This week, the Prep News is highlighting Luke Schuman, a senior who has already been a part of two state-winning teams and goes into his final year as a team leader looking to make history in a conquest for a three-peat. In the team's last three games, Schuman has been unstoppable, leading SLUH this week with 3 goals and 1 assist. A striker reminiscent of his favorite player, Mo Salah, Schuman is a key part of a SLUH soccer team who holds the No. 1 ranking in the STL Best XI coaches poll.

^{Luke Schuman.  photo | Owen Williams}

Henry Hassenstab: What does your warmup look like or do you have any pregame rituals?

Luke Schuman: Before I warm up, I have a game day playlist, got AC/DC in there, some rap, and that helps me just get kind of locked in. When I get to the field, I'm always just focused on the game warm-ups, locked in, trying to just do my best and focus on what I can do to help the team. 

Jack Powers: You've been on the team for three years and you've won two state championships. What's it like going into your final year, being a leader now on a team that could potentially win a third straight state championship?

LS: I mean, it's a great feeling. Just trying to get the culture over to this team that we've had in the past couple years. It can be hard, but in the end, it will make for just a great atmosphere, and I think that our main goal has been to be at our best during district finals and get there, and then see what goes on from there. But I think that being a leader on this team means a lot and can be something really special.

HH: I know you have great team goals for this year. Do you have any personal goals as well for yourself for this year?

LS: My personal goal, it's nothing like awards. It's about trying to get close to everyone, especially the underclassmen. When I was an underclassman I was pretty timid and I think that some of the leaders on those other teams kind of got me and reached out and made me feel like a part of the team. I think that just like getting closer to them, helping, making sure they feel a part of the team, I think that's my biggest goal.

JP: That’s great. Is there someone or something that got you into the sport of soccer?

LS: It was the World Cup in 2018 that was the big get for me. I loved watching Messi and Mbappe. I think that just seeing and always dreaming that one day, hopefully, that could have been me, helped me to keep going and just kind of play hard and have fun.

HH: Do you have a favorite player or someone that is like an idol for you in soccer?

LS: So my favorite team is Liverpool. I love Mo Salah, he's probably my favorite player and I think that we play the same position, so I just watched Liverpool a bunch growing up and just stuck with them.

JP: You said the World Cup is what really got you into the sport of soccer. Is that your favorite sport or favorite sporting event to watch?

LS: My favorite sport to watch has got to be college basketball. St. Louis Billikens, I love watching them. My family’s got season tickets and are just really into it so I love it. You know, this year hopefully we beat Mizzou, even though Mark Mitchell is being annoying about coming back. I think college basketball is all-time, I love March Madness but the World Cup's a close second.

HH:. Can you take us back to that Chaminade game? What was going through your head before, 

during, and after you scored that goal?

LS: Before that goal I immediately thought, what a pass by Gabe. I was waiting for this chance. I knew it was going to come at some point. Coach always talks about quality in the final third. So I knew that this was my time, and I had to finish it. Right after, I was like, "Let's go.” I had to go in front of the Chaminade student section to celebrate but I got steered away a bit. I wanted to knee slide, had a tough knee slide, but it was still fun.

JP:  You talk about being an underclassman and how you looked up to the seniors on the team. What's one thing you wish you could tell your younger self about soccer?

LS: One thing would probably be just trust the process. I mean, obviously, there's games you win, there's games you lose, but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really mean much as long as you just focus on the road ahead and put in 100 percent effort. Focus on getting 1 percent better every day. If I had known that, that would have made me a much better player in person. 

HH: Looking forward, are you going to be holding yourself to this level of play for the rest of your games? 

LS: Yes, I will. I mean, I don't really care if I score or get any assists but I want to put in the effort I've been putting in, which is 100 percent. I want to make sure that everyone is involved and included. I think that this type of play that we have going on right now can always get better. I know that the first couple games can always be rough, and there's lots of learning experiences. But I think that this type of play hopefully can be continued over these next couple of games, and hopefully into districts.

HH: And what's I guess one moment or practice, or game that you're really looking forward to?

LS: One game that I'm really looking forward to would be CBC in the Champions League. They've got a really good team and I went to grade school with some of the kids, played some of the others in CYC and we always had a good rivalry with them. So I think that, especially being in the Champions League, which is a really fun opportunity for us, I think that game should be really fun, and hopefully we get a lot of students out for that.

JP: What’s one thing you want people to know about SLUH and its soccer program?

LS: One thing about SLUH Soccer is that all of our success has come from hard work, grit, and the culture that we have made on the team. Some people just think that “oh, you guys just have all that talent,” but in reality, we put in the work that people don't see behind the scenes.