When she entered high school as a freshman, Maggie Motolese had a dream of following in her older sister Angela’s footsteps and playing Division 1 soccer.

It’s a lofty goal for any athlete, but not only did Maggie have Angela’s path to look back on, she came loaded with talent of her own.

Looking back now, it’s hard to imagine that she wouldn’t have been a lock to play for a Division 1 school in college. With 52 goals in her final two seasons and 17 assists to go with her 30 goals as a senior, Motolese has been a team leader in points and has been equally important behind the scenes, helping her teammates to be better.

Motolese’s dream came to fruition when she recently accepted a Division 1 scholarship offer from St. Francis of New York.

Motolese had some doubts about whether her dream would actually come true. Even in her successful junior season that saw her put the ball into the back of the net 22 times, she had doubts. She was a key part of that team that not only won districts, but went on to play in the state semifinal game in Hershey, one of her crowning achievements at Northwestern Lehigh.

“I got really nervous sophomore and junior year because I didn’t know where I wanted to go, or whether I was going to be able to go D-1,” said Motolese. “All those nerves went away when I started to go to tournaments and started getting recruited.”

As it turned out, Motolese had a choice of D-1 programs, but always leaned toward Saint Francis College. Her choice became official recently and she, along with two of her soccer teammates, were celebrated at a college signing ceremony in the Northwestern gym, where Motolese also played on the school basketball team in her senior season.

“I’m super excited. I’ve been waiting for this day for so long and I’m excited to do it with my teammates,” said Motolese with a broad smile. “Ever since I was a freshman, it was my dream to play Division 1 soccer, and so I’m really excited that’s happening. I wanted to follow in my older sister’s footsteps, because she also played D-1, so that was my dream and goal.”

Teammates Jaymi Smith and Sara Hathaway also announced last week that they will be continuing their soccer careers at the next level — as both of them are eaed to Penn State-Berks to continue their education and playing careers.

“My older sister definitely helped me out with college and with high school and gave me advice on what to do,” Motolese said. “It was nice to have her go through it so I knew what to expect.”

Angela Motolese played D-1 soccer at Fairleigh Dickinson before transferring to Kutztown, where she played soccer and competed in track.

Once the colleges started recruiting Maggie Motolese, she had to decide on a major. She wasn’t really sure what she wanted to major in, and the decision wasn’t an easy one. As luck would have it, by taking on an added educational challenge, she found her way to her major.

“I took a criminal justice class at LCCC this semester, and I just fell in love with it. I really think that’s a good fit for me. I never actually knew what I wanted to do, but taking that class gave me a really good idea,” explained Motolese, who will minor in Homeland Security. As it turned out, Saint Francis College has a well-regarded criminal justice program, which fit nicely with her love of the school.

The St. Francis campus is located in Brooklyn, New York, so it won’t be too difficult for her family to make trips to watch her play. It also won’t be too difficult for Motolese to get back home to watch the next wave of Motolese players go through Northwestern Lehigh’s soccer program. It will give Motolese the opportunity to help guide her sisters, just as Angela helped her. It will also give her the chance to bring some old memories of her high school career to mind.

“I’ll always remember winning districts in my junior year with my team and going to the state semifinals. That was definitely the best year out of my four years,” said Motolese. “I’ll definitely come back to watch my little sisters play soccer and watch the basketball team play. I’ll definitely come back.”