Soccer Stars in the Classroom – not Just on The Field

Last year’s girl’s varsity soccer team worked hard both on and off the field.  After having a successful season on the field with a record of 15-6-1, the team also was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America for the seventh consecutive year.

Nancy Stehman. Photo by Lindsey Ostrum

The requirement of this club is to have a team GPA of at least 3.25, and the team earned a 3.847, the highest a girl’s soccer team at Penn Manor has ever earned.

Coach Zapata felt that, “[The team] always worked extremely hard, and they choose to play 12 months a year, so I know they like to play.”

Mr. Zapata. Photo by Lindsey Ostrum

However, senior Ambria Armstrong said all the hard work did come at a price.

“It was definitely a lot of work, and I really had no free time. It was pretty much school, soccer, homework and sleep.” She also stated that her hardest class to maintain an A in was AP Literature.

Coach Zapata believed being a part of the soccer team was a motivation to keep their grades high, “It was more of an expectation from the staff. Keeping their grades up is something we tell the girls about a lot.”

Ambria Armstrong. Photo by Lindsey Ostrum

This is also a new achievement for our school. This is the first time the girl’s soccer team has had the highest GPA out of the seven schools in the league.

Congratulations to the following members of the girl’s varsity soccer team:

Ambria Armstrong

Katie Breneman

Kayla Drexel

Shannon Henry

Rachel Hess

Brittany Lapp

Nancy Stehman

Ashley Vellucci

Veronica Willig

By Lindsey Ostrum and Mike Nitroy