Chantalle Dugas started her soccer career “like everyone else,” she said, as her parents made her join a soccer team at a young age. At first, Dugas was just playing for fun, going to games and not really making soccer a priority in her life.

“When I was younger my parents basically just forced me to do it,” Dugas said. “Typical kid extracurricular activity went serious from then on in. “

It was at the age of 14 Dugas realized she wanted to improve her skill and become a better player after she started participating in higher-level soccer programs.

“The level of the game and the intensity that were offered moved it to another level in soccer,” Dugas said. “It was a completely different game from then on.”

That level of play and competition is what attracted Dugas into playing on a more serious level. It became more then a just a game — it became her “passion,” she said.

“It gives you a drive for something and to just, honestly, keep the level of the game,” Dugas said. “If you’re not enjoying what you are doing, then there’s really no point of you being in the sport.”

Coach Laura Kerrigan caught on to Dugas’ skill level while she was playing at a tournament in Cincinnati.

“She was playing with her club team, and she was just very good on the ball, very technical on the ball. She finished well,” Kerrigan said. “She did everything that you want a forward to do at this level.”

Kerrigan knew what she was looking for: a forward to be a bit brazen, cocky and very confident. Dugas has filled that profile in her performance on the field.

Her skills and abilities are now “embedded” in her from multiple years of playing the game. She said doing the work and practicing soccer has come to a point where it just comes natural.

“Now it’s every game, every practice you have to put in your all,” Dugas said. “All your intensity, everything because your results mean so much in the end.”

Kerrigan complimented Dugas on how she brings creativity to the team and the game.

“She does so many things well,” coach Kerrigan said. “She is very versatile, yes, but certainly her creativity on the ball is something that we savor in a forward.”

Dugas is “not shy” about taking on players or making a particular move, according to her coach.

“She sees things and tries things that most players don’t think about doing,” Kerrigan said. “In the front third, that can be a very usable tool.”