Michelle and Maya Berndt.
By: Matt Rothman
Months after her older sister Michelle committed to John Hopkins to play college soccer, Maya Berndt officially announced Northeastern University in Boston as her pick.
A junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Maya committed early, saying it was a huge weight lifted off her shoulders and a dream come true.
“Knowing that I will be playing in college has honestly motivated me more to keep improving how I play,” Maya said. “The recruiting process can be very hard, and being able to go through many failures and still making it out on top is very motivating.”
Maya moved from Washington State to Coral Springs when she was one year old. Before Marjory Stoneman Douglas, she attended Coral Springs Charter for middle school. Then in 2018, the family moved to Heron Preserve in Parkland.
According to Maya, she always wanted to attend a Division I private school to get great competition on the field along with high academics.
After establishing communication with the coaching staff, Maya decided on Northeastern.
At five years old, she began playing soccer and participated in rec games for a couple of years. Then, she built her skills playing travel soccer for Coral Springs United. Maya also played for AC Delray before eventually playing for Weston FC, which turned into Florida United.
While Maya is on the same team as Michelle, Maya plays in a different age group.
“We are both very competitive, so she always pushes me to work harder and do more since I want to always do more than her,” Maya added.
While she will still have one more year left before graduating in 2023, she will attend a school that went 9-9-1 in 2021-22 and reached the second round of the CAA conference.
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