have a lot of eighth graders and younger players on this team this year, and I just look like that’s where I started. And I was looking up to the seniors who were in my position,” Rio said. “I just want them to know to carry on the legacy and just work their hardest, be competitive, always compete with each other and see where your soccer takes you.”
Congratulations, Emilee! You are the Byrne Dairy and Deli NewsChannel 9 Student-Athlete of the Week.
