Nicole Sipfle, co-captain and midfielder of the Grinnell women’s soccer team, talks soccer, Disco Pogo and medical schools.

What’s your first memory of playing soccer?

My first memories are from playing on a co-ed team when I was younger just because I thought the girls didn’t play hard enough. So I played on a co-ed team for the first two or three years.

And you came to Grinnell to play soccer?

Yeah, I was recruited by Coach Benning [’96].

How do you prepare before a game?

I usually listen to pump-up music before a game. We always do pre-game as a team.

What’s your favorite song?

Disco Pogo.

I love Disco Pogo! It played a lot when I was in Europe. Have you gotten a chance to go abroad?

Yeah, I went to Denmark last semester.

Have you played other sports?

In high school I played basketball, cross-country, track. But I quit all of them for soccer.

If you could be a superstar in any of those other sports, which would it be?

Basketball. I really liked basketball.

Who is your sports hero?

Right now, Abby Wambach, but before that Michelle Akers.

What’s your major at Grinnell?

Biochem.

Why biochem?

I really like science and I wanted to not just focus on biology, and I’m also pre-med.

So are you applying to med school right now?

No, I’m going to take a year off. So hopefully I’ll take the MCAT this spring and then apply in the fall.

Have you started looking at schools?

A little bit. Mostly just Iowa, because I did research there this past summer, and I really liked it.

What kind of research did you do?

Biochem research. It’s hard to explain. I did a lot of x-ray crystallography and determining structures of different proteins.

It sounds like you do a good job balancing sports and academics. Has that been a challenge for you?

I find that I get stuff done better during season than out of season because it forces me to manage my time better. All the road trips [can be hard]—it’s really challenging to get your stuff done when you’re on the road and you either need a computer or to go into lab to do something.

Who has been your biggest fan?

My parents. They’ve come to most of the games because they’re only an hour away.

-compiled by Eliza-Eve Leas