Varsity soccer players Lizzie Choi (‘26) and Gen Dauphin (‘26) have shared the pitch for almost five years, enduring morning practices together, celebrating and commiserating over wins and losses together, and witnessing each other grow as both players, and people.

Next year, they’ll continue this shared journey at NCAA Division 1 California Baptist University (CBU) in Riverside. 

The teammates, who met on Brea Junior High’s soccer team and played varsity soccer for the Wildcats for four years, have reached D1 after years of discipline, persistence, and friendship.

For Choi, the journey began when her older brother, Matthew Choi (‘25), kept returning home from his recreational games with goodie bags. The six-year-old Choi, interested in the game, but also the treats, thus began her soccer career.

“I joined soccer, and then I got my snack bags,” Choi laughed.

BOHS’s starting forward and the team’s leading scorer during her junior season, Choi has spent her high school years intent on earning a D1 soccer scholarship. 

“Freshman year, I started getting serious,” Choi said. “I started working harder, training harder, eating better…[forming] better habits.” 

Choi’s dedication earned her a position on the Under 17 (U17) Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) team — one of the highest levels of youth soccer competition in the country — of her soccer club, Slammers FC. 

However, with Choi’s drive for improvement came challenges, including switching between club teams, changing positions, and enduring injuries.

The senior has played for a total of six clubs over the past 12 years — from the recreational AC Brea that many BOHS players started their soccer careers at, all the way to the elite ECNL team. 

“I’ve been on so many different teams,” Choi said. “I’ve moved up a level with each team, and it’s been hard to adjust to different playing styles and coaches.”

Choi’s adaptability to those changes, and the versatility of her game, is evidenced by Choi switching positions from the Wildcats’ defensive center midfielder to a goal-scoring forward for the team. 

Like Choi, starting goalkeeper Dauphin was influenced to start the sport by relatives. The goalie comes from a “soccer family,” according to Dauphin, with siblings John, Julianna, and Jackson (’28) all currently, or formerly, participating in the sport.

Dauphin’s older siblings, John and Julianna, were both varsity players at Valencia High School in Placentia, with John going on to play NCAA Division 3 soccer at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Massachusetts. Gen’s younger brother, Jackson, plays for the Irvine-based club Strikers FC.

Dauphin, now a goalie on Legends FC’s ECNL team, has been devoted to soccer since she was four years old. 

“Soccer just stuck with me,” Dauphin said. 

Dauphin’s interest in competing at the college level began her freshman year when she leaned fully into the recruitment process — showcasing her skills at games, talking to scouts, posting her stats online.

Since signing with a D1 program, however, Dauphin’s aspirations are even higher: to “go pro.” 

“I will definitely be continuing to play soccer” after college, Dauphin said.

But beyond the competition — and career potential — of high-level soccer, Dauphin finds solace in the community and the friends that the sport brings her.

For the goalie, who has struggled in the past with confidence on the field and “believing in [her] ability,” Dauphin’s teammates, coaches, and soccer “family” are what have motivated her and convinced her to believe in herself and her abilities on the pitch. 

While both athletes have faced myriad challenges, years of club play and personal growth have resulted in soccer success.

During their four years as varsity Wildcats, the seniors have received many accolades, including earning First Team All-North Hills League during the ‘24-’25 season. 

Girls’ varsity soccer head coach Mike Knaus (‘86) attests to Choi’s and Dauphin’s dedication and leadership. The veteran coach, in his 37th year coaching the program, has watched their growth firsthand, from quiet and tentative players as ninth graders, to vocal leaders and D1-caliber players as seniors. 

“As freshmen, they were just good players with a ton of potential,” Knaus said. “[Now] they have matured into young women capable of leading a program.” 

Dauphin and Choi are ready to begin a new chapter of their soccer careers at CBU as teammates once again. 

“I’m really glad to be able to play with Lizzie for another few years,” Dauphin said. “Having someone that I already know who’s going to be at the same school and on the same team is a reassurance.” 

Preparing for their first year of college, both athletes’ main goal is to earn playing time on the field for a squad that competes against some of the top teams in the nation as part of the Big West Conference. Currently 10-9-4 on the season, Dauphin hopes that with her and Choi’s arrival, the CBU will make it to the NCAA College Cup.

Both student-athletes are also looking forward to CBU’s academics and community.

“It’s a very good school from my major, so I think I’ll grow a lot from it on the field and off,” Dauphin, who will major in finance, said.

For Choi, a kinesiology major, CBU’s additional appeal is its “Christian, God-centered campus.” 

But first, Dauphin and Choi are focused on leading the Wildcats to the post-season. 

With their final season of high school soccer winding down, Dauphin is focused on “finishing senior season well.” 

The team, 13-6-6 overall will compete in the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section (CIF-SS) championship for the first time since 2023. 

Much of that success can be attributed to the leadership and consistency of the program’s veterans and seniors, including Choi and Dauphin.

Of his four-year varsity starters, Knaus said, “I am very proud of them [and] excited to watch them play at the next level at CBU.”