A Bright Future
Julia Tepes proved to be one of the top girls’ soccer players in South Jersey, playing for the best team, Shawnee.
After not playing as junior to concentrate on the recruitment process, Tepes rejoined the team senior year and was a major factor in Shawnee’s 25-0 season that concluded with a 3-0 win over Northern Highlands in the NJSIAA state Group 3 championship.
A Virginia Tech commit, Tepes totaled 15 goals and eight assists.
“It felt amazing to win the state championship,” Tepes said. “We really worked hard, and it was so rewarding.”
While it’s difficult to compare teams of different eras, that Shawnee team has to at least be compared with best-ever South Jersey squads.
Not only did the Renegades play in the difficult Olympic Conference American Division, but they won the South Jersey Soccer Coaches Tournament title. Shawnee beat fellow state champion Paul VI, 3-2, to win the championship.
Tepes admits that her team did think about being one of the best all-time teams, but they didn’t want it to distract them from their main goal, which was to win a state title.
“We did think about it but we didn’t want to think about it much during the season because we didn’t want to get comfortable or complacent with ourselves,” she said.
Tepes had a unique career at Shawnee. She took her junior season off, as mentioned above, to deal with recruiting.
“As a junior I was heavy on recruiting so I didn’t play because I wouldn’t have been 100 percent committed to this,” she said.
One has to respect that Tepes didn’t want to give less than 100 percent effort.
She eventually decided to attend Virginia Tech after committing in January of 2024.
“It was tough not playing but I had to do what I thought was best,” she said.
And obviously Tepes felt it was great to be back.
As an attacking midfielder, she was just as dangerous passing as she was scoring. She had two assists in the aforementioned 3-2 Coaches Tournament title win over Paul VI.
Tepes also assisted on the second goal with a great cross that Eva Matesich converted in the state title win over Northern Highlands.
The game before, in a 5-0 Group 4 state semifinal win over Jackson, she scored a hat trick.
It was a season of big plays for Tepes, who now will prepare for the next level.
She will join a Virginia Tech team coming off a 14-6-3 season.
The Hokies won three NCAA tournament games before being eliminated by fellow ACC foe Duke, 1-0 in the quarterfinals.
Attending Virginia Tech has been a family affair for the Tepes.
Her father attended there, playing tennis and her sister Samantha is a member of the Hokies tennis team.
“I really wanted to go there and it’s great how it turned out,” Tepes said.
Tepes was recruited to play outside back at Virginia Tech, a position she has played in club soccer.
With her offensive skills, she can start the attack from the back, showcasing both her offensive and defensive skills.
And she is looking forward to the challenge of competing in one of the best college soccer conferences in America.
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Photo: Julia Tepes of Shawnee (#10) / Marc Narducci
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Photo: Julia Tepes of Shawnee (#10) / Marc Narducci
Author: Marc Narducci
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