There’s nothing better than having the support of your family in everything you do in life. In most situations, they are our biggest cheerleaders, supporters, and in some cases our best teammates.
The Quinteros sisters on the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens’ soccer team have got to play together for their second consecutive season for the first time since their early teen years and because of that, they’re not taking it for granted.
Sofia, 20, and Estel, 18, have contributed 14 and 12 points in their playing time for the Queens. This season Estel has nine points after a three-goal game last weekend and Sofia with four points after two goals in the last two games– early in the year they’re leading the attack for the Queens.
Up until the U14 level in Edmonton, the two played together but would be split up after that due to age, and height differences. However, playing together has always been important to the sisters who grew up close.
“We’ve always had a really close relationship and have always had a bond together,” Estel said. “We live together here and I think playing together has really helped us as sisters.”
Sofia echoed Estel’s comments but added it’s also helped in their game over time learning where each other is on the field at all times.
“We get along for the most part but I mean sometimes we’re competitive. In high school, we were in an academy so they’d always have a golden ball award. We’d always try and compete for that in high school and even in practice we’re a bit competitive we want to beat each other. I think it helps us grow as people and grow as players,” Sofia added.
Sofia joined the college in 2020 but was unable to begin her soccer season with the Queens because of the COVID-19 pandemic. After the season, head coach Mahziar Peyrow also brought Estel to the Queens after recruiting the sisters from Edmonton. They were able to begin their first season in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference together in the 2021-22 campaign.
Despite their competitiveness with each other what’s more important to the sisters is seeing the other one succeed on the field. Instead of firing in a goal past the goaltender, they’d much rather assist one another.
“I’d say we’re really positive towards one another. I know for a fact that I try to assist her as much as possible because I like seeing my sister succeed and get goals, and be on the leaderboard for scoring,” Estel said.
“She was an ACAC all-star last year and I think that’s a good representation of how she plays and who she is as a soccer player.”
Estel and Sofia, who are both midfielders, are always on each other’s side on and off the field. What brought them to Red Deer, other than to play soccer was to pursue higher education in the nursing program, which is a highly recommended program in the province. Sofia originally entered the program but switched her major to psychology and Estel is in her second year of the nursing program. Having the smaller class sizes in Red Deer was an added bonus which makes it easier to learn with more access to instructors.
Estel added she was also sold on the idea after Peyrow recruited her on the idea of being a starter and having a big role on the squad.
Estel took after her mother who was also a nurse and the industry interested her after learning about it from her mom. Sofia discovered her passion for psychology after working as a mental health aid in the city.
The sisters also have a 15-year-old brother who plays soccer. They came from a big soccer family which trickled down from their dad who played growing up in Edmonton. Their father was originally from Chile, but immigrated to Canada at four years old to pursue a better life during a conflict in the country.
“It’s a big culture thing for him. He used to coach us when we were little it was great,” Sofia said.
The sisters hope to play after college and want to play soccer for as long as they can while also staying focused on their careers. But for now, they remain present and are enjoying their time in college and playing the sport they love.
You can catch the sisters on the field this Saturday at Red Deer Polytechnic as the Queens take on the Medicine Hat Rattlers at 2 p.m. The Kings will also play the Rattlers at 4 p.m. The Queens have a record of 2-1 and the Kings are 1-1.