Juan Luna<\/a><\/strong> (Mount Jackson, Va.\/Stonewall Jackson) is a junior transfer who has proven to be a great asset to the men\u2019s soccer team. Dependable, dedicated and hardworking, Luna consistently shows passion for the game. His performance last week in games against Wesley and in a win over ODAC preseason favorite, Roanoke, earns him recognition as this week\u2019s Royals Athlete of the Week.<\/p>\n\u201cWe hadn\u2019t scored since Ferrum I believe, our last win. \u00a0I was in a scoring slump as well,\u201d he recalled. \u201cIt puts a lot of pressure on me because every game my team is like, \u2018Okay Juan, you have to cash some checks tonight.\u2019 \u00a0But I feel like that first goal against Wesley really opened the gates, and we\u2019re just flowing with it now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Against Wesley College on Sept. 29, Luna scored EMU’s first goal in four games. \u00a0Although the match resulted in a 4-1 loss, they would achieve a great win to make up for it. Three days later the men played Roanoke, last year\u2019s conference regular season champions. Luna scored in the 40th minute against the Maroons, putting them up 1-0 and sealing the win for the team.<\/p>\n
He noted that Roanoke hadn\u2019t had an ODAC loss since 2013, which made the win even sweeter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt felt really nice (beating Roanoke) although the weather was horrible,\u201d Luna said. \u201cWe have a really young team, about half of them are freshmen. There\u2019s no substitute for experience, so every game we get a little bit better, and that\u2019s the only thing we ask. Everyone is clicking, and during the Roanoke game we all put the pieces together and finally got a good result.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna lived in the city of Morol\u00e9on in Guanajuato, Mexico, until he was seven years old. With a father who was a former professional soccer player, Juan learned his skills at a young age.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe filled my brain with soccer since I was little,\u201d Juan said. \u201cWhen I was a baby, the first thing my dad gave me was a soccer ball. He was definitely a big influence. When I was in Mexico, my dad put me in soccer academies, so I\u2019ve grown up with it. It has always been around me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna played for an academy called Morelia, a common experience for Mexican youth.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere in the States soccer is nothing compared to what it is in Mexico,\u201d he pointed out. \u201cIn Mexico, all they do is eat, breath, and sleep soccer. Here, soccer is a big part of the culture, but it\u2019s nothing compared to Mexico. Regular kids, well, pretty much every kid that\u2019s there goes to school, and as soon as they get out, they go to the soccer academy. \u00a0They go home, do homework, sleep, and start the cycle again.\u201d<\/p>\n
His commitment has paid off.\u00a0 Utilizing a high IQ of the game, he’s developed strong skills as a playmaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I like about my play is I can find the gaps between people, which people normally wouldn\u2019t see,\u201d Luna said. \u201cI can foresee a play that\u2019s going to build up without the play even being there. \u00a0I can visualize it and that\u2019s what really helps me to spread the ball and find other teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite his love of soccer, it was not always his only sport. Luna started playing football his freshman year of high school. He eventually attended D-I James Madison University and was a kicker for the JMU football team.<\/p>\n
Luna describes transferring to Eastern Mennonite as being one of the best decisions he has made. \u201cI like the community here more than at JMU,\u201d Luna explained. \u00a0\u201cEveryone here knows you and you\u2019re not just another number.”<\/p>\n
Luna, a Spanish major who is contemplating a career in law enforcement, also says he appreciates the availability of professors, especially coming from a larger school where he experienced bigger classes and less interaction with professors.<\/p>\n
Academics are just as important to Luna as soccer is: his three goals for this academic year are raising his GPA, scoring 10 goals before the end of the season, and continuing to work hard in practice and games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cWhatever is going on in school, it doesn\u2019t matter. Personal stuff just doesn\u2019t matter as soon as I step on the field. \u00a0For those 90 minutes, I\u2019m free and nobody ... read more about Junior transfer Juan Luna makes his mark, helping the Royals to a win over conference powerhouse Roanoke<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25604,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5583,5681,14139],"tags":[15954],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-25594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","category-mens-soccer","category-student-profiles","tag-juan-luna"],"yoast_head":"\nJunior transfer Juan Luna makes his mark, helping the Royals to a win over conference powerhouse Roanoke - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/junior-transfer-juan-luna-makes-his-mark-helping-the-royals-to-a-win-over-conference-powerhouse-roanoke\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Junior transfer Juan Luna makes his mark, helping the Royals to a win over conference powerhouse Roanoke - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cWhatever is going on in school, it doesn\u2019t matter. 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