Bartlesville High School junior Carnell Lusuli is easy to find on a soccer field. The varsity center and defensive midfielder is usually in the middle of everything, breaking up attacks, stringing passes together and quietly setting the tone for the Bruins. 

“I play soccer, and I play as a center and defensive midfielder,” Lusuli said. That role suited him perfectly last season, when he cracked the varsity lineup as a 14-year-old sophomore and helped Bartlesville reach the OSSAA semifinals for the first time in three decades. “My favorite accomplishment from the past year was earning a spot on the varsity squad as a 14-year-old sophomore and making it all the way in the OSSAA semifinal for the 2024-2025 high school season, for the first time in 30 years for our high school program,” he said.

Being part of that run changed how he viewed the game and his responsibilities. “Being part of that journey taught me the value of resilience and the importance of team hard work,” Lusuli said. “I had a really fun and enjoyable season, and I made so many memories with my closest friends from school.” He calls that year the experience “that will fuel my drive for everything I plan to achieve in the next coming years.”

Soccer also forced Lusuli to grow off the field. “Soccer has taught me to value time and to work hard,” he said. “It has also forced me to manage my time with soccer and academics, and to value things that are important first.” He credits his eighth-grade math teacher, Jennifer McCauley, with helping him reach a higher level academically. “She was an amazing teacher that really helped me to get into that higher level of math,” he said.

Lusuli draws inspiration from his parents and from the example of former teammate Ian Belong, whose “heart and passion for the sport” set a standard for toughness and commitment. He also leans on his Christian faith and the message that hard work beats talent, a lesson he connects to stars like Kobe Bryant and Cristiano Ronaldo. On game nights, when the lights come on and the student section roars, Lusuli said there is nothing better than “playing under the lights with my school’s name on my chest” and hearing the crowd scream his name.