A Higher Pitch
BU women’s soccer midfielder Marisha Schumacher-Hodge heads to camp for the big leagues
Six years ago, Marisha Schumacher-Hodge, then a high school student in Pittsburgh, thought she saw her chances of playing soccer past college walk off the pitch when the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA) disbanded. But Schumacher-Hodge (CAS’09), a midfielder for BU’s women’s soccer team, is getting the chance to take her cleats to a new level.
The BU senior was invited by the Boston Breakers of the newly relaunched league — Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) league — to attend the team’s preseason camp, based on her performance at open tryouts in February. The league will begin play in late March. The Breakers have drafted most of their players and are looking to fill out the roster.
“I’ve been playing soccer since I was four years old,” Schumacher-Hodge says. “It’s been almost 20 years, but it’s always been a part of my life — both of my older sisters played and my parents both coached.” In Pittsburgh the popular sports were basketball and football, she says, but where her sisters went, she followed. “Seeing my sisters play — we are all competitive — helped me to love the game more. I still have that same love of the game now.”
And Schumacher-Hodge, who reclaimed her title as America East Midfielder of the Year after leading the 2008 Terriers to an overall record of 15-6-1 and their first perfect America East regular season since 2000, is ready to take the next step.
“If they offer me a spot,” she says, “I’ll definitely take the opportunity.”
Kim Cornuelle can be reached at kcornuel@bu.edu.
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