Nine Paul D. Schreiber High School seniors committed to their respective colleges to play interscholastic sports next year. These nine athletes join Ashlynn Gallagher who signed a letter of intent for softball at Fairfield University, Annabelle Corcoran who signed for swimming at Southern Methodist University and Caroline McCarthy who signed for lacrosse at University of North Carolina in November.
Athletes who committed to college sports included Rebecca Rosen who signed a letter of intent to play soccer at Brown University, Ellie Davis who signed a letter of intent to play soccer at Marist College, Ryan Stevens who signed to play soccer at SUNY-New Paltz, Ali Hoffman who signed to play lacrosse at M.I.T., James Dalimonte who signed to play lacrosse at Muhlenberg College, George Moschos who signed to play lacrosse at Dickinson College, Drew Turner who signed to play lacrosse at Ithaca College, Emma Roberts who signed to play volleyball at Connecticut College and Jack Stolper who signed to play baseball at Middlebury College.
“It was extremely exciting and a major honor to be able to sign on to play lacrosse at MIT,” said Hoffman. “It still hasn’t hit me, and I can’t believe this is actually happening. I knew I wanted to play lacrosse in college, but didn’t have any luck early in the process finding a school with the academics, athletics, and environment that I hoped for. However, at the beginning of this past summer I reached out to the MIT coach and asked her to watch me play. After visiting, researching and experiencing MIT, I realized it encompassed all I wanted and more.”
“The day I committed to play baseball at Middlebury College, nothing but joy and excitement filled my family and me,” said Stopler regarding his signing experience. “Words can’t describe the exact feeling I had felt the day I committed. A weight was lifted off my shoulders knowing that all my hard work had paid off. What had been a dream to me since I was a sophomore in high school, finally became a reality.”
“Signing the National Letter of Intent for Brown University was an exciting and relieving experience,” added Rosen. “All of the work that went into the recruitment process had finally paid off. Sharing the experience with other classmates and friends made it even more special. It was also a great moment where I felt like a part of something bigger, and it left me eager to join the team in Providence this coming fall.”
While Hoffman, Stopler and Rosen are excited about their future, they reflected on their past at Port. Hoffman explained that her favorite memory was during the lacrosse team’s semi-final game against Syosset last season where Hoffman assisted Lily Avazis’ triple overtime game-winning goal.
“Time really slowed down during this final play and I had to put so much trust in her,” said Hoffman. “Our whole team played at such an intense level, making it a memory I won’t forget.”
Similarly, Stopler recalled some of his favorite Port memories which included the time he made a diving play at first base to end the inning of an intense playoff game.
“My favorite memory was watching a great playoff game as a freshman when I was pulled up late in the season,” said Stopler. “The game was intense and I had the most fun watching the game on the bench without stepping foot on the field.”
Rosen recounted her greatest Port memories during her eleven seasons and two County finals as being a first round playoff soccer game two years ago. The Lady Vikings played Herricks and after regular time, the team was tied 1-1. This led the team to go into overtime (OT) which consisted of two five-minute halves.
“Herricks scored to take the lead in the first half of OT,” said Rosen. “In the second half of OT, with barely 15 seconds left, my sister scored from her own corner kick to tie it. The next ten minute period was golden goal, and if no one scored, penalty kicks would follow. With nine second left in the overtime period, and still tied, we had a corner kick. My sister sprints up 50 yards to take the kick. She drives it back post, perfectly in sync with my run. Unmarked, I head the ball into the goal for the win, and advancement into the second round of playoffs. There was no greater feeling of relief and pride than that moment with my team and my sister.”
The Schreiber athletic department wished the students luck as they move on to the next chapter in their competitive lives.
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