From one hometown team to another, Megan Fastenau has adjusted well.

The former Aberdeen Central soccer standout is now one of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference’s best forwards while wearing the maroon and gold jersey of Northern State.

Fastenau is entering her senior season with the Wolves after three straight All-NSIC selections, including a First Team honor last year. That string of nods from the league coaches started after Fastenau made an immediate impact with the Wolves during her freshman campaign.

“I was always told it’s abnormal for a freshman to start,” Fastenau said. “Even on our team right now – obviously, we’re still new to the season – but our freshmen don’t start right away. I just jumped right in. It was a big adjustment; I had to adapt in a hurry.”

That adaptation period, though quick, did come with a few surprises, however.

“The physicality surprised me a lot,” Fastenau said. “In high school, I was always one of the taller players, one of the bigger players on the field. I never really worried about the physicality of the game. Then you get to the college level and there are people who are taller and stronger than you. I just had to continue to get stronger to go up against all these defenders.”

After scoring 37 goals during her high school career, Fastenau found the going a bit tougher at the college level.

“It’s a lot harder (to score),” she said. “You just have to be so much more precise on everything in college. I’m going up against people who have worked just as hard to get to the college level so they’re 10 times better than the people I was going against in high school.”

Still, Fastenau adjusted well. She scored eight goals during her freshman campaign, five of which were game-winning scores. The Wolves won seven total games that season before exiting in the first round of the NSIC tournament.

Her sophomore year came with just four goals, but added four assists and two more team wins before another first round exit from the tournament, while last season Fastenau led the team with seven goals, one less team loss and yet another first-round tournament loss.

It’s not just Fastenau who has made strides on the pitch. As a team, the Wolves finished eighth her freshman season, fifth the next season and third last year.

But if there’s a sticking point in Fastenau’s career, the NSIC tournament is probably it.

“Ever since I came on to this team, we’ve lost in the first round,” she said. “That really does sting. You work so hard and improve every year just to lose in the first round. We are more determined than ever to advance to the second round.”

Regardless, Fastenau will be able to reflect on a career fraught with more than a smidgeon of success, including hearing her name called as one of the league’s best.

“It’s definitely an honor, and I’m grateful to be recognized for those awards,” she said. “It also comes with a lot of pressure. If the coaches are recognizing it, then players are, too. I have to be on top of my game.”

Fastenau also noted that being on top of her game – that is, being in position to score goals – is not a sole effort anymore. 

“It’s not a one man job anymore,” she said. “I have to connect with the other forwards and midfielders. It takes the whole team. It’s a whole process just to score one goal.”

But that’s precisely what drew Fastenau to the game in the first place. As a kid, Fastenau said she played all the sports, as one does when their parents sign them up, but soccer came with such variety and intrigue that she was hooked.

“You get this big field you get to play on,” she said. “You have so many different moves you can do. … There’s 11 players on a field, and I’m always connecting with each player and there’s so much variety. Always something new to learn.”

Fastenau is also relishing the fact that she gets to stay in her hometown to play the sport she loves so much and has loved her back so well.

“It’s been awesome,” she said. “To be able to still talk to people that watched me in high school and now they’re watching me in college is amazing. They come to the games and I’m still able to represent my community. It’s been an awesome journey to play in my hometown.”

Regardless of how the season shapes out, Fastenau knows she’ll be an integral thread in the tapestry of Northern State soccer.

“I’m always going to be a part of the program,” she said, “and the legacy I can leave behind and the foundation I can leave behind hopefully leads to more championships.”