IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine women's soccer completes Captains Week with the third of three captains heading into the 2020 season in fourth-year midfielder, Sara Young.

"I wasn't really thinking I could be captain, it wasn't on my radar. I kind of just do my own thing and try to be the best person I can be," noted the senior midfielder. "When coach said a lot of people say you exemplify good leadership and are a great person to follow in your footsteps, I was like that's way too kind of everyone, I don't know if I'd say that myself, but I'm glad some others can see that."

The final piece of the captain trio added her unassuming thoughts to the matter, but she has been captain in the past. "I was captain of my high school soccer team for my senior year. I don't really know how I became that, I just remember that I was one of the more committed players." Young was committed to playing and winning and reaching championships on that squad and earned some leadership skills, but she's taken most of her lessons from prior UCI captains.

"i'd say Aleah Kelley, Grayson Galbraith, Jess Miclat, those were the captains during my time here and I've learned so much from them and their maturity, they knew how to get the job done and keep everyone on board. It's hard to reach out to everyone and really be there for every single woman, but they did and I want to be a captain like they were."

Sara's resume on the field may not be as robust as the prior captains were, but she's contributed in each of her three seasons including registering three-quarters of her career minutes as a junior in 2019 on top of her first two career starts in the midfield. But none of that is standing in Sara's way.

"I don't think its weird that someone who doesn't play a lot is captain, but I do think there is that nuance there. Only 11 people can start out of the 30-plus girls on the roster, the majority don't play huge minutes, so having two captains that haven't played as much to this point, it gave us a better chance to reach the entire team and be there for everyone regardless of minutes."

All three captains, much like their teammates, are determined and hungry to keep working at it to keep earning minutes. Head Coach Scott Juniper sees that and has seen that making it a huge key in how he and the squad find their captains.

"Sara is very well respected among our players. She is wired to live her life with a mindset of continual growth. She is an effective communicator and is able to keep our team organized and on top of their responsibilities, big and small. Sara and I often talk about how the team is doing, how they are feeling and she helps me understand where I need to add clarity or explanations for whatever we are dealing with at the time or what might be heading our way in the future."

Sara Young's college experience overall has been well-organized much like her program mindset. The business economics major has always been in tune with math and economics. "I really enjoy learning about how the economy works in the sense that I can see the market and how its all interconnected. Especially in times like these, you think maybe I should start saving more." She's paired that with a management minor, and has created a flexibility in her studies allowing her to navigate an uncertain season like this. "During these times, I have to go with the flow. You can't really plan anything out. But I'm super fortunate to be where I'm at."

The first act under her captaincy along with fellow captains Lauren McKimmey and Alex Jaquez is acclimating the freshman class. "The freshmen never got to come onto campus and do their official visit. I remember how fun going to mine was and I really enjoyed that experience getting to know the team, it made the whole process so much sweeter because it is a hard process. I felt bad that the freshmen never go to experience that so we're organizing groups of returners and freshmen to get to know them." Young knows this process can be intimidating, and its just as important to get to know everyone as it is to actually train on the field.

"We need to keep everyone on the bus, like coach always talks about riding the bus or staying on the boat, keeping everyone on the boat and motivated, determined, pushing forward. It's going to be a challenge especially when we're not on campus, but a challenge we're up to."