A versatile player confident in her abilities, Rosewood’s Juliette Tufano had no trouble deciding where she would prefer to continue her soccer career.
She is leaving one small town to live in another – Brevard, North Carolina.
On Wednesday, the senior signed a national letter of intent to play soccer at Division III Brevard College. Tufano said she felt right at home in Brevard.
“For a while, it was my dream to play soccer in college, so having everyone support me is awesome,” Tufano said. “I used the website NCSA (Next College Student Athlete), and that put me out to a bunch of colleges. They reached out to me, and they liked my videos, so they offered me a spot on the team.
“It’s my dream school.”
Tufano helped guide the Eagles to two trips to the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A playoffs. The Eagles advanced to the second round during Tufano’s sophomore season, where she led the team goals scored and was second on the team in assists.
Tufano added she is thankful Rosewood head coach Eddie Maldonado saw her potential.
“Coach Maldonado has always paid attention to me and saw the potential in me, so he’s one of the best coaches,” Tufano said.
Maldonado said Tufano is a rare student-athlete who possesses the raw talent and always wants to get better while also making her teammates better.
“This is absolutely awesome, and I’m just so proud to see all of the hard work she, and her family, have put in has paid off,” Maldonado said. “She’s a talented player, and we have the ability with her to move her from place to place, so it’s exciting to have a player that has the ability to read the game and the skill to play in different positions.
“It’s going to be a huge loss when she leaves, and I’m glad we’ve got one more year with her because she adds so much to the program. She puts it all together, and that’s special.”
Tufano lost most of her junior season to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Eagles were 2-0-2 before the season was cut short, and Tufano was disappointed to lose her junior season.
However, Tufano is thankful she gets to play one more season in an Eagles jersey.
“Your junior season is really important, so it really stunk that we only had four games,” Tufano said. “This season, I’d really like to score four goals in one game. That would be a goal this season.”
Tufano will put considerable pressure on opposing teams in college.
A member of the USA South Athletic Conference, Brevard logged a 5-10-3 worksheet in 2019, and Tufano will work hard over the next four years to lead the Tornados to their first winning season since 2018.
