Amanda Banfield '18 Recruiting Profile

I am a very dedicated soccer player who is looking to get better at every opportunity possible.  My brother is currently playing for a top 10 soccer program for Division II and I am striving to achieve similar or greater accomplishments than he has.  Both of my parents have also played Division I colIegiate sports.

I  have nine years of experience with select, travel, and other elite soccer programs. I have been with my current club team since I was six years old and have continued to progress with them and grow as a player. We are an NPL-EDP team and we continue to grow as a team and get better. In addition I have played with the Washington Spirit Academy Super-Y Academy program for four years. I played U-13 the first year and then I was moved up to the U-15 team (a year above my normal age group). My U-15 team and I did very well during the summer of 2014 and succeeded in our goal of making it to Nationals in December of 2014.  I am very proud that we defeated some very good teams and made it to the National Semi-Finals in Florida.  I made the Spirit Academy team again in 2015, again a year up and we won our division going 8-1-1 and once again made it to the National Finals at IMG in Florida. I was fortunate to have a good tournament and was one of only three defenders named to the Super-Y North American National Finals All-Tournament team.

This year I was selected to the Regional Scouting Series for Super Y and was chosen to the Super Y National Player Pool and was then one of only 36 players in the whole league chosen as a Super Y National All-Star and sent to San Antonio FC for their USL Experience.

I wanted to play at the highest level possible and tried out for the United States Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) for the Washington Spirit.  I made the team this year (2017) and will be playing for the Washington Spirit/Baltimore Armour Maryland USSDA team.

When it comes to school I think of myself as a good student and a great learner. I have maintained on or above a 3.2 GPA and my weighted GPA is a 4.2 as I continue to take at least 5 honors classes each semester with AP courses included.  I have learned that time management is very important and that grades play a large part in the recruiting process.

In my first year of high school I succeeded in earning myself a starting spot on the Varsity soccer team as a Freshman. Having this experience has taught me that building relationships and friendships with your teammates helps you grow as a player, person, and a student. I also hope to display my leadership to my fellow teammates, friends, and opponents on the field and off the field. I made Varsity again as a Sophomore and was the leading scorer on my varsity high school team with 21 points in 12 games played (9 goals and 3 assists).  This year, in my Junior year, I broke my foot and was only able to play in three games for High School.  In those three games I scored three goals.  I also made the Varsity Lacrosse team the past three years and was the leading scorer on the team last year.

I'm looking forward to the opportunity to play soccer at the collegiate level and I am not ruling out any schools or levels at the moment.  I am really looking for the best overall fit for my collegiate experience with soccer as an important part.