"I really like their campus, it kinda reminder, like, a little bit of Maysville, Morehead, it was kinda of small, but you had a decent amount to do," Soto said. "And they're a small college, but they're really developed."
Soto was a goalkeeper for the Royals last season, but was recruited by UPike as a midfielder.
Mason County coach Daniel Forsythe said the transition to midfielder will be seamless for Soto "because we played him at different positions last year; he's excellent at goalkeeper and I hope that he gets to transition back to that position at some point and time when they have an open spot for him."
Soto said it won't be a problem learning to play a new position.
"I feel like I know a lot about soccer, so I feel like I'd be able to, you know, just practice, you know, I think I will get better with experience," Soto said.
Forsythe said Soto had a leadership quality that created a team atmosphere where everybody is involved and everybody belongs.
"(He) made everyone feel welcome, whether you were freshmen, eighth grade, even had a seventh grader last year on the team, everybody has really looked up to Mario and he's really fulfilled that position of being a leader," Forsythe said.
Soto was a kicker on the football and has been a member of the swim team and JROTC.
Soto has not decided on a major.
