By Jonathan Sawyer
Sports Editor
Starting in 18 out of 19 soccer games this season, Sabrina Sousa-Sampson, a sports studies major, sure made a name for herself. The freshman out of Toronto, Ontario was one of nine newcomers to the Bonnies’ women’s soccer team this season. She proved she was ready for the collegiate level, as in her first game as a Bonnie, she scored the only goal the team had in a three-to-one loss against the Buffalo Bulls.
Sousa-Sampson was recently named to the A10 All Rookie Team.
She said it meant a lot to her to be recognized.
“Coming in as a freshman, the one thing I struggled with before coming to St. Bonaventure was holding back,” Sousa-Sampson said. “One of the things I looked forward here was not holding back, making a name for myself and proving with work, good things come.”
She was a key contributor to every game for the Bonnies, producing nearly a shot a game on net and totaling six points for the season. In her third game, she picked up her first collegiate assist as she passed the ball through two defenders to fellow freshman forward Sydney Cerza, who picked up her first collegiate goal. She didn’t take being young as a factor of playing.
“Well, going into each game I didn’t see myself as being one of the youngest players to go up against seniors and juniors. I just looked to play to the best of my ability with my team even when it got tough for myself,” Sousa-Sampson said.
Sousa-Sampson’s second goal of the year came in the Bonnies only conference win against the Davidson Wildcats. The goal came with just under two minutes left to go in the half.
She said that the veterans on the team made it easy for the freshmen to feel welcomed.
“Yeah, they were really welcoming, and they always checked up on us [the freshmen] and encouraged us even when things didn’t go well,” Sousa-Sampson said. “They were always just a big support system for us, even on and off the field, they let us know we were once a freshman too, and sometime mistakes are okay, as long as you learn from them.”
The freshman class scored a total of 12 out of the 20 goals scored by the Bonnies this season. With looking ahead to the future, there is some light for the Bonnies.
“I think after experiencing our first season and season what it took to play a full season, it gave a lot of our freshmen confidence and us [freshmen] being such a big class coming in this year,” Sousa-Sampson said. “What we took away was we have a big influence on this team and big impact on this team and we could possibly make or break the team with the effort we put in.”
The Bonnies finished in last place in the A10 Conference finishing 1-9 and 4-14-1 overall. Sousa-Sampson contributed with two goals and two assists.
sawyerjp15@bonaventure.edu
