After arriving at Andover last year as a new Upper from rival school Taft, Boys Soccer Co-Captain Sebastian Mejia-Rivera ’25 quickly became the heart of the defense. This season, he has taken the captain armband and assumed a new role as a leader on the team with playoff aspirations.
Mejia-Rivera, known affectionately by teammates as “Seba,” detailed his soccer journey, discussing how he began playing soccer in the baseball-mad Dominican Republic (DR). He added that he struggled in other sports, especially those that used his hands.
“In the DR, the most popular sport is baseball. I tried playing baseball when I was younger but was really bad. I eventually figured out that I couldn’t use my hands in sports. I tried playing basketball, baseball, and tennis. One of the only sports that I was half decent at was soccer. I kind of stuck that out. I enjoyed it a lot, and through recess in school, I started playing the game. I loved it. I joined a club and kept going from there. It just became a big part of my life, but it’s always been something that I’ve enjoyed,” said Mejia-Rivera.
Mejia-Rivera categorized his play simply. He’s a tough-tackling, ball-moving center-back who uses his game intelligence to adapt to situations. When he scores a goal or makes a good play, he is not afraid to show his emotions. Seba’s passion for defending is clear in his words and his play style.
Mejia-Rivera said, “As a center-back, I’m a defender, first of all. It’s not that I can’t attack, but it’s a weaker part of my game. But my favorite part of the game is being able to defend. It’s a great feeling when you get a one-on-one against a winger or a striker, and you just make a great slide tackle, and then your teammates and the parents cheer for you. It’s a great feeling — just making good tackles. That’s my thing. When you just make a good, good slide tackle, that’s what I like the most.”
Teammate Sunny Yu ’28 agreed, calling Mejia-Rivera an integral part of the team all over campus, not just on the sports fields. His ability to hype the team before games, bring the team together, and rally the players during tough moments has made him a key figure.
“As a player, he’s an unbelievable defender. He’s the backbone of our team. As a teammate, Seba is a great teammate on and off the field. He’s a great friend and person off the field especially. As a captain, he’s a great leader. He gives really motivational pregame and halftime speeches. He’s a great leader on the field. He’s very vocal, but he doesn’t blame us for our mistakes. Seba also introduced all the Freshmen to the team on the first day of preseason and made us all feel welcome even though we’re Freshmen and new to the school,” Yu said.
Ethan Brown ’27, another newcomer to the team, summed up his co-captain by emphasizing that beyond Mejia-Rivera’s soccer skills, what stands out most is his friendliness and supportiveness, both of which played a crucial role in helping him improve throughout the season.
“He’s a very good captain, a very good player, and a very good teammate. He’s always inspiring, always leading, and always giving insightful comments. He’s really a good guy, and I hope that beyond Andover he has a good [soccer] career in college. Ultimately, he’s helped me become a better player and be incorporated into the team,” said Brown.
After a great exodus of Seniors last year, Boys Soccer was counted out by many in New England. Mejia-Rivera talks about how that has motivated the team and how they’ve adapted to change.
Mejia-Rivera said, “We lost all of our Seniors, and we only got two recruits this year, so a lot of people didn’t think that we were going to be as good as we had been. We’ve surpassed many expectations and are in the hunt for the playoffs. And we’ve beaten some really good teams. The leadership is a part of that. That carries along the idea that we’re not a very experienced team. Some of the guys on the team may make mistakes; they kind of get on themselves. An important aspect of not just my leadership, but the leadership from the other seniors has to be very positive.”
Sebastian Mejia-Rivera will continue playing soccer at Babson College.
