St. Mary’s star Amanda Webster signs letter of intent

St. Mary’s High soccer star Amanda Webster made it official Wednesday when she signed a letter of intent to play soccer for Santa Clara University.Webster is the second female athlete from St. Mary’s in two years to earn a scholarship at the Division 1 level. Last year, the St. Mary’s community was celebrating the success of hockey player Abby Gauthier, who is now playing at Providence College.Webster’s prowess on the soccer field drew the attention of Division 1 coaches from throughout the country. Although she seriously considered attending the University of Connecticut, it took one trip to Santa Clara and she was sold on the school.”I knew when I left that I wanted to go there,” Webster said, adding that when schools were first allowed to contact her last year, she was getting deluged with emails, and it was overwhelming.”For our students to be recruited by schools that play at the high level that Santa Clara and Providence College do in their respective sports says quite a bit,” athletic director Jeff Newhall said. “We’re not talking about run-of-the-mill Division 1 schools. Both are top-10 programs nationally.”Webster didn’t start out as a varsity player at St. Mary’s. She actually played junior varsity her first year. That was when she was in the seventh grade. She made varsity as an eighth-grader and has been a key factor in the Spartans’ success ever since.”Amanda is probably one of the best to come out of the school, her and Keri Domohowski are one-two,” St. Mary’s girls soccer coach Jim Foley said. “She was double- and triple-teamed all the time, and she was still able to do what she does.”Webster raked in the honors last fall. She was The Item Player of the Year, a two-time Catholic Central League Most Valuable Player and Eastern Mass. Player of the Year two years. She finished her high school career with 102 career goals and 52 assists to become the school’s all-time leading scorer. She had 28 goals and 15 assists as a senior.”I loved playing for St. Mary’s,” Webster said, adding that although she probably won’t play center midfield in college like she did in high school, being in the decision-maker role helped her become a better player.Webster will be playing club soccer for the Massachusetts Stars, a team based out of Acton, this spring and summer, and come August, it’s off to California for the start of the pre-season. Santa Clara plays in the West Coast Conference.