HERMISTON — When Lindsey Pasena-Littlesky was in the first grade, she wanted to be president of the United States when she grew up.

In the fifth grade, she wanted to be a lawyer. That still is her ambition, but for now, she will embrace her new job as starting goalkeeper on the Hermiston girls soccer team.

“I made a decision to go to Hermiston because of all the academics and the Pathways program to help my career,” said Pasena-Littlesky, who has a 3.8 GPA. “They have a business one and I was able to get more (Advanced Placement) classes than I had at Pendleton.”

Pasena-Littlesky and her family moved to Hermiston during the summer, and the position on the soccer team was a bonus.

“The environment is different,” Pasena-Littlesky said of the Hermiston program. “It’s way more competitive. We train a lot harder, we work harder. We push each other. I really love it. I am working harder than I ever have.”

Hermiston soccer coach Freddy Guizar was excited to welcome Pasena-Littlesky to the program. She was the Intermountain Conference goalie of the year as a sophomore and a junior at Pendleton.

“She is a good leader, it’s just natural for her,” Guizar said. “She was a captain for Pendleton last year on a young team. She is one of those girls who is willing to carry her team on her back. She is willing to sacrifice to help our team out. I am super excited to have her this year.”

Though Pasena-Littlesky has only been with the Bulldogs a short time, she said she feels welcome.

“I love the team,” she said. “Since I met them, they have treated me like family. Playing together is like a whole different experience. Freddy sees what we don’t see in ourselves. He pushes us. The first day of tryouts, we ran 3 miles. I’ve never done that. Freddy was a goalie himself and I have learned a lot from him.”

Pasena-Littlesky also is making history with the Bulldogs.

“She is native playing in a minority school,” Guizar said. “She is the first native we have had playing goalie at our school.”

Pasena-Littlesky’s mom is from the Hopi Tribe in Pueblo, New Mexico, while her dad is part of the Ogala Lakota Nation in South Dakota.

An athlete for all seasons

Pasena-Littlesky has been playing soccer since she was in the first grade. She also plays basketball and was one of the Bucks’ top golfers.

At nearly 5-foot-10, she will be an asset to the girls basketball program, and her reach makes her an asset in goal.

“Caitlin Anderholm was our goalie last year, but she wanted to play defense,” Guizar said. “She is a natural defender. When we lost Lanie Gomez, Caitlin ended up our goalie her junior year, but her passion was to play defense. We lost three defenders from last year. To be able to rotate my defense and not worry about who is in goal is nice. It was a win-win for us.”

Pasena-Littlesky was a defender until her freshman year in high school.

“One of the JV goalies got hurt and I played to fill the position,” she said. “I just stayed there.”

Guizar got a good look at Pasena-Littlesky last year when the Bulldogs played the Bucks in a pair of nonleague matches. Hermiston won 7-0 and 2-0.

“When we beat them 2-0, she stopped almost everything we sent her way,” Guizar said. “I was impressed.”

Over the summer, Pasena-Littlesky played on the Hermiston club team. Guizar was able to watch her play, but he had to wait for her transfer to be approved before he could talk to her.

Then came the discussion about IMC soccer versus the Mid-Columbia Conference.

“It was a wakeup call,” Guizar said. “We told her it was the hardest thing she was going to face. She looked at us and said we were really good. She didn’t get how serious we really were. We are playing the toughest teams you will face. You have to give everything every game.”

She got her first dose of the MCC on Saturday, Sept. 4, in a 1-0 loss to Hanford.

“In the first half it was 0-0,” Guizar said. “She said it was harder than she thought. I messaged her after the game. She felt she let us down. I let her know she didn’t.”

Pasena-Littlesky also has found her way into Emilee Strot’s girls weightlifting class at school.

“I’ve never done weights before,” she said. “I like it. I like the environment. You have to push yourself.”

It’s all part of the Hermiston experience.

“In every Hermiston program, we aren’t just here to build a good team, but we are building a culture and a family,” Guizar said.