Keano Seria has been playing soccer since he was six and hasn’t stopped yet. He attended Portland Christian his freshman and sophomore year and then transferred to La Salle with hopes of kicking off the year on the varsity boys soccer team.

When Seria, now a junior, was even younger, he played football. But after he was introduced to soccer, he “just fell in love with the game,” he said. Ever since he was six, Seria has enjoyed every aspect of soccer from observing the game to defending the opposing team and celebrating every victory with his team.

Playing defense, as a fullback, is Seria’s speciality. “Going against another team’s best player and stopping them sparks joy in me,” he said. “That’s the main reason why I [enjoy] playing soccer.”

While Seria plays defense and has always had the goal in mind to stop the other team from trying to score, he aspires to “score goals” by playing forward in the future.

The 17 year old has played all over the field and has even had some opportunities to score some goals. When this happens, “all [of] the happiness in me just comes out and I just want to celebrate with my friends,” he said, feeling “pure joy and excitement.”

Seria has been making contributions to the boys soccer team by staying on top of defense and being a positive team player. He hopes to inspire his teammates by bringing energy on and off the field to “energize the boys.”

Despite some obstacles regarding injuries towards the beginning of the season, the boys soccer team has eased their way back into the game and has overcome their challenges.

“We’ve been doing really well,” he said. The team has a record of 8-0-1. They are currently ranked No. 1 for OSAA 5A boys soccer.

Going into the playoffs, Seria’s main goal is to win and to stay on top of soccer, as well as balance his school work. His advice to student athletes is to prioritize your school work first before having fun outside of school.

Seria has also set the goal to stay undefeated for the rest of the season and to “win the state championship,” he said. “It feels amazing right now [to be undefeated].”

The team’s lone tie came against Glencoe, a 6A opponent. The Falcons have outscored their opponents 31-6 this season.

Seria has been grateful for his experience playing soccer at La Salle. “It has been pretty special moving to a new school,” he said.

Seria believes the coaching staff has helped their team stay successful this season. “[Mr. Seth Altshuler] is so positive,” he said. He feels that he has connected to Mr. Altshuler on more of a personal level, and that he is more of a friend to him than a coach.

“He’s an inspiration to me and I feel that I can go to him for anything,” Seria said.

Transferring schools can make it difficult to branch out and make new friends but Seria feels that he has been able to connect with others easily due to Mr. Altshuler’s help and the team chemistry being so strong. “The chemistry we have has really helped us [to perform well]”, he said.

Seria said that every player on the La Salle team is stronger and provides for the team in a more efficient way than at his former school. 

Ever since middle school, Seria has dreamed of playing at the collegiate or professional level of soccer. He has the University of Washington in mind for college, but is planning to keep his options open. Seria’s parents inspire him to push his limits and to work through any challenges that come his way.  

Outside of soccer, Seria enjoys going to the mountain to snowboard. “Other than that it’s just soccer 24/7,” he said. 

Seria has played soccer in many conditions ranging from the hot sand in Hawaii to the dewy turf in Oregon. When Seria lived in Oahu when he was younger, the weather was significantly more hot and humid compared to living in Oregon with “the cold, the rain and the wind,” he said.

Seria gives advice to aspiring student athletes to “work hard and [to] know you can do anything you put your mind to,” he said. “You’ve just got to stick with it.”