Trying to find the right college can be one of the most difficult processes any high school student faces.

While the hardest part is often figuring out where to start, Northwestern Lehigh senior twins Olivia and Sophia Motolese didn’t have that problem.

They knew exactly which school would be their first visit and the one all others would be compared to.

With older sister Maggie heading into her third season at St. Francis of Brooklyn next fall, that was where their search started - and ended.

“St. Francis was always our main pick,” said Olivia. “Our older sister Maggie plays there. We only got to play with her [one season] during freshman year, and it’s always been a dream for all three of us to play together.”

Sophia and Olivia are the third and fourth siblings from their family to reach the Division 1 level. Before Maggie, Angela Motolese went to Fairleigh Dickinson University right after high school before finishing her career at Kutztown.

“We all made it to Division 1 programs, and we’re just excited to make our parents happy,” said Olivia.

Another part of their college decision that didn’t take a lot of thought was whether the twins would go to the same school or split up.

“We’ve been on the same soccer team our whole lives,” said Sophia. “We’ve been together our whole lives. We do everything together. We go every place together. Our decision from day one was always to go to school together.”

“We’ve always started soccer games right next to each other in the midfield,” said Olivia. “We could never split up. Playing 15 years of soccer together, splitting up just can’t happen.”

They have been two of the best players to come through the Colonial League in recent years. Sophia has scored 43 goals in her career and assisted on 48, with 20 goals and 16 assists coming last fall in her senior season. Olivia scored 24 goals and assisted on 48, with 10 goals and seven assists in her senior season.

They are both familiar with the level of play they will experience in college after having played high-level club soccer and seeing two sisters play in college.

“We’ve played club soccer for a long time, so it’s always been competitive,” said Olivia. “To play at the Division 1 level, it’s going to be super-competitive. I’m excited for it. I’m nervous, but super-excited.”

“It’s going to be amazing,” said Sophia, “and it’s going to be tough because they’re going to push you to be better.”

Their goal is to help the Terriers win a Northeast Conference title, and perhaps even compete for an NCAA Championship.

Winning titles in something the twins have gotten used to in high school, as Northwestern’s girls soccer team has won league and district titles in each of the past three seasons.

“My time with Northwestern soccer program was amazing,” said Olivia. “Four years we made it to league playoffs. We lost that freshman year, and then ever since we won leagues and districts back-to-back-to-back. And making it to states three times is amazing. I’m happy for all my coaches who took us there, and I’ll never forget it.”

“I loved it,” Sophia said of her high school soccer career. “It was the best soccer of my life, and I was so close to the girls. I loved it so much.”