It might be the best kept secret in the competitive world of Hudson County high school soccer. It’s hard to hide someone who has scored an astounding total of 25 goals in just eight games, well on her way to achieving the unthinkable, namely the 100-goal milestone, which would be the first in Hudson Catholic history.
Her name is Xochilt Turijan. Yes, that IS spelled correctly, at least the first name is.
The name is pronounced ZO-CHEELT. Right, just like it’s spelled.
“It means some type of flower in Mexico,” said Turijan, the junior on the Hawks that is causing quite a stir. “It’s really funny when people try to pronounce it. If there’s a new teacher in school, there’s a long pause when doing attendance and the teacher is struggling to say it. I just yell out, ‘That’s me.’ I like my name.”
Hudson Catholic head girls’ soccer coach Victor Pesantez didn’t think much of Turijan when he first was introduced to her during the first days of her freshman year.
“To be honest with you, I thought she was built like a cannon ball,” Pesantez said. “That was my first impression.”
But obviously, that opinion changed – and in a hurry.
“Once you see her play, you see that she’s a player,” Pesantez said. “She kicks the ball sometimes and it feels like it was shot out of a cannon.”
Back to the name game. Turijan said that her parents’ friend’s daughter about the name that was given to their little girl.
“I know her parents,” Turijan said.
Incredibly, Turijan initially went to Hudson Catholic to play basketball. Now as a junior, Turijan said that she plans on playing hoops this winter.
In the past, Turijan has also competed for the Hawks during indoor and outdoor track seasons.
“It helped my stamina,” Turijan said. “It got me ready.”
But there’s no denying Turijan’s immense talent as a soccer player. She scored an amazing seven goals in the Hawks’ win over Memorial Oct. 3. For good measure, she recorded the assists for the Hawks’ other goals in the 9-0 win.
Turijan had four goals and three assists in a win over Dickinson and in her best performance to date, she scored an incredible five goals in a lopsided win over Ferris.
Last Wednesday, Turijan scored all three of her team’s goals in a crucial 3-1 win over St. Dominic Academy
“She’s just great,” Pesantez said. “She’s just an excellent ball handler. From our point of view, our defense is pretty solid, so we’re able to put another player in the midfield. It definitely helped Xochilt.”
With that, Pesantez put the idea in Turijan’s head about going after the impressive achievement.
“She scored 23 goals as a freshman and had 18 last year,” Pesantez said. “She could get to 100. I told her that. I told her that I wanted her to be the first one to get to 100 at Hudson Catholic. I knew she could turn it up a notch.”
Well, Turijan has done exactly that, surpassing her single-season best. She’s had good help from her younger sister. Sophomore Jazmine Turijan is the Hawks’ center back and she’s scored two goals thus far.
Xochilt continues to be an extremely diversified athlete. She said she plans to return to the basketball court this winter. She is also an excellent sprinter in the spring, competing in the 100, 200 and 400-meter dashes in the 2019 season. She didn’t get a chance to compete last spring because of the coronavirus, but she remains hopeful to compete this spring.
“I remember looking up in the gym and saying that I wanted to put my name up there,” Turijan said. “Going back, I didn’t know if it was possible. Now, I look up there and say, ‘This is what I did?’ It’s pretty cool.”
And Turijan also will play travel soccer this spring – hopefully – for the Bayonne Lightning. Needless to say, she’s remarkably busy. Or better yet, she’s just remarkable.
One last thing: Turijan has that lofty goal milestone in reach. Right now, she’s standing at 66 goals, 34 away from the plateau. It’s going to be hard to reach, but no one is going to deny the girl with the funny first name, but whose name is gaining more attention and respect every single day.
“I just kept scoring,” Turijan said. “I really didn’t think much of it early on. But now, I just like to keep scoring. Once my coach [Pesantez] told me I had a chance to get it, so I’m going for it.”
Turijan also has strong faith in a higher power.
“I’m very religious,” Turijan said. “God gave me the gifts to be a good athlete. I’m very grateful to be able to do what I can. I’m a pretty good student and I want to go to college.”
Turijan is currently taking honors classes and receiving First Honors for her performance in the classroom.
Both Turijan and Pesantez believe that she can be a major college prospect.
“I want to play soccer in college,” Turijan said. “I want to experience that. I want to do that for my parents. Right now, they have to pay for it. But they would be so proud of me if I got a scholarship.”
“She’s definitely a [NCAA] Division I quality player,” Pesantez said. “She’s that kind of player.”
And how does the coach address his star player?
“I call her X every once in a while,” Pesantez said. “It’s easier. And she doesn’t mind it.”
Looks like there isn’t much that fazes the impressive young lady. That is, unless she’s scoring goals in bunches.
Jim Hague can be reached via e-mail at OGSMAR@aol.com. You can also read Jim’s blog at www.jimhaguesports.blogspot.com, follow Jim on Twitter @ogsmar and listen to the Hudson County Sports Podcast, brought to you weekly by Stan’s Sports Center, 528 Washington Street in Hoboken, on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Listen to this week’s guest, namely Hudson Catholic athletic director and head boys’ basketball coach Nick Mariniello.
