Last week Mount Mercy Academy senior Rosalie (Rosie) Bandura of West Seneca signed her National Letter of Intent to continue her soccer career for Mercyhurst University. Signing the letter was a culmination of a dream whose seeds began to grow at the age of three, when Bandura began playing soccer.
From the time my parents put me in soccer, I never looked back and just continued to make it an even bigger part of my life,” Bandura commented.
Bandura, a two-time Player of the Year for Division B and a three-time First Team All-Catholic, signed her letter with her family, teammates, coach, teachers, staff and classmates cheering her on. She is also a two time Most Valuable Player on the soccer team and last year was also named the Booster Club’s Mount Mercy Athlete of the Year. For her Mount Mercy career, Bandura has scored 53 goals and accumulated 19 assists, despite missing time the past two seasons with injuries.
Bandura received several scholarship offers for soccer, but she was selective in accepting an offer, looking for the best fit for her, both as a student and an athlete. Ultimately Bandura selected Mercyhurst because she wanted to attend college that had a campus she liked, was not too far from home and had a soccer program that she could have a chance to make an impact on and would be able to compete for a starting position as a freshman. As soon as she was able to meet the coach and visit the campus, Bandura knew instantly that Mercyhurst was the best fit for her. “Mercyhurst has a very competitive program which is something that was very important to me when I committed there. They have very high standards and expectations which is something that aligns with my personality and drive,” Bandura related.
Bandura mentioned that Mercyhurst has a noted reputation regionally for being very strong in athletics. The Women’s soccer program consistently competes for a Division II National Championship. Mercyhurst competes in the competitive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). While at Mercyhurst Bandura expects to major in either communications or psychology. She would love to coach soccer at a high level and to make a positive impact on others, as her coaches have done for her.
Bandura is the daughter of Chris and Kim Bandura.
