Upper Makefield-newtown’s Rosa heads to Purdue
BucksiocalSports Editor For a brief moment, Upper Makefield Newtown Soccer Club (UMNSC) goalkeeper Sam Rosa thought about getting a college education closer to home than West Lafayette, Indiana where she IS going.
With an interest in making veterinary medicine her future, Rosa gave Delaware salley College a look. But the Doylestown school wasn’t exactly the right fit so she’s off to Purdue in the fall where she’ll compete against a pair of upperclassmen for a job between the pipes with the Boilermakers.
It was a proud moment for the folks at Upper Makefield-Newtown Soccer when Rosa, who hails from Ewing, was named to Purdue’s Division I roster.
“Samantha’s achievement represents a first for our young Club,” said Gavin Flanigan, Director of Coaching and Player Develop- ment for UMNSC. “And with the continued dedication and support among our players, their families and our community, it could be the first of many.”
A soccer player since she was 5 years old, Rosa recently turned in a goalkeeping stint for UMNSC U17 girls coach Joanne Burger.
“Playing with my team and Coach Burger this year real- ly boosted my confidence,” said Rosa. “The leadership at UMNSC showed me how to be a leader, and I’ll take that with me.”
A four-year varsity soccer letter-winner at Notre Dame, Rosa earned All-State, team MsP and first team All-Conference honors last fall as a high school senior.
“I’m probably most proud of my All-State award, because in our conference, there were so many great goalkeepers so I feel honored to be recognized as one of the top goalkeepers in the conference,” she said.
With two upperclassmen already inserted into the lineup at Purdue, Rosa is not exactly sure how much she’ll get to play this fall as a college freshman. She recalls,
however, getting called upon to play in some big games as a freshman for the Irish.
The experience, said Rosa, served to benefit her later on in her varsity career at ND.
“That prepared me the most with handling stress and pressure,” she said.
When the starting keeper for the Irish went down with a season-ending injury midway through her third season, Rosa had no trouble stepping into an everyday role at ND. Sam credits her former varsity coach with seeing her through some of the turmoil.
“Sandy Koschek was a great coach. She helped me so much during my four years [at ND],” said Rosa. “She would always push me to train harder and also picked me up when i had a bad game.
“She was very supportive of the whole team and I think that’s what (helped) us have a winning season.”
Finishing out the season as the starting keeper for the Irish, Rosa gets some of the credit too, however. She says the experience not only helped her become a better player, it gave her leadership qualities she’d call upon again in her senior campaign.
Notre Dame finished the season at 9-5-3 overall including a win over PDS and a loss to Robbinsville in the Mercer County Tournament and a loss to Holy Spirit in the first round of states. Rosa was outstanding in regulation and OT for the Irish, turning in 23 saves to send the game into double overtime and PKs.
Samantha starting tending goal at an early age. The position wasn’t exactly popular back then, she recalled.
“I just stepped up and went in and had a knack for it,” she said.
As she got older, Rosa kept switching back and forth from field positions to the goal before finally having to choose about five years ago playing for a travel team.
Right about now, Rosa is pretty sure she made the right decision. She’s hoping Purdue follows suit.
***