Rosemont Soccer Player Headed to Portland

A soccer player is an idol to several people, and she didn't even know it.

"There are all these little kids in the soccer leagues who look up to you and want to be just like you," Rosemont High School Principal Leise Martinez told soccer forward Devlyn Jeter Friday.

Jeter, a senior who lives in Elk Grove and also plays for the FC Elk Grove league in that city, signed a letter of intent Friday to attend the University of Portland on a soccer scholarship.

She's . The first, softball player , joked with the small crowd gathered in a Rosemont High School conference room Friday morning that she and Jeter were the best voices in the school's chorus.

Athletic Director Bill Kapp described Jeter, who has been playing soccer since she was 5, as dedicated.

"I just knew she was a special kid," Kapp said, adding that Jeter is a "hard worker in the classroom and a hard worker on the soccer field."

Jeter said one of her favorite Rosemont soccer memories is scoring the winning goal against McClatchy her freshman year–while the team was playing under the lights in the stadium, in the pouring rain.

Jeter said she chose Portland over Stanford–a decision not everyone has agreed with–because soccer is a main attraction at that school.

"It was just a smaller school and women's soccer is like Stanford football there," she said. "It just kinda gave me that home feeling–like home away from home."

Martinez said when a group of students is talking too loudly, Jeter will get them in line, and the soccer star is always more than happy to concede and take second place. Martinez also recalled an emotional Columbine-themed assembly at the school, where Jeter came over and hugged the tearful principal.

"I know she's a talented athlete ... but I think the thing that stands out to me most is her graciousness," Martinez said.