"I've loved [soccer] ever since," Pepper says. "When I was small it was more important than anything else."

Pepper kicked his way up from an F-level youth club to the highest amateur ranks, the A level. He also put in a brief stint in California during the sixth and seventh grade.

While playing high school soccer, "I was definitely thinking of making soccer my career," Pepper says. While playing A-level ball, he received an offer to attend a tryout/training session with a professional squad.

But according to Pepper, after being accepted at Harvard, "I decided not to play soccer because I thought it was more important to go to college and get a degree."

On the way to a degree in sociology, he has picked up a few soccer awards. But despite last year's accolades, Pepper will only term last season "all right."

"You get a little piece of paper that looks nice on the wall. It's nice, but it's just a piece of paper," he says. "If I feel good about the way I played it's a lot more important than if someone tells me 'here's an award.'"

But along with the wallpaper came one award Pepper does value: the captainship of the Harvard squad. "That was very important," he says. "That's more than a piece of paper."

Pepps is a leader on the field," junior Ramy Rajballie says."

Unfortunately, Pepper's been leading from the sidelines for most of the season. He's a familiar face, standing by the edge of the field, batting a soccer ball back and forth.

Waiting, just waiting.