Soccer is the last word staff sport and Hart Excessive’s Gianna Costello and Mia Rodriguez are the last word staff gamers.
The 2 UC Irvine commits and finest pals from Newhall have the Hawks poised for a deep run within the Southern Part Division 1 playoffs. Their paths to the NCAA stage have been comparable — they usually have gone by a lot of the journey collectively.
Hart coach Brett Croft, who playedat the Grasp’s School in Newhall and likewise coaches the ladies’s staff at Biola College in La Mirada, is proud that his two senior leaders set a optimistic instance for his or her teammates.
“Good players start as good people,” mentioned Croft, now in his fourth 12 months as Hawks pilot after serving the earlier six because the JV coach. “Gianna and Mia are very selfless individuals. They’ve been in our program for four years. They lead with humility and confidence. Both are attacking players but also versatile. They’ll likely be wingers at the next level.”
Not surprisingly, the 2 future Anteaters are Hart’s main scorers. Costello has 14 objectives and 4 assists, whereas Rodriguez has 10 objectives and 5 assists.
Costello and Rodriguez every scored twice in a 7-0 victory at Canyon Nation on Tuesday. Costello scored the primary objective, then she and Rodriguez assisted on freshman Kelly Wieckowski’s objective throughout a 5-0 win at Valencia on Thursday.
Hart Excessive’s Gianna Costello (4) battles a Canyon participant for the ball throughout a Foothill League recreation. She has a team-leading 14 objectives this season.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Occasions)
The Hawks (9-5-1) are 7-0 in Foothill League play, outscoring their opponents 30-0. They journey to Westlake for a nonleague contest on Wednesday, then resume league motion Thursday at Golden Valley.
“I’ve been playing soccer since I was 7½ but I’ve also played flag football, track and field, softball and basketball in high school,” mentioned Costello, who competes within the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes and excessive bounce. “I gave up basketball and softball my sophomore year, I was a slot receiver in flag football in the fall and I’m hoping to break the school record in the high jump in the spring.”
“Growing up, I tried basketball, volleyball, swimming, dance and, of course, soccer,” Rodriguez added.
Like most younger soccer gamers in America, their improvement began in AYSO.
“I went from AYSO to AYSO All-Stars to club, then to the Elite Clubs National Level (ECNL) towards the end of my junior year,” Costello mentioned.
“My story is similar,” Rodriguez mentioned. “I started AYSO when I was 5, club when I was 10 and ECNL at the end of my junior year.”
Rodriguez, slated to play exterior midfield at Irvine, was the primary to commit, doing so early final summer time.
“I considered UC Irvine and three others,” mentioned Rodriguez, who has a 4.6 cumulative grade-point common. “The biggest factors were location, being close to my family and the coaching staff. I responded well to [UCI coach Scott Juniper]. I kept an open mind about going out of state, but deep down I knew I wanted to stay closer to home.”
Hart Excessive’s Mia Rodriguez dribbles into open subject throughout a recreation towards rival Canyon. She has 10 objectives and 5 assists this season.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Occasions)
Her teammate was quickly to observe.
“I committed at the beginning of my senior year,” mentioned Costello, who maintains a 4.5 GPA and expects to play ahead for the Anteaters. “Being close to my family and my personal values were two of the factors. I was considering six schools and it came down to UCI and Point Loma. When I made my decision, Mia was the first person I told. I’m super happy we get to experience another four years together.”
The 2 have been on the identical membership staff since junior excessive they usually transitioned to ECNL on the similar time, although they play for various groups. Each plan on majoring in enterprise.
“We can request living together,” Rodriguez mentioned, referring to the residing preparations of faculty athletes. “In fact, they encourage us to live off campus and be settled in before the season starts.”
Each ladies concurred that going to the ECNL, a nationwide developmental league based in 2009 that’s separated into age teams from U-13 to U-19, performed a serious position of their school recruitment.
“We won two state cups with Legends FC at Central Park [in Santa Clarita], but ECNL has more showcases and gives you much more exposure,” Costello mentioned. “Some coaches only look at that.”
Rodriguez echoed her teammate’s sentiments: “It’s definitely a good idea to join ECNL. You travel all over playing lots of tournaments and you get seen. It really prepares you.”
Successful is one thing each ladies are accustomed to in highschool.
Hart went 20-3-2 final season and superior to the quarterfinals of the Division 1 playoffs, shedding to eventual champion Eastvale Roosevelt. Costello tallied 9 objectives and one help in 16 video games, whereas Rodriguez had 5 objectives and two assists in 13 video games.
In 2022-23, Hart gained the Southern California Regional Division II championship with a 4-2 victory over San Diego San Marcos within the finals after profitable the Southern Part Division 2 crown 1-0 over Harvard-Westlake in heavy rain at School of the Canyons. Costello had eight objectives and three assists in 9 video games, and Rodriguez had two assists in two video games.
Hart completed 13-4-2 total and 9-1-2 in league when the 2 had been freshman. Rodriguez was introduced as much as varsity halfway by that season whereas Costello remained on JV.
Hart has not suffered a league loss since a 1-0 defeat to Valencia on Feb. 3, 2022, when Costello and Rodriguez had been in ninth grade. Since then, the Hawks have gone 29-0-3 in league whereas posting 26 shutouts and are hovering towards their fourth straight league title.
“We started off a little slow, so we were really motivated coming into league,” Rodriguez mentioned. “Winning league is always our first goal.”
Costello delivered the Hawks’ greatest objective of the season, scoring within the remaining minute handy Saugus its first defeat Dec. 19. Unselfishly, Rodriguez agreed to play protection in a contest her staff wanted to win. Whereas their coach might be unhappy to see the duo graduate, he appears ahead to watching them on the subsequent stage.
“I have confidence both Mia and Gianna will succeed in college due to their relentless work ethic, competitive nature, team-first mentality, and their innate God-given abilities and talents,” Croft mentioned.
