Cate Burns has always loved playing soccer – and even as a kid, winning came first.

“I remember saying actually to my mom when I was younger, watching the varsity girls, that I wanted to win states — and I thought that it would happen either my junior or senior year because I had been playing with those girls for so long and I knew that they were all talented players,” said Burns.

Hard work paid off. Burns and the Spencerport Rangers won states earlier this month. And as you can imagine, it felt pretty good.

“I’ve been a varsity starter for four years and the past two years we fell short at states so I know the group that I’ve been playing with whose been with me since my freshman year, and even the people coming in, knew how much it meant to us,” said Burns.

Burns was a key factor in the win. Starting in goal, she pitched a shutout on Smithtown West. But for Burns, it was all about trying to be the best leader she could be.

“We do a huddle before every game and in that huddle I really like to express how I feel about each game and how I feel about each player and let them know if they let up then I’ll be there to help them,” said Burns.

Cate will look to keep that mindset at the next level. She plans on studying business at Siena where she will also continue her soccer career.

“It really is good to be an athlete in a business world. Athletics really kind of teach you great life skills. Discipline, coachability which translates to being able to change when other things change,” said Burns.

One thing that won’t change – winning that state championship. That’s something that’ll never go away. Congrats to Cate Burns on winning our latest News10NBC Scholar Athlete of the Week.