Maya Belcastro signs with Seton Hill

Maya Belcastro is following in her older sister Sophia’s footsteps.

Sophia suits up for the women’s soccer team at Robert Morris University and on Tuesday Maya committed to play NCAA Division 2 soccer with the Seton Hill Griffins in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.

“My sister played in the States and she has had a really good experience. I definitely look up to her a lot. It was nice to see that she enjoyed it and it was something that I wanted to do,” the Grade 12 student at Notre Dame said.

Maya also loved the thought of playing in the States.

“Their soccer is more competitive, it is a bigger deal and there is a lot more scholarship money given out for athletics.”

Sophia and Maya took different routes to land scholarships.

“Her process was a little weird because it was during COVID but she and a lot of other people told me to talk to everyone and don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Maya said. “Also look at the whole package (school and athletics) and make sure it is what you want. It was a process of elimination going to every school and I kept my options open for a long time. I didn’t want to jump into a decision just to get it done. I wanted to think it though and she was very supportive of that.”

Before deciding on Seton Hill in Greensburg, Penn., the striker made official visits to Division 1 and Division 2 schools in New York, Pennsylvannia and Illinois. She chose Seton Hill over three other offers.

“There were a lot of different factors that brought me to the school starting with the coach. I connected with him right away and he reminded me a lot of my coach with the (New York) Flash who I really enjoy having. He was also supportive during my recruiting process. He told me go look at other schools and keep all your other options open but know that we want you. He reassured me a lot and he showed that he’s a supportive coach. I’ve always had good coaches throughout my soccer career. It was important to have a good connection and a good coach.”

There were others factors as well that made her choose Seton Hill.

“They have a very good nursing program which I am going into and there’s a hospital about five minutes away walking where I will be completing my placement at.”

There were two aha moments which made her realize Seton Hill would be the next stop on her soccer journey.

“I went to an identification camp there the first week of August and I performed very well. Just seeing the campus made everything seem a lot more real. You can talk to a school but when you are really there that’s what sparks things and gets you thinking. I got to talk to the other coaches and there were girls from the team who helped out so it was nice to meet the girls and get their perspective on the school.”

The second moment came during a phone call with the coach.

“He explained the good things that he saw and he said that he really wanted me as a player. He made me an offer and it was a moment where it became real and I realized it was something that I wanted to do.”

She has numerous goals for her first season.

“As a freshman, people say you don’t get a lot of field time. I think that is true in some cases but I want to work as hard as I can to develop as a player and a person, meet new people and have different experiences, and hopefully have a lot of field time.”

She is most looking forward to moving to a different country, having different experiences, living on her own and meeting new people.

To prepare for university soccer, Belcastro will play with the New York Flash until its season ends in June and then join a summer team in Canada. She will also be working with two personal trainers.

She started in soccer when she was three and played soccer with various travel teams in Niagara until joining the Flash last year to make the most of her recruiting year.

“I wanted to get as much exposure into the States as I could because I knew that I really wanted to go to the States. Playing there was definitely the way to go. We had so many showcases and games where I got to play in front of hundreds of coaches which was an experience in itself. It was an easy way to get recruited going to showcases in front of so many coaches.”