Daijah Norris is hoping to take it up a notch in her sophomore year after coming in and contributing right away as a freshman.

Last spring, the former Nansemond River High School girls’ soccer standout signed her National Letter of Intent to play college soccer for Delaware State University, an NCAA Division I women’s soccer program. Norris had multiple suitors her last year of school, as she had been a standout for four seasons at Nansemond River.

In her senior season alone, she led the team in scoring while also securing the Conference 10 Player of the Year award and netting an All-State selection. She walked onto the DSU campus last summer confident in her abilities to be able to contribute on day one. As a freshman, she was able to earn a starting spot on the team.

“My first year was very exciting,” Norris said. “I feel like I had a pretty good first year. I definitely feel like I had a big impact coming in as a freshman and starting.”

It was a goal of Norris’ to come in and start; however, she had to work her way into the starting lineup. After going through preseason and adjusting to the speed, she instantly got comfortable.

“It was surprisingly easier than I thought it would be,” she said. “Preseason helped with making adjustments as far as speed and play. The first few games are the most difficult as far as adjusting, but after that, I was good to go.”

She recorded two goals during her freshman season and is hoping to contribute more and do more things in her second season. Her coaches felt good about her freshman performance.

“My coaches felt like I had a good season last year,” she said. “They felt like I stepped up to the plate when I needed to.”

For her sophomore season, Norris wants to be more involved on the campus while also continuing to do well on the field. She hopes to keep a good balance between academics and soccer.

As a senior for Nansemond River last year, Norris scored 15 goals and added 32 assists. All four years, Norris was at least an All-Conference performer and accumulated more than 60 goals for her career.