Soccer is a way of life for Steven Hernandez, who grew up in a soccer-playing family and now stars for Port Chester High School’s soccer team. “I’ve been playing soccer since I was 6 or 7 years old,” the sophomore striker says. “I come from a family that just was born to play soccer.”
After playing most of his eighth-grade season on Port Chester’s junior varsity team, Hernandez was pulled up to varsity for its postseason run, which ended in a Section 1 championship-game appearance.
Hernandez then burst onto the Westchester scene as a freshman, guiding the Rams to the Class A state championship game. “I knew that everybody was counting on our offensive line to put the game away as quick as we could, and, during the postseason, that’s what I tried to do,” says Hernandez, who scored seven goals during that playoff run.
Hernandez was an all-section pick in Section 1 this past fall, when he led the Rams to the section quarterfinals, despite the team moving up to Class AA.
Hernandez also plays on a club team for Eastern Soccer that finished third at nationals in Denver last summer. He plays indoors during the winter and travels to tournaments throughout the summer, improving his game and preparing for the next level.
Hernandez wants to play major college soccer, but first there’s unfinished business at Port Chester in the fall. “We’re hoping to get back there [to the state finals] and win it all,” he says.
