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“It’s a pleasure to watch Mercedez on the field. She is very talented and has a lot of potential,” said Granite’s athletic director, Gary Stoddard.

Steidley is a junior at Granite and finds her inspiration from a famous soccer player, Mia Hamm.

“Mia Hamm is like the Michael Jordan of soccer. She made soccer what it is today,” said Steidley.

Steidley gains much value from soccer.

“It teaches you good sportsmanship; you learn how to make friends. You also learn how to communicate better. I made a lot of friends at soccer camps I would go to,” said Steidley.

Steidley also sees challenges while playing soccer, such as playing with people who are new to the game.

"It's just difficult playing with people who don't know as much as more experienced players. Teaching new techniques can be hard at times," said Steidley.

Senior Megan Anguiano sees that Mercedez has a lot of potential on the field.

“It's my first year playing with Mercedez, but I've seen her potential from the very beginning. She has a great energy on the field. She takes it serious but she's very fun to play with," said Anguiano.

Steidley is on the verge of breaking Granite’s record of most scored goals in a season, which is twenty-nine goals. She has twenty-three goals as of Jan. 26.

“I want her to break that record. Records are made to be broken, plain and simple,” said Stoddard.

Her preparation to break this record is just the same as it would be for any other game. She practices hard every day to reach her goals.

"I'm just practicing, getting better as the season goes on, nothing different," said Steidley.

Steidley is hoping to play college soccer after she graduates.

"I'm not really sure what college I want to go to, I just know that I want to play somewhere by the beach," said Steidley.