Editor's Note: This is the second in a recurring series, in which current and recent UIC student-athletes offer their perspectives on their Flames careers, accomplishments on and off the field, and the current Covid-19 situation.

Jesus Perez was an All-American and the Horizon League Player of the Year last fall.  He was drafted in the first round of the MLS Superdraft.  His rights were assigned to the Tacoma Defiance, where he reported in February.

When I came on trial I was here for about two weeks before I signed. After signing I haven't gotten the chance to go back home but the club and organization helped ship all of my stuff from back home. I've been here from the start of pre season all the way to our home opener, so we trained for a little longer than a month before our first game against Reno.

Perez was in the First XI in Tacoma's season opener on March 6.

I only remember glimpses from the first game, the adrenaline and nerves kicked in right away. We lost, so my first professional game was a learning experience. The one thing that I do remember clearly was the walk-out, walking up the pitch from the dugout there were a ton of fans, fireworks, music, and I was able to spot my girlfriend and mom in the stands which was nice because they got to experience my first game at the next level with me. Everyone talked about the next level being at a higher pace, but you never really know until you experience it. The game was fast and I wasn't on the ball much, but I tried to make the best out of it and tried to organize our attacking pressure and complete my passes whenever I was on it.
 
We actually heard about it getting ready for our second game against San Diego Loyal. We had to play our game behind closed doors because of Covid-19. So as soon as that happened we all assumed how serious this pandemic was. I was at my apartment here in Seattle when I found out about sports cancellations, I think it was March 12th when the USL temporarily suspended the season and from there on there were extensions to when the season would start. It was on March 20th when we got the email with more details about the suspension and what our organization planned for us players to do.

Seattle was the location of the first confirmed Covid-19 case in the US, on January 21, and by March 12, there were nearly 600 total cases in Washington state.

The Seattle area was one of the hotspots of Covid-19, as of now we have about two thousand less cases than Illinois, so from what I hear from family and friends back home about the precautions the city is implementing in the citizens I'm not completely sure how different it is from there. Honestly, after finding out about our season being suspended for a bit my main focus was trying to figure out what to do to stay in shape. I'd go on hikes and everyday I'd go to a different forest preserve or mountain, but there were a lot of people around like parking lots full kind of stuff. I'm not sure how I felt about it. It's pretty difficult now, you know? I'm treating this like it's preseason, but I also have this side of me where I want to go home and be with family in a time like this.

I am still here in Seattle, I've been here since the quarantine started. Just counting down the days until we start back up, but I know it'll be a while from now if all of us don't put our part into what the state has asked us to do to end this pandemic. It's been too many days without a soccer game or team practices and I'm going a little crazy, but I really can't stop thinking about my grandparents and family members being safe. I just want everyone to be safe, follow all precautions, and get through this pandemic.
 
Me and my teammates are following the work out plan our trainers have given us. We also have online team meetings, and other online team activities like yoga. Everyone's been handling it professionally, we all follow any guidelines our organization has placed on us and try not to lose our heads staying at home all day like everyone else. There are a couple of us who live in the same apartment complex, so we see each other, train, play videos games and board games to pass time.

I am glad that the NCAA extended eligibility for student athletes impacted by COVID-19. We're all going through something difficult right now, and I wanted to give praise to our nurses, doctors, and all healthcare workers for putting their lives at risk to help those being affected by this terrible virus.
 
 

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