Dec 22, 2018 4 min read

Bailey Fudala’s dream of playing Division I soccer will become a reality next fall at Winthrop University.

The Waynesburg High School senior midfielder made her choice official when she signed her national letter of intent to attend the school in Rock Hill, S.C.

“Most of my recruiting process took place in the club season, so spring and throughout the summer,” Fudala said. “I went to one of (Winthrop’s) ID camps, which is like an identification camp, and they saw me play there. We talked a little bit over the phone and emailed.

“I had a couple of other offers, too, so I just had a long discussion with my parents. We weighed all the pros and cons. I made my verbal decision around the end of July, early August.”

Fudala’s dream may have been fulfilled officially in mid-November, but her journey started seven years ago when she started playing club soccer in Morgantown, W.Va.

“I started playing club soccer when I was 10, so that was probably the turning point for me where I wanted to take it to the next level,” Fudala said. “I knew if if I was going to have my parents investing in club soccer, I was going to take it and play college soccer.

“I didn’t know what level of college soccer I was going to play at that time because you can’t really judge your technique when you’re that young. I just played it out, worked hard and wanted to play at the highest level I could.”

Fudala has been a part of some magical seasons during her high school career at Waynesburg. The Raiders won the WPIAL Class AA championship in 2017 with a 4-2 victory over Freedom. Waynesburg won its opening match in the state playoffs but suffered a 1-0 setback to Bedford in the quarterfinals.

The Raiders made the WPIAL playoffs each of the last four seasons.

Fudala hopes that her accomplishments provide an inspiration for young girls that hope to play soccer at Waynesburg.

“It is very humbling to come from a small town and make it to a Division I soccer program,” Fudala said. “I hope a trend starts where girls that play soccer here can go to Division I programs. We try to stay interactive with the junior-high team and get them on the high school field because there are a couple of good players coming up in the next few years that could definitely play collegiate soccer.”

Despite being familiar with the West Virginia women’s soccer program and head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown, Fudala decided to sign with Winthrop because of an opportunity for early playing time.

“With my club team in Morgantown, we have a lot of connections to WVU, and the coach’s daughter is on my team and her manager coaches me, so we have always been intertwined with their facilities,” Fudala said. “Nikki (Izzo-Brown) was one of my coaches during my development phase of playing the game.

“I think the goal for everyone on my club team was to play for WVU, but as you get older, you become realistic. I’m a realistic person. For me, I would have played for WVU if I could, but I would rather play for four years than just say I’m going to a top school. WVU is in the top 10 in the nation. I always wanted to be a little bit further from home.”

There are local ties at Winthrop with soon-to-be senior forward Allie Thomas, a Canon-McMillan graduate. Thomas scored six goals and had three assists this season for the Eagles to be named to the Big South All-Conference second team.

Fudala’s early playing time at Winthrop could be seen at midfield but her position could fluctuate based on the team’s needs.

“I think they like me in the position of midfield, but when it comes to soccer, you don’t necessarily recruit for a specific position,” Fudala said. “I am just going to kind of fill in wherever I can. They’ve seen me play (defensive) center back, and they like me there, too. I will probably play more on the defensive end, midfield area. I want to get as much plays time as I can get, so I’m fine with whatever position they want me to play at.

“As far as I know, they definitely told me that I’ll see minutes my freshman year. You can’t really judge because it is all in the hands of the player. We will see who puts the most work in during the offseason. I know it will be a challenge and I have to put the in the work.”