Twenty-five year old Britt Eckerstrom has had quite an impressive last few months. In her second year with the Portland Thorns FC of the NWSL, the Penn State alum and Maryland native was called on to serve as the starting goalkeeper of a club that currently sits in fourth place on the NWSL table. Though she says she is still learning as she goes, she’s become a commanding presence behind a very talented back line. The passion that I heard in her voice when she talked about the Thorns and the city of Portland was just another indicator of how she gives her all for everything she does. I talked to Eckerstorm this week about her journey to Portland and what it’s been like to be a professional thus far.
Hannah Kronick: To kick things off, when did you first start playing soccer? How did you get into the sport originally?
Britt Eckerstrom: It’s probably how most people get into it–you’ve got a lot of energy and your parents are just looking to sign you up for pretty much anything. So that’s how it went. When I was six, I signed up for soccer. I was also in karate, basketball, swim team…see, lots of energy as a kid. My parents put me into it and I loved it. I always came back to that being the one thing I always wanted to do every year and every season.
HK: When did you start to get serious about soccer?
BE: It was probably pretty late actually. In high school, I started going to ODP…
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