photo by: Val Montanez/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence senior Patrick Sandefur controls the ball after a pass against Free State on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, at Free State High School.

Patrick Sandefur’s journey to playing college soccer began in eighth grade, when he started sending emails to teams even though he was too young to receive contact back.

“It was a total shot in the dark because I couldn’t be on peoples’ radars yet,” Sandefur said. “They couldn’t talk to me. So (playing college soccer) has been in the back of my mind forever.”

Sandefur has kept his goal alive throughout his high school career, and now, after wrapping up his final season with Lawrence, he’s committed to St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.

“To finally be committed, it’s like, wow, I actually did it — It’s not just a thought anymore,” Sandefur said.

St. Olaf is one of the best teams in NCAA Division III, which helped make Sandefur’s decision easier. He knew he wanted to play with the best and to win, and St. Olaf gives him that opportunity.

The Oles hold a 16-1-3 record in 2025 and secured a 3-1 first-round playoff win over Saint John’s on Thursday. The team’s success hasn’t just come this year, as the Oles have won 15 or more games each season since 2021. In 2023, the Oles won the Division III National Championship, beating Amherst College 2-1 in double overtime.

Getting recruited and being able to commit to a program like St. Olaf is an accomplishment that Sandefur understands means that he can compete with the best of the best.

“You can’t help but feel proud of yourself for what you’ve done,” Sandefur said. “It’s just great — when I made the switch to my current club team, they were also very good at the time, and that natural competition in practice improved me so much and taught me so much, so I can only imagine how much I’ll grow at St. Olaf.”

Sandefur visited the campus about a month before committing, and fell in love with it all. He loved the coaches, he felt a connection with the team and he loved the look of the campus. It isn’t just a place where he can play soccer, it’s an environment where he’s excited to live and grow as a student-athlete.

While in high school, Sandefur was a part of a culture-changing team that built the Lions into winners. His experience from those challenging early years to the highs of the last two years gives him an understanding of what it takes to win as a team.

“Since at least 2010, we had the second-best record in school history, and that’s a great reflection of the leadership and the underclassmen having stepped up,” Sandefur said. “It’s just great to take a step back and reflect on it all.”

As a Lion and with his club team, Sandefur has been a striker. His job, and he’s done it well, is to put the ball in the net. His finishing ability led him to securing Lawrence High School’s single-season record for goals scored with 21. He started the season with back-to-back hat tricks and helped lead the offense of one of Lawrence’s best seasons in over a decade.

“You always talk about as a striker, you’re going to score all these goals,” Sandefur said. “For it to be written in stone that you did produce what you say is pretty special. Looking at how many people have played at this school and knowing that I have the most regular season goals is crazy to me. It’s a prideful feeling, because I love this school so much.”

Still, it’ll be a jump in competition and skill for Sandefur at the college level. To prepare, he’s getting right to work, practicing with his club team and understanding that he’s going to need to take his game up another level.

“If I can push myself as much as possible now in trainings or games, I think that I’ll be in a good place for St. Olaf,” Sandefur said.

Sandefur accomplished a lot in his time with the Lions, but he’s ready for his next challenge. As a competitor, he’s always looking to improve upon his own personal successes and achieve more .

“I want that constant drive and hunger to do what I know I can do,” Sandefur said. “If I don’t achieve anything more, then that’s fine, but as long as I have that hunger and that drive then I’ll be alright.”

Sandefur will finish out the school year playing club soccer before he takes his talent and his hunger to Minnesota for the next chapter of his soccer career.