It wasn’t long ago that former Pioneer field hockey player and Community High School graduate Sarah Drake put aside her dream of playing college soccer to pursue field hockey.

Now she’s a member of the United States Under-21 Junior Women's National Team.

Good choice.

“I felt really accomplished after I heard just because of the level of competition I had to play with or against to get selected,” Drake said.

Drake will soon begin her junior season at the University of Iowa, where she has started every game of her college career and was a second-team All-Big Ten selection last season. She was chosen for the U.S. under-21 squad after competing at the national team camp against the best players from across the nation.

Drake’s first love growing up was soccer, but she chose to pursue field hockey more seriously because she felt her chances of playing at the Division I level were greater. Competing in the Big Ten was the extent of her goals when she was being recruited. Making it to the junior national team, or beyond, never crossed her mind.

Though making the national team as it attempts to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics isn’t realistic at this point, Drake said her recent success has her thinking about that possibility down the road.

“Any team she’s on -- it doesn’t matter high school, college, futures, wherever -- she raises the level with her competitiveness,” said Pioneer coach Jane Nixon.

Pioneer won three straight state championships and never lost a game when Drake was on the team from 2006-08.

“She’s demanding of herself and she doesn’t just make herself better, she brings her teammates along for the ride,” Nixon said.

Drake is the first former Pioneer player to make the under-21 national team and the 31st Iowa player to do so since 1983.

Contact Pete Cunningham at petercunningham@annarbor.com or by phone at 734-623-2561. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.