The UW-Whitewater Women’s Soccer team has had a rough start to the season. When in a time of hardship sometimes the best thing to do is look to those in the program who can keep things lighthearted and fun. Goalkeeper Emma Hager, a senior marketing major from Arlington Heights, Illinois, is one of those people who the team can look to. 

Q: How did you first get into playing soccer?

A: When I was around 2 years old, my dad decided to put me into soccer because he played soccer when he was younger. I think he thinks that 2 years old is a little too young to start playing soccer. I was like, putting cones on my head and not really listening, but started when I was 2 and I guess it just stuck. 

Q: Is there any specific reason why you chose to play goalie out of all the other positions?

A: I played basketball growing up and when you’re younger, they usually just rotate everyone into play goalie. But since I played basketball, I was pretty good with my hands. And I remember, I was around 11 or 12 when I had a really good game, and it just kind of stuck from that point on.

Q: What made you want to play at Whitewater?

A: There are a lot of reasons that I wanted to come to Whitewater. It’s only about an hour and a half away from my house, so I knew that my parents would be able to come up to games. I was given the opportunity to play soccer here, Whitewater’s sports teams are just amazing and it’s a great atmosphere to be in. And I knew I wanted to go into business and obviously we have one of the best business schools in the state of Wisconsin. 

Q: What has been your favorite memory here at Whitewater?

A: I think my favorite memory was our team trip to Texas. It was the first time traveling as a team on the plane. We had a day off. We had a day off and we got to go to the zoo in Texas and that was really fun team bonding.

Q: What are some goals you have for yourself and how do you plan to achieve those goals?
A: As a senior, I hope to just be a leader, both on the field, and off the field show the players what it takes to succeed in this program and in school. And I’m just looking forward to doing that by just talking with the freshmen, you know, making sure they’re acclimating while at school and soccer, and just keeping that team environment going.

Q: Do you have any pregame superstitions?

A: I’m not the superstitious type, but the rest of my team is. We do one thing before the game, and if we do really well, we have to do it every other game. One thing we do every time in the locker room is a little dance party, everyone has to do a little dance, so that’s fun.

Hager hopes to continue being a leader for her team, and that their luck on the field will start to improve. The next home game is on Sept. 20 against Carthage, where they will try to build off their past two victories.