Soccer: Aurora team gives local players a chance to continue career

NORTH AURORA – College soccer is usually the end of the line for athletes looking to play at an advanced level, but a team out of Aurora has changed that for a handful of local players.

The Aurora Borealis Soccer Club began play in the Premier League of America earlier this year. So for guys like Colby Newquist – a 2007 graduate of Sycamore – he went from playing in recreational leagues to a semi-pro league under a Chicago Fire Hall of Famer, C.J. Brown.

"It's been unlike anything I've ever experienced in my entire life," Newquist said. "I've played a lot of different places, had a lot of different coaches, but nothing like this. It's above and beyond what I think most people will experience in their life."

Newquist isn't the only local player on the club. Anthony Parra, a 2009 graduate of Genoa-Kingston, and Sergio Noriega, a 2009 graduate of Rochelle who now lives in DeKalb, are also on the roster.

The team is 2-7-1 this year heading into its final two games of the year. Borealis plays its home games at Mooseheart High School. Newquist said most of the games have been close, and their lopsided record hasn't put a damper on the experience – including playing for Brown, who played 13 years with the Fire, starting most of that time.

"We thought he'd be extremely intense and on everybody's [butt], and that's the impression most people [had] when we came into it," Newquist said. "But he's incredibly laid back, intelligent, jokes around. He takes it seriously, obviously, but he has a great relationship with everyone. ... He's a great coach and he knows so much about the game. Not just the tactical but the huge mental side of the game, which we never really got in college."

The league is in its second year, while Borealis is in its inaugural season. Team Vice President and Director of Operations Gibran Rodriguez said there are plans to expand the league next year beyond it's current borders. It has teams in Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Parra, Newquist and Noriega all went through a tryout process and ended up on the roster of the amateur team – although some teams in the league do pay their players. Parra played at Kishwaukee College and Aurora College after high school – in fact, Parra, Newquist and Noriega all played for the Kougars before the school discontinued its soccer program.

"Being able to do that with these guys, and being able to travel instead of by car by coach bus, to have everything paid for at hotels when we need them – it's a very, very cool experience," Noriega said. "It's something to just enjoy and be blessed for being able to have the experience."

Parra, who missed more than half of the season with a hamstring injury, said the competition level was stiffer than he imagined it would be. Newquist, who played at Northern Illinois and Aurora after Kishwaukee, agreed.

"It's been a fantastic experience," Newquist said. "A lot of people don't even get a chance to play in college, that's usually where it stops and then you play in Friday night leagues. But to go on to play semi-professional, especially coming from such a small town. Most of the guys come from your Napervilles, your Neuqua Valleys. But to come from Sycamore, DeKalb or Rochelle has been amazing."