Trevor Islam sat in the stands, blending into the crowd, as he watched Stanford men’s soccer play under the bright lights of Cagan Stadium. Two years later, a Stanford player himself, he celebrated his goals with his iconic backflip as those same lights shone on him.

Last season, Islam emerged as Stanford’s leading goal scorer, with six goals and three assists. However, behind his rise from unknown walk-on to the Cardinal’s leading scorer lies an unconventional journey of relentless dedication, discipline and hope in pursuit of a dream.

Growing up in nearby Mill Valley, Islam dreamed of playing soccer for Stanford, but never pursued the recruiting process in high school, believing he was unlikely to make the team. Instead, he focused on academics, and his achievements earned him admission into the prestigious university. Islam arrived on campus in fall 2023, planning to major in Physics and with aspirations to become an astronaut. Still, even as he settled into college life by making friends and playing club and intramural soccer, another goal lingered in the back of his mind: the possibility of walking onto the men’s soccer team.

At Stanford, a top Division I soccer program in the country, walk-on opportunities are rare. Since 2012, only four walk-ons have joined the team, two of whom are currently on the roster: Islam and redshirt junior Laszlo Bollyky. Islam’s opportunity came when the team needed additional players during offseason training, and he was invited to practice. When he received a call from head coach Jeremy Gunn informing him that he would be training with the team, he was ready for his opportunity.

“If I did prepare as well as I possibly could, and never got a chance, I would be satisfied,” Islam said. “The worst would be if I somehow got a chance and wasn’t ready for it. I was trying my best to live by that.”

Unlike many current teammates, Islam did not join the team with a fancy resume or as a top-rated recruit from an MLS youth academy. Yet, teammates and coaches immediately noticed qualities that statistics could not measure — his competitiveness, relentless work ethic and a growth mindset.

“When he first joined the team, I was blown away by his mentality,” said Zach Bohane ’25, former captain of the team. “I wasn’t sure how far he was going to take this. Maybe he will train with us for a bit, and after a couple of weeks, I was like ‘Wow, this guy is going to play for our team, just a matter of time.’”

Even amid uncertainty about making the team — no spot was ever guaranteed or promised — Islam dedicated himself to the program. His technical ability and mentality allowed him to thrive in practices. Respect and trust from coaches and teammates were earned day after day.

Gunn compares trust in a player to a bank account, explaining that you start at zero and the player deposits every day to build that trust over time.

“He showed up every day, and shows a wonderful consistency,” Gunn said. “You know what you are going to get out of Trevor, day in, day out. From the beginning of working with him, there was trust building every single day, and every day in training, we came off the pitch, and I was impressed.”

Islam had all the makings of a great soccer player: strength, speed and fitness. While his physical ability and work rate served him well, translating his potential into game situations proved more difficult.

“He was fantastic in training and struggling in games, but then through time and through a positional change, he continued to grow in confidence in the bigger setting, in the bigger moments, in the competitive game,” Gunn said.

Islam began making significant strides in his development. He treated his first full season on the team as an opportunity to absorb and improve as much as possible. His mornings often began before class with a cold shower and time alone at the wall, a concrete structure behind their field, repeatedly getting touches to sharpen his technical ability. He leaned on advice from his older teammates to improve his awareness and decision-making on the field.

“Get more comfortable with the ball,” Islam recalled being told, “and then when you are playing, everything slows down. You can feel you have more time to think.”

At the end of his freshman year, he earned a roster spot on the team. However, that was simply the beginning for Islam. Bollyky, a teammate who joined at the same time, recalls that they used to bike together to their dorms every day for two years and would use that time to talk about how training went.

Bollyky recalled being told by Islam shortly after walking onto the team, “With a little bit of luck and the right preparation, I feel like there are a lot of guys on the team, myself included, that could get to the five-goal mark for next year.”

On an early autumn evening last September, with five minutes left in the game, Islam scored the game-winning goal to defeat Syracuse, 3-2. From that moment, he became a starter; the hours spent training paid off.

“I’ve solidified myself. I can do this. I can score goals,” Islam told himself.

For Gunn, the goal was a culmination of the work Islam had put in every day.

“That was a moment where the outside world would have been seeing a special moment. For me, it was a just reward for all the deposits he’d been making,” Gunn said.

“That is one of the most impressive things to me, where he has not changed one bit,” said Bollyky. “Even with all the goals, the accolades, he has not changed his mentality or habits one bit.”

As a redshirt sophomore, Islam has two years of eligibility left and plans to use his full four seasons over five years, not missing out on any opportunities to wear the Stanford jersey.