SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Madison Kimball had a good idea what she was looking for in her college experience. So she took an active role in deciding her path and has found her perfect school. The St. Francis senior is committed to attend and play soccer at Loyola University Chicago.

“I wanted a Jesuit school with a good soccer program and academics,” said Kimball. “We were looking at the different options and my mom asked me about Loyola-Chicago. At first, I thought it might be a little far away.”

After further investigation, Kimball realized the school and the Rambler soccer program were an ideal fit. She emailed the coach and he was able to watch her play at an ECNL event in Texas. The Fair Oaks product attended the school’s ID camp and she was offered a spot in July.

 “I am so blessed that it fell into place because it is everything I ever wanted,” said Kimball. “The campus is gorgeous. It is right on Lake Michigan and I absolutely love it. The coaches are really nice and I can relate to them so well. I feel like I have known them my entire life.”

Loyola Chicago is coming off a 5-13-1 season under Head Coach Barry Bimbi. They play in the Missouri Valley Conference and advanced to the postseason tournament with an exciting win over Evansville in the final regular season game before losing to Drake 3-2. The program has earned the National Soccer Coaches Association Team Academic Award for the last two seasons.

Kimball, who plays for the San Juan Soccer Club, was aided in her recruiting process by former St. Francis and San Juan product Alex Brown, who was a 2010 graduate and recently completed her eligibility.

“I really love the city,” said Kimball of the Windy City. “What I love about the campus is it is not in the dead center of the city but 10 minutes out. I can hop on the subway and get into the city. I love all kinds of sports and Chicago has everything.”

Kimball, who says she will be a Cubs fan, has played for the San Juan club for 10 years and is the longest tenured player in the program.

“It has been awesome,” said Kimball of her club experience. “I started at the beginning with U9 and have been there 10 years now. It is awesome being able to grow up with the same club and friends from the beginning. They do such a good job of developing you and being a stable support. I always know I have my team and my coaches to fall back on. They are supportive and they really fight for you.”

Club coach Tony Perez has seen her develop over the years into one of the standouts with the club. She started and played all 13 games last season. She scored 12 goals and nine assists last year. During the 2013-14 season, she found the net 14 times while contributing 11 assists.

“San Juan is really proud of Maddy,” said coach Tony Perez. “We have seen her grow and mature into the soccer player that she is today. For her, the focus has always been the education and the environment while mixing soccer in with it. She had a lot of opportunities to go to other colleges but she was waiting and hoping for a top-tier educational program with a strong soccer program…She found the right fit.”

Kimball plays the center-mid position, a spot on the field that allows her to showcase both her offensive and defensive skills.

“I love it because you are in the middle of all the action,” said Kimball. “You can track back and defend or you can push up for the attack. I love setting up plays. It is really fun setting up your friends and they finish it off. It is fun scoring goals and I do score goals but I am happy when I can help someone else.”

Kimball has two teammates from St. Francis, including Troubadour senior goalie Catie Brown and Isabel Chelini, that play club with her.

“Madison is an incredibly talented and technical player,” said Brown. “She will dribble at defenders and get past three or four people with quick feet and her movement on and off the ball. She has incredible speed and she has an amazing ability to see plays before they happen.”

While she has not played for the SF programs, she is supportive of her classmates in the program and has loved her St. Francis experience.

“I love the community and the food,” said Kimball. “Everyone here is sisters for life. I have met some of my best friends here. The teachers are really helpful. When I tell them I am going to be gone for soccer, they help me when I get back.”

Kimball will sign her National Letter of Intent on Wednesday, Feb. 4 and is one of six Troubadours expected to sign with college soccer programs.