Hesperia's Kristen Malen and Sultana's Erica Chisholm made commitments to the University of Louisiana and Fresno State, respectively. Malen's scholarship is a full ride while Chisholm needs only to pay for room and board.

"I'm excited," Malen said. "I've worked so hard to get somewhere in soccer.

"I've been sending out letters since last year. My (club) coach knows the coach at Louisiana. He came to the Harvest Cup over Thanksgiving. We won the tournament and they invited me out on a visit."

When Malen began her soccer career, her first coach was Victor Valley's Walid Jomaa. She credits Jomaa with instilling her enthusiasm for soccer.

"He was my first coach," Malen said. "He put the passion for soccer in me. Without him, I would have never gone anywhere in soccer."

Malen and Chisholm are just the latest in the line of girls soccer players getting scholarships.

Last year it was Kaela Kelly going to the University of Mississippi. Victor Valley's Raquel White has yet to commit but should receive a scholarship soon and Apple Valley's Lindsey Jordan committed to UC Riverside.

"We want to show everybody that we're not bad players," Malen said. "We can compete with any of those girls down there. It's exploding up here."

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