You answered your own question. "running hard for short periods of time over and over again".
In training for sports, they call them wind sprints. You pick a flat stretch 30-50m long. Then you sprint from one side to the other. Recover long enough to get your breathing under control, then sprint back.
You don't need to do it every day, maybe just a couple of times per week. You also need to do some slower distance running for endurance, since in between those bursts of speed you often have to jog. The endurance running will help your lungs recover more quickly between wind sprints as well. Maybe do 3 runs per week of 2-3 miles, mixed in with the 2 sprint workouts.
This should be more than enough to have you in good shape for soccer practice. Remember, always warm up before any running workout.