Latrobe’s Maddy Petruzzi commits to Valparaiso

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, August 9, 2023 | 2:18 PM

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Another Latrobe athlete is set to continue her career at college soccer’s highest level.

Junior Maddy Petruzzi announced a verbal commitment to play at Valparaiso of the NCAA Division I Missouri Valley Conference.

“Valparaiso has a variety of majors that I’m interested in pursuing, which was my No. 1 focus when choosing a school,” Petruzzi said. “I had a bunch of conversations with the head coach (John Marovich), and he was super genuine and up front with me about everything, and I really appreciated that. I really enjoy their style of play.”

An all-section midfielder, Petruzzi came back from an ankle injury last year to help the Wildcats (12-5-2) reach the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals.

She plays club soccer for Beadling SC 07 and has affiliation with Mid-America Talent ID U15 and the Girls Academy League.

She is the fourth Latrobe girls soccer player to commit to a Division I program in the last year, joining Regan Reilly (Bowling Green), Ella Bulava (Maryland) and Sofia Decerb (James Madison).

Only Decerb is not returning this fall after she graduated.

Robin Reilly is another Division I prospect for the Wildcats, who are expecting to again contend for a WPIAL title, with one of their most talented teams.

Valparaiso checked several boxes for Petruzzi.

“If something happened where I could no longer play soccer, I wanted to make sure that I would still be happy at the school,” Petruzzi said of Valpo. “When I went to (prospect) camp, I was able to get a tour of the campus and I really loved it.

“Valpo is a seven-hour drive from my house, so it’s a little far, but they do play some games closer to home that my family can get to.”

Valparaiso has recruited in the area before. The program saw another local product, Kiley Dugan, have a successful college career. She was a four-year starter for the Beacons.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

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