NATIONAL SIGNING DAY: Three Westside soccer players sign

Tyler Siegel and Sam Frankel|February 10, 2014

Below are two of the three Westside soccer players who signed to play college soccer on National Signing Day. We will have a Q & A with the other signee, Quinn Nelson, later this week. To find out who signed for football click here, and to find out who signed for baseball click here.

Senior soccer player Summer Khalil dribbles the ball during the Westside girls soccer team's game against Millard West in the first round of the state tournament last year, when Khalil was a junior. Khalil is going Division I for soccer.
Senior soccer player Summer Khalil dribbles the ball during the Westside girls soccer team’s game against Millard West in the first round of the state tournament last year, when Khalil was a junior. Khalil is going Division I for soccer. Photo courtesy of Summer Khalil

Summer Khalil

College: Creighton (Division I)

Sport: Soccer

How did you pick soccer?

“I’ve always played soccer, since I was little. I’ve played other sports, but I didn’t enjoy going to practices, but soccer I always enjoy practicing and doing drills. And my dad played soccer, so that’s a big part of that.”

What led you to Creighton?

“I’ve always liked watching Creighton basketball, and it’s a local school. It’s pretty popular so I’ve always had an interest in playing there, so I knew I wanted to play Division I soccer. There were other schools, [but] I guess Creighton, it was mostly because the coaches were really nice and they were helpful. Other coaches, at the other schools I was looking at, their coaches were kind of awkward. Coaches are a main reason why.”

What are you most excited about for next year?

“Probably just having the team atmosphere, like being involved with the team a lot and Creighton athletics — getting to meet a lot of people. Just probably being really close — having like a team where all of my friends will be on my team.”

How do you plan to balance academics with athletics?

“[Athletes] have their own study hall, and we have to be in there ten hours a week, so that’s mandatory, so that’s a good way to keep my grades up, plus we get our own tutors assigned to us to make sure our grades stay up so we’re eligible to play. It might be kind of difficult because we are going to have to travel to the East Coast a lot, so we’ll have to leave on Wednesday [or] Thursday and come back around late Sunday night. It might be kind of hard with art, but I’ll figure it out.”

How much do you expect to play in the upcoming years?

“I’m hoping to start and play a lot.”

Daniel Shonka

Senior Daniel Shonka will be attending Hastings next year off a soccer scholarship.
Senior Daniel Shonka will be attending Hastings next year on a soccer scholarship. Photo by Tyler Siegel

College: Hastings (NAIA)

Sport: Soccer

How did you pick soccer?

“I played select [soccer] when I was younger. Soccer was always more serious [than the other sports I played]. Growing up I liked basketball just as much as I liked soccer, but then eventually I started leaning more and more towards soccer, and it kind of stuck with me.”

What led you to Hastings?

“I found about Hastings through friends that go there from Grand Island.”

What are you most excited about for next year?

“The experience and playing games in college. I reached one of my goals, so I am just living it now.”

How do you plan to balance academics with athletics?

“Since the season is in the fall, I have a lighter class load [then] so I can focus more on soccer. Then we will take more classes second semester to make up for the lost time.”

How much do you expect to play in the upcoming years?

“I am looking to get a decent amount of minutes. Hopefully if I can work hard, I can earn the minutes I want.”

Quinn Nelson

 Sport: Soccer

College: University of Nebraska-Omaha (Division I)

How did you pick soccer?

“I wanted to play Men’s Soccer in college since I was an underclassman at Westside.”

What led you to UNO?

“The recruiting process for me was very unique. I was recruited by schools from all levels, Division 1, Division 2, Division 3 and NAIA, and from schools across the nation.  My college recruiting process was difficult and fun at the same time.  In the end, I narrowed my decision down to three schools: UNO, Point Loma (San Diego) and Washington Univ. in St. Louis, each with different scholarship offers.  I was drawn to UNO by the athletics and academics.  Coach Mims will graduate his starting goalkeeper this spring, so I would like to come in and compete for a starting spot.  So the opportunity of competing for a starting spot attracted me.”

What are you most excited about for next year?

“I am most excited to play Division 1 soccer in college, and study in the Peter Kiewitt Institute.”

How do you plan to balance athletics and academics?

“I plan on doing just that, balancing my athletics and academics.  The Men’s Soccer program at UNO has high academic requirements for study hall and a brand new student-athlete center geared towards helping student-athletes with their classes.”

How much do you expect to play in the  upcoming years?

“I am unsure about any playing time.  My playing time depends on my performance in preseason and in practice.  I may end up taking my athletic red-shirt during my freshman year if I am not in the top 2 for goalkeepers.  So, I can save a year where I am athletically eligible. UNO will graduate their starting goalkeeper this year.  Theoretically, I could be competing for a starting spot, but I don’t know what the other goalkeepers are like, so I will see what will happen when I am on campus training with the team.”