Metea Valley junior forward Isabella Leofanti has been passionate about soccer and writing ever since she can remember.
She’s good at both.
“She’s really techie on the ball, so she’s able to get around people really well and get balls across the box,” Metea Valley junior forward Lily Senese said. “That leads to more opportunities, obviously, so we can finish.”
Leofanti began playing soccer when she was 4. Her father, Greg, coached a park district team that included Senese and current teammate Olivia Hernandez.
Those three all made the varsity team as freshmen, when they helped the Mustangs win their first state championship. Leofanti had a combined three goals and three assists in her first two seasons coming off the bench for one of the most prolific offenses in the state.
The Mustangs (5-0) haven’t missed a beat with Senese and Leofanti replacing graduated stars Tyra King and Jordan Lange in the starting lineup. Leofanti, a Kent State commit, has three goals and an assist this season.
“They’ve been around for a while, and that’s a good thing,” Metea Valley coach Chris Whaley said. “We’re able to get (Leofanti) in places where she can be successful.
“She’s used to training at a high level, and she knows what our expectations are. She should be whipping balls in the box and getting assists, she should be creating shots for herself, and she is starting to do that more and more, which is great.”
Leofanti is having a great time on the field, but that’s not the only place she’s enjoying herself. She joined the school newspaper, The Stampede, as a news reporter last school year and has become the news and headlines editor.
“I always loved writing ever since I started school,” she said. “I had an open elective, so I was looking for a class that gave me an opportunity to write. Then my English teacher actually told me about journalism, so I said I’ll try it out. I ended up loving it.”
So much so that Leofanti intends to double major in business and journalism in college. She is particularly interested in investigative journalism.
“I’ve done a couple stories on the candidate fairs that we’ve held at our school,” she said. “I’ve interviewed (U.S. Rep.) Bill Foster. I go around the school looking at different issues that are going on and report on those.”
Leofanti said the biggest issue she’s written about is the effectiveness of in-school suspensions. She said she got some pushback from administrators on that.
“It definitely made me want to keep going and push through to see what the issue is behind that,” she said.
Leofanti’s doggedness has drawn others into journalism, including Senese, who joined the school newspaper this school year as a news reporter.
“She’s one of the leaders for the group,” Senese said. “She’s always on top of stuff and asking anyone if they need help. She’s always communicative with people.”
That includes college coaches, said Leofanti, who has a 4.0 GPA and also competes on Metea Valley’s girls swimming team.
“When I was looking at colleges, I made sure to let everyone know that academics is the No. 1 priority because that’s obviously what I will be doing in the future after soccer,” Leofanti said. “But soccer is also super important to me as well. I have to balance both, and it’s a lot of work. But at the end of the day, it pays off.”
Leofanti is hoping the Mustangs, who are 46-3-4 since she joined the team, can win another state title. Her play could be pivotal.
“It’s really great to have a little bit of a bigger role on the team,” she said. “I’ve played behind players like Tyra (King) and Jordan Lange, and now I’m stepping into their role. It’s a lot bigger responsibility, but I think I’m handling it well. I’m just looking forward to seeing what’s to come.”
Leofanti can’t report on the soccer team, but she’s doing all she can to whip up interest on the newspaper staff
“I try to pitch it to the sports team,” she said. “I’m like, ‘You guys should come out to the games.’ They come to some. They’re writing a story on the team for the next issue, so that will be really cool.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
