By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University senior soccer standout Jaedyn Johnson loves to be in the middle of the action and WU has given the Elkhorn, Neb. native the opportunity to experience that both on and off the field.
Washburn senior forward Jaedyn Johnson has scored a team-high five goals, helping lead the Ichabod soccer team to a 6-1-1 start this season. [Photo courtesy of Wasburn Athletics]
Johnson, a 5-foot-7 forward, transferred to Washburn from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for the 2021 season and said the transfer has worked out well from both an athletic and academic standpoint as a major in forensic science.
"When I was getting recruited in high school Washburn was one of my top choices and the coach at the time ended up moving down to Texas A&M at Corpus Christi so that was how I had the connection down there and how I got down there,'' Johnson said. "My third year there was the year of COVID so there were a lot of issues that were already going on.
"Our season was moved from the fall to the spring and during that time I was struggling with trying out a new position that I had really never played before and I was just having issues communicating with my coaches and not getting the feedback that I wanted to get so that was ultimately why I decided to transfer. When I knew that I wanted to transfer, Washburn was actually my No. 1 choice because I remember when I visited I loved the campus and I study in the field of forensics so obviously Washburn's a perfect choice for me.''
Johnson scored the first two goals of her college career last season for the Ichabods and is off to a great start this fall, leading Washburn with five goals and also contributing an assist to help the team get off to a 6-1-1 start entering Friday's 7 p.m. game at Rogers State, Okla.
"I think it's super cool because I started my soccer career as a defender so I would never score,'' Johnson said. "Then I was moving up to the midfield and I got a couple of goals last year and then this year already I have five so far and even my teammates are like, 'JJ, you don't even know what to do after you score,' and I'm like, 'That's because I never really would, I don't even know what to do.' ''
Off the field, Johnson is finishing her work towards becoming a forensic scientist, a field she became interested in as a kid.
"When I was younger I loved watching the show "Law and Order: SBU'' with my dad when he was home for his lunches,'' Johnson said. "I would always watch those and I think I was really interested in the mystery of how they would find the suspect. It's kind of like a puzzle to me.
"I'm really interested in working as a crime scene investigator or possibly being in a crime lab and looking at different types of evidence that way. I really need a hands on job. I don't like to sit down and do paper work, so anything that will get me up and moving I would be really interested in that.''
The same goes for soccer, with Johnson's focus on continuing her early-season goal-scoring success while helping the Ichabods build off their quick start to the 2022 season.
"(Scoring goals) definitely is a good rush I have for sure because it would never happen,'' Johnson said. "It's good that my team can rely on me for scoring opportunities instead of defending and stuff. It's a cool opportunity.''
