Leah Cesanek Shines In Goal For Spartans

When most people think of The University of Tampa, they don't usually realize the university is home to 12 NCAA Division II national championships. But this was something that Leah Cesanek, the freshman goalkeeper from Haverford, Penn., definitely knew when she decided to attend school at UT.

As she notes, "I heard about the team winning the national championship while I was in high school, and came to visit the campus and really liked it." The Pennsylvania native wanted to play for a strong team with a winning program.

The goalkeeper now finds herself in the Sunshine State, and already leading the team in six shutouts for the season. Cesanek has helped lead the team to a 9-5 record. She leads the team with 32 saves, and a save percentage of .711. Maybe her secret is her lucky charm. "My pre-game superstition is I have this long string of magnetic soccer balls and I play around with them before every game," she says, laughing.

For Cesanek, the game of soccer entered her life at a young age. "I started playing soccer when I was 5 years old, but didn't start playing goalie until I was 11," she says.

Cesanek says one of her most vivid memories is her first save as a goalie. "It was so embarrassing," she says, laughing. "I closed my eyes and dove to save the ball." She started playing club soccer around the age of 12, and didn't stop until her arrival at UT.

Having an extremely impressive high school career, including several years playing club soccer and three years a part of US Youth Soccer's Olympic Development Program, everything has not always gone as planned for the student-athlete.

"I broke my leg my sophomore year of high school, and was out for four months." It was frustrating for Cesanek, who had to do rehabilitation following four months in a cast due to a play where she slide tackled for the ball. "It was hard even after it was healed because I was timid to tackle again."

After overcoming her fear her junior year, she entered her senior year strong by leading her team to the playoffs. "When my team got second in the conference it was a huge accomplishment. It was the first time we had made the playoffs in 20 years," said the freshman. Cesanek became the first female soccer player to be named her hometown newspaper, Delco Times Player of the Year.

Although Cesanek is far from home, she is grateful of her family for helping her get where she is today. The Spartan claims she does not have a soccer hero, or a certain inspiration. Instead, she says, "I just wanted to push myself, and play well for my teammates, and play at our full potential." She continues on to say that her parents are really supportive and she is glad that "my dad came down to watch one of the games last weekend."

The Spartan has a long career ahead of her at UT, where she is majoring in athletic training. "I always knew I wanted to do something with sports, but it wasn't until my leg injury that I became interested in athletic training."

The freshman already has some experience in the field through her high school where she partnered with her school's athletic director and head trainer to get some hands-on experience. While Cesanek is not interested in a career in soccer, she loves to play the sport as much as she can. Her main focus is becoming an athletic trainer, starting at the high school level and working her way up one day to college.

Written by Shannon Romine (SPM 385)