It isn’t hard to spot Missouri soccer freshman Candace Johnson on the pitch during a Tuesday morning practice at Walton Stadium. The 5-foot-10 defender, the tallest member on the squad, is looming in the backfield.
In a flash of motion, a teammate rips a shot past a diving McKenzie Sauerwein, the team’s redshirt sophomore goalie.
“That’s it!” a teammate yells from the bench. She scans the field and her eyes fall immediately on Johnson, who, in a bright green jersey and deep blue earrings from Rome, sticks out among the girls.
“What was the score, Candace?” the teammate asks.
“We won the game,” Candace replies, flashing a porcelain smile.
She’s dripping with sweat, which isn’t a surprise. During starting lineups, she walks out to Wiz Khalifa’s “Work Hard, Play Hard.”
The practice victory isn’t a shocker either. A Dallas native, Johnson is starting to look like a genuine star. She attended Ursuline Academy, a small, all-girls Catholic school, where she won four consecutive state soccer championships.
In high school, Johnson played on offense. For her club team and for Missouri, she plays defense. But in her own humble way, she’ll play wherever the team needs her.
“If I get to score or stop a goal, it’s just great either way,” she said after Tuesday’s practice, slightly hunched over on a metal bench.
Johnson quickly became enamored with Missouri after her first visit. She loved the campus, classes and the girls on the team.
“It felt like a place where I wanted to be,” Johnson said.
The love for the school and team didn’t fade during her early days on campus; it fueled her during preseason workouts. She focused on lifting and running and participated in early morning practices with the team.
The hard work paid off. Candace scored the opening goal of the season in her inaugural game as a Tiger to help propel the team to a 5-1 rout over then-No. 14 Memphis.
“It didn’t really hit me until I got back to my dorm,” said Johnson, who played all 90 minutes of that game. “It was just unbelievable. That’s all I could say in my head. I’m speechless still.”
Coach Bryan Blitz said he was impressed with her performance.
“She certainly didn’t play like a freshman today,” Blitz said after the game. “I’m sure she will at times, but today she did not and we’re thankful for that.”
Johnson kept up her level of play against UC Santa Barbara. Her contributions on defense helped silence the Gauchos, 2-0, for the season’s first early shutout.
On Monday, Candace completed another first: she was named Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week, which made her the first athlete at Missouri to capture a league award.
It marked a memorable start to her college career.
“It’s been kind of crazy and surreal, like a dream,” Johnson said. “I found out when I got out of class. In fact, I saw (team spokeswoman) Barbara (Maningat)’s tweet to me. I called my parents, and I tried not to cry while walking when I was on the phone with them. I couldn’t really ask for a better first day of school.”
Johnson doesn’t want to end her story here. She hopes to remain focused and help her team win an SEC championship and a berth to the NCAA Championship.
“I can’t be content with where I am,” Johnson said. “I have to keep reaching to play better, get strong and faster.”
She’ll get her chance on Sunday when the Tigers meet the California Golden Bears at 3 p.m. in Berkeley, Calif.