At Mount Mercy Academy’s recent Baccalaureate Mass, senior Rosalie (Rosie) Bandura was named the school’s Outstanding Senior Athlete. The Senior Athlete Award is given to the senior who exemplifies not only athletic ability, but sportsmanship, leadership and character. During her four years at Mount Mercy Academy, Bandura excelled in soccer, track and lacrosse and was recognized by her coaches, teammates and other individuals within the Monsignor Martin League.
A four-year varsity starter in soccer, Bandura was a two-time Player of the Year for Division B and a three-time First Team All-Catholic. She is also a two-time Most Valuable Player on the soccer team and last year was also named the Booster Club’s Mount Mercy Athlete of the Year. For her Mount Mercy career, Bandura has scored 53 goals and accumulated 19 assists despite missing time the past two seasons with injuries. She signed a National Letter of Intent to continue her soccer career at Mercyhurst University.
Mount Mercy Soccer Coach Maddie Higgins feels that Bandura’s passion and drive are her two greatest qualities. She stated that Bandura has passion not only for soccer, but for life, success, spreading kindness and for being an amazing teammate. “In everything Rosie does, it’s with a fire inside of her. She does everything at 110%. She expects the best from herself and knows that this does not just happen with wishful thinking. She works non-stop to achieve these goals,” Higgins conveyed.
She ran track as a freshman and senior, achieving All-Catholic honors this season as a member of the school’s 4 by 400-meter and 4 by 800-meter relay teams that placed third at the All-Catholic meet. She also finished sixth in the 400-meter run.
Bandura competed in lacrosse as a junior and senior, showing remarkable improvement as a senior, capping the season with her selection as a Second Team All-Catholic. “Rosie has been an absolute pleasure to coach. She always asked for extra help before and after practice and worked extremely hard all season,” Mount Mercy Lacrosse Coach Abbie Lelito remarked. Bandura tallied 33 goals and added eight assists this season.
