'Hometown Hero': Huntsville native Jake Rufe making an impact for Legion FC
Even 100 appearances in, playing under these lights is always special for Jake Rufe.
鈥淚t never gets old before every game, I got to take a deep breath because you know the heart rate gets going and it鈥檚 exciting,鈥� Rufe said.
After five seasons, Jake remembers his first start like it was yesterday.
鈥淚 was surprised because I wasn鈥檛 really supposed to start the game, and we had some injuries, and then coach Soehn put me in right back full-90. I was not ready for it, but we played really well.鈥�
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He鈥檚 come a long way since joining the team in 2020.
鈥淓arly on, I feel like there were sometimes where I was thinking maybe I wasn鈥檛 good enough to be where I was and to be fair, I needed to grow in some areas and playing with such a good group day in and day out, I got better every year,鈥� Rufe said.
He's become a key piece of this club, one of the veterans like his longtime teammate Matt Van Oekel.
鈥淛ake Rufe, the hometown hero. It鈥檚 been awesome. I鈥檝e had the privilege to play with him for six years now, seeing him come out of college and just keep growing within the team. A true professional takes care of himself,鈥� Van Oekel said.
As a goalkeeper, he鈥檚 had a front-row seat for it all.
鈥淗e鈥檚 great as our glue guy, keeps the team together, have a conversation with anybody, easily relatable. So, he鈥檚 been an awesome guy, I love him to death,鈥� Van Oekel said.
Jake鈥檚 representing this state on the big stage.
鈥淪ometimes growing up, I felt like Alabama was overlooked for soccer on the national scene, and I just saw so many good players growing up and playing with. I want people to put some respect on us a little bit,鈥� Rufe said.
He plans to continue to give the Magic City a lot to cheer about.
鈥淚t's been a lot of the same fans, a lot of new fans and seeing familiar faces and hearing them cheer your name and seeing my family and friends at all the games, it's like I want so bad to win and give them something to be proud of. That's what we're still working for, is lifting trophies and pushing the club up," Rufe said.
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