You could say Trudy Quidzinski was born to play soccer.
Both parents of the Notre Dame senior played for UW-Green Bay. Dad Erich played from 1984 to 1988 and is inducted in the Phoenix Hall of Fame. Mom Tara played from 1990 to 1992. Her grandpa even played professionally in Germany and in Chicago when he moved to the U.S.
When she first hit the pitch around three years old, one thing kept her coming back.
"The main thing is I loved that there was a goal and that I could finally get somewhere with the ball," said Quidzinski. "And I just love being like competitive, even like as a young girl. I love playing with my teammates, I love being a part of something and I think that’s what really stuck with me through the years."
Quidzinski started for the Tritons as a freshman in 2015. And it only took her two games to find the net for the first time.
"Freshman year was just kind of like my fun year; I got to get out, I got to start, I got to kind of just play," she said. "Sophomore (and) junior year kind of got more intense as I kind of tried to just get stats up, get ready for college coaches and I think that was more pressure sophomore and junior year.
"Now that I’ve committed, I’d say senior year is kind of just like lifted off my shoulders and I can kind of just finish out good and hopefully win state this year."
The Tritons have been to state 10 times in program history, including two of the last three years, but are still hunting for their first gold ball. Falling to Whitefish Bay in the sectional finals last year only intensified the goal of securing the program’s first WIAA title.
"This year it’s just different because we’re so determined that like this is our last year," Quidzinski said. "You could say that the seniors know this is our last year. We want to get it done. We want to lay a foundation for all the juniors, sophomores, freshmen who are going to come onto the team. We just want to leave something there for them."
Quidzinksi has been a big part of that run, scoring 70 goals in her high school career. She owns two 20-20 seasons as a sophomore and junior, finishing last season with 26 goals and 20 assists. After only one game in 2018, she’s racked up three goals and an assist already.
With those kinds of numbers come Division 1 offers, and after considering UW-Green Bay and UW-Milwaukee, Quidzinski signed her letter of intent with Northern Illinois University in February. She’s looking forward to a fresh start more than chasing her parents’ records at UWGB.
“No," she said, laughing. "I think I’ll just make my own."
