Huntington Alum Loves Lynchburg
Angela Bosco was a gamer for the Huntington High School girls' soccer team. She's already earned the same reputation at Lynchburg College, where the former Blue Devil star completed her sophomore season last fall.
The 5'1 Bosco is majoring in health promotion with a minor in coaching. "I absolutely love Lynchburg College and couldn't ask for a better fit for me," the Huntington Class of 2010 member said. "The education that I am getting here is great. There are so many opportunities."
The Huntington alum is contemplating a future that includes either physical therapy or radiology. "I would love to get into physical therapy," Bosco said. "That has always been my dream job, but it's a lot of schooling. At the moment, I am leaning more toward radiology, but we will see. Either way, I will be graduating here in 2014 and then I will be looking to head to another school to finish my radiology or physical therapy schooling. I haven't figured out where yet, but most likely a lot closer to home, considering I am currently nine hours away."
During her high school athletic career, Bosco played soccer and lacrosse. As a four year varsity soccer player, she captained the squad as a junior and senior and provided the Blue Devils with the offensive punch they needed to reach the Suffolk finals. She earned All-Conference, All-County and second team All-State honors in the sport. On the lacrosse field, she was known for shutting down opposing attackers.
Lynchburg is what is known as "high" NCAA Division III school. "We train intensely, both in and out of season," Bosco said. "I couldn't ask for a better coach or teammates. The chemistry that we all have is what gets us so far."
Last fall, the Hornets finished the season in first place in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference with a 19-2-2 record. It was the team's third straight conference title.
In the NCAA playoffs, Lynchburg hosted first round foe SUNY New Paltz, dominating the visitors and outshooting them, 31-7. Incredibly, the game ended in scoreless tie and stayed that way through two overtimes. The contest went to the penalty kick phase with New Paltz outscoring the Hornets, 3-2. "It didn't end the way we were planning on it," Bosco said since Lynchburg was convinced it was headed to the Final Four.
"I had a really hard time in the beginning [of the season] coming off a knee injury for the third time," Bosco said. "I really worked hard to earn my starting spot and ended up starting in 19 out of 22 games." She finished the year with 18 goals and five assists for 41 points, earning first team All State and first team ODAC honors. Three of the goals were game winners. She was second in Lynchburg's division in both goals and points.
Sidelined as a freshman, Bosco made up for it with a great sophomore year. "I was very proud of how hard I worked throughout my first season playing soccer for Lynchburg College," she said. "I was injured my freshman year and had to redshirt due to an ACL injury. This was my first season playing in college and I absolutely loved it and was satisfied with the season I had."
Lynchburg is determined to go much further in 2012 than it did in 2011. "We are working extremely hard this spring and summer to make sure that next fall we get the Final Four," Bosco said. "I plan on having an even better season next fall."
Success in the NCAA cannot be taken for granted. "College soccer is definitely a little different than high school soccer," Bosco said. "The speed of play is definitely a huge difference. I had to make a big adjustment to that and I think that is what I was the most worried about. However, throughout last spring, I really worked hard."
Bosco's foot skills are better now than when she was in high school. "I am a lot more confident and comfortable with the ball here at college than I was when I was in high school," she said. "I love soccer and I am so happy I continued to play in college because I love it even more. I miss high school soccer a lot, though. I will never forget the team I played with during my senior year."
The former Huntington star said it was "unreal" reaching the county finals with the Blue Devils. "Just like our playoff game this past season, that county finals game didn't end the way we wanted it to," said Bosco said about the 1-0 loss to Hauppauge.
Bosco said Huntington went so far because of the "special chemistry" the team had. "My senior year of high school soccer was the best year I could have asked for," she said. "We were a great team and had a lot of potential. I miss playing with them everyday. But, that is what I share with both high school soccer and college soccer. Without them (great teammates), I don't think I would love the game as much as I do now. And luckily, the team that I have here at LC is just like the family that I had at Huntington."