With 111 total students-athletes playing on the Upper and Middle School teams, soccer is the most played sport at WIS. Starting in Primary School, soccer is one of the most popular activities for WIS students. 

Senior Martin Ferreira-Uribe recalls his first experience with soccer at WIS and fondly remembers the excitement he and his friends felt.

“I remember that when I first got to WIS, we always had recess, and there was a big soccer field that would get me excited to play every day,” Ferreira-Uribe said. “It’s really how I made friends on the field.”

From Pre-K to fifth grade, the student body is separated between the French language program and the Spanish one. Ferreira-Uribe was enrolled in the French program; hence, recess was his only time to interact with his classmates in the Spanish program.

“Most of my friends were kids in the French section,” Ferreira-Uribe said. “We all started the tradition [of playing] kids in the French section against kids in the Spanish section, and that’s how it went on from kindergarten through fifth grade.”

Moving into middle school, the primary kids’ love of the game translated into competitive school play. Starting in sixth grade, students can play for WIS’ Middle School teams in the Potomac Valley Athletic Conference (PVAC) against other schools. 

Middle school boys and girls fight for a position on their respective A teams. In total, WIS has four soccer teams in middle school: both boys and girls have an A and a B team. Middle school serves as an opportunity to hone their skills before matriculating into the upper school years. 

Once students enter WIS Upper School, there are similar opportunities to play soccer competitively. For boys, there is the Junior Varsity (JV) team for intermediate players, and then the Varsity team for WIS’s top boys soccer players. For the girls, depending on the year, there is a Varsity team and sometimes a JV team. This year, there are three soccer teams for WIS high school students: the Boys JV team, the Boys and Girls Varsity teams. 

Playing soccer is not the only aspect of what soccer means to WIS students, but watching it brings another group of people together who do not always play the game themselves: viewers.

There are many leagues and tournaments that avid soccer watchers tune into every season. Most people are familiar with the World Cup tournament, which is played every four years; however, the club season is just as important for many WIS students. 

At this time of year, European soccer’s top five leagues, La Liga (Spain), Ligue 1 (France), Serie A (Italy), Bundesliga (Germany), and the Premier League (England), have been underway for almost two months. Reserved for the top teams from the previous season’s rankings is the coveted spot in European soccer tournaments, the most prestigious being the Champions League. 

Senior Refik Hurcan does not play soccer, but enjoys watching this tournament. For Hurcan, the Champions League Final is comparable to the Super Bowl.

“I think [the Champions League Final] is a bit bigger because the people who watch the Super Bowl are all usually American, while Champions League Final viewers range from Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America,” Hurcan said.

Currently, he is supporting two teams in the Champions League this year, one from his native land and one passed down from his father.

“I support Galatasaray from my home country of Turkey, and I support the English soccer club Liverpool,” Hurcan said. My brother and father are actually Besiktas fans, but my mom and her family support Galatasaray.”

Interestingly enough, it was only until Hurcan moved to Slovenia in 2022 that he became a supporter of Galatasaray, given that it was the only Turkish football club broadcast there. Moreover, he affiliates himself with Liverpool because his dad grew up watching the Reds during Hurcan’s father’s childhood in Ankara, Turkey. 

In addition to the Champions League, Sophomore Pia Vasquez is also currently following the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), which is just about to wrap up the regular season of play. She also watches FC Barcelona, but her preferred team resides in the NWSL.

“[M]y favourite team for the women is probably the Washington Spirit,” Vasquez said. “Washington has a lot of good players, including Trinity Rodman.”

Vasquez prefers watching the NWSL, but forward Alyssa Thompson, the fourth most expensive women’s transfer of all time, just transferred to Chelsea from Angel City FC in the NWSL. Vasquez now plans to watch Thompson play at Chelsea.

Watching and playing soccer are hobbies for many at WIS. Vasquez’s interest in women’s soccer has translated into her outstanding performances for the WIS Girls Varsity team, and so has Ferriera-Uribe’s love of the game. 

Soccer is in the fabric of WIS, and it’s not only playing the sport that makes it such a vital aspect of this school.

With this passion, for the first time since 2016, the WIS Boys Varsity team won the DCSAA state tournament on Sunday, November 9, 2025, defeating the St. John’s Cadets 4-3 in penalties. Instead of the triumphant efforts of Nico Ubide in 2016, this time it was Freshman goalkeeper Connor Walitsky-Oliver, saving major chances on goal and a penalty, leading the way to victory.

By Carter Samuel