River Valley goalie signs letter of intent to Minot State
In college some athletes tend to leave early in hopes of pursuing a pro career, but in high school it’s rare to see a student athlete leave early to train with a college.
That rarity will become a reality when River Valley’s Gisselle Quintero heads to North Dakota on Jan 1, 2019.
Last Friday afternoon surrounded by her family, Quintero signed a letter of intent to continue her career with the Minot State Beavers.
“After taking my visit and meeting everyone, I knew that Minot State was the school for me both on and off the field,” Quintero said.
Quintero has been an impact player for the Falcons since her freshman year when she was named the California state player of the week.
Her resume doesn’t stop there though. In her three seasons on the varsity squad, she claimed allleague and all-area honors each season. Not to mention in 2017 she Gisselle Quintero poses with her family shortly after signing her letter of intent to play soccer with Minot State University.
was named the most valuable player for River Valley.
At the signing event on Friday many of her peers and coaches had good things to say, including River Valley athletic director, Phil Mccaulley.
“I’ve watched Gisselle for a couple years now and I’ve always heard good things. We’ve been fortunate to have her even though she’s leaving early, but life happens and I’m sure she will be moving on to bigger and better things at Minot State,” said Mccaulley
Quintero’s list of names to thank were endless. She said that first and foremost she couldn’t have done it without her mom and dad supporting her every inch of the way and putting a lot of ‘soccer miles’ on the car.
Besides her friends and family, Quintero wanted to thank the coaches who made her dream of playing collegiate soccer possible.
“From my first competitive coaches Gabe Coomes and Jeff Stanhope who both believed in my goalkeeper abilities, to my trainer Chava who taught me everything I needed to know about being a goalkeeper, I can’t be thankful enough,” Quintero said.
While many coaches have given her the oppourtunity to elevate her game, there’s beeen a select few that have helped her in the
past couple of months.
“Lasty, I want to thank my San Juan coaches for growing me more in the last four months than I have gained in my last nine years of playing competitive soccer,” she said.
Quintero will play in a couple more matches before heading up to Minot State in January to join the Beavers soccer team.