Trending
Since she was 4-years-old, Hollidaysburg Area High School graduate Alyssa Bell has wanted to play soccer.
She competed at the elementary level, the junior high level and the senior high level which included numerous team titles along the way. Now, she'll get to play that sport four more years at the Division I level.
Bell will play for Robert Morris University this fall with a spot on the roster. She is not a preferred walk-on as her situation is unique. She will have to wait until July to find out if it is a scholarship.
That's because of NCAA rules involving players who were allowed to return to campus because of the global pandemic that decimated the 2020 seasons for schools across the country. But make no mistake, she is on the team.
"Robert Morris did not have a fall season, but they played a condensed spring season," Bell said. "Some seniors will be returning this fall as allowed by the NCAA, so there will be a big roster for fall of 2021. They are looking at me to play center midfield or forward position, but I am able play anywhere on the field where they need me to play."
Bell was part of a Hollidaysburg program that played in four straight district title games in her scholastic career, winning all four of them in which she started.
"Alyssa has been a great team leader and impact player on the field and in the classroom. I loved her leadership for us, her ability to make plays happen for us," Lady Tigers coach Dave Soellner said. "I think you will see her best soccer as she starts her college career. I think she will be able to hold her own and do well at the next level."
Bell, who will major in biomedical engineering, saw the Pittsburgh area as a selling point for her choice.
"I want to become a a prosthetist with my (degree) and there are more opportunities in the Pittsburgh area than in Blair County," she said. "I wanted to be close enough to home for my parents and family to be able to attend some games or be able to visit occasionally, but I did not want to be too close to home."
Bell, who also played basketball in high school, also considered Bucknell, Gannon, Edinboro, Mansfield and Mount Aloysius.
"Soccer has always been my favorite sport since I started playing AYSO at the age of 4," she said. "I will be able to get a great education now, obtaining a biomedical engineering degree, while also living my dream of playing Division I soccer."