Eight Girls Soccer Players Among Eagles Who Sign Letters of Intent

Santa Margarita celebrated the accomplishments of  10 exceptional scholar-athletes on Wednesday afternoon at the Eagle Athletic Center. The young men and women bridged the gap between childhood aspirations and promising futures when they inked their collegiate letters of intent.

While the first Wednesday in February may not be a national holiday, it certainly feels like one to college and high school sports fans. Each year, National Signing Day gives high school athletes the opportunity to officially commit to scholarships at the university of their choice.

Surrounded by family, coaches and school administration, some of Santa Margarita’s finest students finally sealed the deal on their next academic destination. Each athlete wore his college’s apparel, along with a smile that tends to accompany the realization of a lifelong dream.

The Elite Eight

Santa Margarita has always prided itself on having one of the area’s premier girls soccer programs. The Eagles can give coach Chuck Morales his 13th league championship with victories in their final two South Coast matches.

“I feel a lot like a grandfather because these girls have grown up in front of my eyes,” Morales said. “I trained most of them as youth players, so I’ve been around them since they were just kids. You see them grow up, you see their tears and their hard work and their smiles. Senior year goes by so fast and suddenly they're on to the next step in her life.”

Though three girls missed Wednesday morning’s festivities because they were on a retreat, five of Santa Margarita’s eight Division-1 bound soccer stars gathered to sign their letter of intent and were the highlight of the morning.

Here's a rundown of the eight girls soccer standouts:

Lauren Bohaboy -Notre Dame

Bohaboy's legacy will likely last a long time at Santa Margarita. The forward was recently named the California High School Player of the year by the National Soccer Coaches Assn. of America and currently leads Orange County with 34 goals scored. She will taker her talents to Notre Dame, the reigning NCAA national champions.

"My goal is to win a national championship at Notre Dame," Bohaboy said. "I've learned to always work hard and never give up on a dream."

Morales' Memories: “Bo is the greatest scoring machine we’ve ever had.”

Courtney Doud - Bucknell

"It's fun to look back and see how much we've grown and progressed together," Doud said. "We've been working hard at getting better since we were little. Soccer has brought us together as friends and we're all very proud of each other."

Morales' Memories: “Courtney put the work in here and I know she’ll continue to do the same at Bucknell.”

Mackenzie Cochrane - Fresno State

"I'm really excited to play at Fresno State because I love the community and the team that I'll be joining," Cochrane said. "Signing this morning with the other girls was a really good experience and it's a great way to kind of end our time here."

Morales' Memories: “Mackenzie is our ‘Iron Man.’ She’s as rock solid as they come.”

Leigh Edwards - Texas A&M

“Everyone is heading to great schools and it helps gives Santa Margarita a reputation,” Edwards said. “I’m so excited to go to Texas A&M and each of us is going somewhere impressive, so it’s just a great feeling to know we did this as a group.”

Morales' Memories: “I’ve known Leigh since she was 9 years old. She has worked on her skills relentlessly and we’ll miss her dearly.”

Taylor Krebs - Boston University

"I really wanted to go to school on the East Coast to gain a new experience and I fell in love with Boston as soon as I walked on campus,” Krebs said. “It’s one of the top schools for biology, which is what I plan to study in college. I can’t wait to play with my new teammates and enjoy the city.”

Morales' Memories: “Taylor has gotten everything out of her athletic ability through work. She’s also extremely intelligent.”

Haley Guerrero - UC-Santa Barbara

Morales' Memories: “She’s an outstanding person with a great value system. Her parents have done a great job.”

Emily Roth - Northern Arizona University

Morales' Memories: “She’s a great player who we were fortunate to have for three years and I have no doubt she’ll do well at NAU.”

Anastasia Gillen - Brown University

Morales' Memories: “She’s come so far and because of her academic abilities she’s headed to a sensational school."

##

Also partaking in Wednesday morning's events were Chris Rawji, of the boys soccer team, and football standout Reiley Higgins.

Rawji signed to attend California.

"It's a big accomplishment for me to be able to represent the SM soccer program and carry on the tradition of our athletes playing at big-time schools," Rawji said. "I hope to make a big difference as a freshman and help the team win another Pac-10 championship. Off the field, my goal is to do the best I can and get into the business school."

Higgins will head to the Ivy League, where he will suit up at wide receiver for Brown University.

"Brown offered me the chance to join a successful football program and receive a tremendous education," Higgins said. "I feel like I'll be getting the best of both worlds in college. It's really cool to see so many fellow SM athletes heading to different schools."

Download the movie