Lake Catholic junior Ella Hadley put an end to the recruiting process on Friday when she announced her commitment to the University of Akron.
“It’s amazing to be able to continue to play soccer at the collegiate level and I can’t wait to be a Zip,” Hadley said. “When I first visited Akron, I felt a sense of community there and I just loved it. I also love the coaching staff and their style of play.”
Hadley, who hopes to major in business administration at Akron, attend one of the Zips’ soccer camps and the coaching staff then returned the visit by dropping on a couple of her club team’s showcase games.
It was during a visit to campus when Hadley developed strong feelings for the school.
“The campus is beautiful and I really like how everything is within walking distance,” she said. “The athletic facilities are amazing, especially their indoor training field.”
The Zips recruited Hadley to play as an attacking midfielder, a position where she believes she can thrive.
“I think I’ll fit into that role great because their style of play is building out of the back, but always looking to attack and go for goal,” she said.
Hadley scored six goals and finished with eight assists as a junior. She was named second-team All-Ohio and first-team All-Greater Cleveland.
She finished with five goals and 13 assists as a sophomore.
With one year of high school soccer remaining, Hadley is focused on leading the Cougars to that elusive first state championship.
Lake Catholic finished second in the state in 2017 and reached the Final Four in 2018.
“For my senior season, I’m hoping we can make it to states again and hopefully get the gold,” Hadley said. “Some of my best friends are on the team like Kennedy Rieple Andrea Babic and Julia Marusic, and I think together we can work to achieve that goal.”
