Ryan chooses Bloomsburg Huskies
Some student-athletes go deep into their senior season not knowing where they want to continue their academic and athletic careers. Alexa Ryan wasn’t one of them.
As a high school freshman Ryan got an early jump on looking at colleges and she found a school she liked. As it turned out, Ryan also wasn’t one of those who changed her mind a few times on what school she wanted to attend since her early choice remained at the top of her list throughout high school.
Bloomsburg University offers Ryan the chance to not only continue playing soccer, but to major in speech language pathology.
“I visited Bloomsburg my freshman year and liked it from day one,” said Ryan. “Bloomsburg had the major I was interested in along with a great soccer program. The atmosphere felt like home and I loved the campus.
“I didn’t want to go to school too far away and felt Bloomsburg was the perfect distance. I looked into some smaller D3 schools and state school options, but Bloomsburg has always been my number one choice.”
Ryan’s interest in her major started when she shadowed speech therapists. What she discovered was that she had a genuine interest in working in the field and realized that she enjoyed working with children.
Ryan had already known that she wanted to work in a field where she could help others, but actually getting to see the work she could be doing in the future made an impact on her. Fortunately, Bloomsburg offered speech language pathology as a major, keeping the school at the top of her list not only athletically, but also for academics.
As the goalie for Emmaus, Ryan played a crucial role in the Hornets’ growing success over the past few seasons. She also was crucial in a game that stands out in the minds of most players who were on the 2019-20 team. She helped her team snap Parkland’s 70-game winning streak over District 11 teams. Ryan allowed just one goal in the 2-1 win that stands out as one of the biggest wins in the history of the program.
Emmaus held a 2-0 lead before Parkland scored late in the first half to cut the lead to one. In the second half, it was all about the Emmaus defense, which Ryan led with one diving, athletic save after another.
“I will always remember breaking Parkland’s 70-game winning streak,” said Ryan. “Being on our home field and having the Hornets Nest cheering us on was amazing. The whole atmosphere of that game is something I will never forget.”
As with every student heading to college this fall, questions remain about just what lies ahead. Some schools have announced that they will hold on-campus classes and some of them have adjusted the academic calendar. Others haven’t made a final decision on how they’ll approach the fall semester. For Ryan, the fall has some question marks.
“We are planning on starting school earlier, but we are still waiting on a final word concerning our soccer season,” said Ryan. “We are unsure if there will be a season or if there will be limitations.”