Senior Julia Hoesly started playing soccer at five years old, and despite attempting volleyball and basketball in middle school, she always found herself drawn to the soccer field.

“It had always been soccer,” Hoesly said.

Now, Hoesly is committed to play Division I soccer at Oregon State University (OSU), joining the Falconer’s Next Level Seniors, a series which profiles athletes who have committed to play their sports at the collegiate level.

“I always wanted to be the best, so I wanted to keep playing,” she said. “That’s just kind of stayed with me as I’ve grown up.”

Her parents started her in the sport when she was young, and since then, Hoesly has developed the extracurricular into a commitment and a passion. As a kid, she said she was more excited than others about the sport, with a goal to always take it seriously.

Starting off playing for Clackamas United, then moving to the Eastside Thorns when she was 10, she has consistently participated in club soccer.

Now, Hoesly plays for Oregon Surf as an attacking midfielder and has been on the varsity girls soccer team all four years at La Salle.

Hoesly said her experience playing club has set her up in order to try to reach the collegiate level, a process which began early in freshman year.

“That’s when we start the recruiting process, so we start reaching out to coaches,” Hoesly said. “It was kind of always a real thing, because it’s what I was working towards.”

Although the idea of committing to collegiate soccer has always been something Hoesly had her eye on, it didn’t become fully real to her until she went to OSU’s ID camps around the start of senior year. The camps consist of many girls who register and all come together to play at the field. She said the purpose of this is to play in front of the coaches and attempt to stand out.

“After I went to the first one, I just really loved the environment,” she said. “I loved all the girls. I thought that they had a really nice team dynamic, and that really interested me.”

At the campus, she found that playing with confidence is what brought her the most success. This became more apparent to her during the second ID camp, which she viewed as a last chance to prove herself to the coaches. 

Similarly to the experience at OSU’s ID camps, Hoesly has appreciated the community she found on the team at La Salle. She appreciates all of the other seniors that she has played with throughout her career and their guidance.

“I feel like there’s a lot more really tight-knitted friendships that form throughout high school,” she said.

This year, La Salle’s team brought on a new coach, and Hoesly mentioned she has struggled to adapt to the change in the team’s dynamic. 

“It taught me how to overcome obstacles,” she said. “It kind of taught me that I need to trust in myself and not listen to outside criticism.”

Although she finds confidence to bring her success, she said self-assurance has been her biggest roadblock.

“I’ve struggled with inconsistency a lot,” she said. “One day I’ll be super confident at practice, and then the next time not.”

Regardless, Hoesly is grateful for her team and explained that the girls were a vital component of her last season. With all the challenges that came with her last season, having a team community allowed her to stay focused on their dynamic and relationships.

“I obviously still have fun with all the girls,” she said. “That’s the most important part.”

As she was one of only three freshman on the varsity team her freshman year, she said she is thankful for the support and structure the previous senior girls provided with their ability to have time to “goof off” and to stay focused

Hoesly mentioned multiple seniors, such as Maia Gutmann ’23, Sydney Spotts ‘24, and Brooke Wilkinson ‘25. Gutman wore the number 10 during Hoesly’s freshman year and inspired her to take on the number moving forward.

“They did a really good job of balancing when it needed to be serious and when we could have fun,” she said.

Another inspiration Hoesly has is her parents, who motivate her through their sacrifices that allow her to play the sport.

“I always have to remember that my parents are sacrificing a lot for me to be able to play,” she said. “Just being on the team alone is really expensive, and then I’m also traveling all the time.”

Hoesly has traveled to states such as Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas for games and tournaments with Oregon Surf. 

As a result of trying to balance school and her soccer schedules, Hoesly finds herself struggling with procrastination. This is exacerbated by the fact that the majority of her club practices are in Beaverton, so she spends a lot of time commuting from her home in Canby. Hoesly said both are the main reasons she puts her homework off. 

She hopes that in her journey to college she can develop new habits to avoid this. 

Hoesly said she wants to “develop a super good mindset going in and really figure out my priorities and stuff, so that way I don’t get caught slacking.”

She switched majors recently and decided on biology, hoping to start a career in the medical field.

According to Hoesly, she is excited about the facilities and the community OSU has to offer. She also expressed interest in the larger campus, giving her more opportunities to branch out at a bigger university.

Her advice to incoming freshmen and all those interested in soccer is to be confident in both skill and in judgement on the field.

“At the end of the day, only you know what you’re capable of,” she said. “You know how you play and what you’re like as a player, so don’t listen to outside voices.”