To be offered a chance to play a sport in college is a dream for many high school athletes. For the senior captain of the girls’ varsity soccer team Ashley Molinari, that dream has become a reality.
Though the IHSA girls’ soccer season is still months away, Molinari announced that she has committed to play women’s Division 1 college soccer for Illinois State University.
“I committed to Illinois State, and I knew that was a school that was at the top of my list by the end of it,” Molinari said.
Molinari’s commitment is an accomplishment for her soccer career, but it wasn’t easy to obtain. The process for high school athletes wanting to play in college is a difficult one. The amount of time and dedication that is needed to achieve this goal is daunting.
“The process was really long and it was brutal. You get told no so many times, but you have to keep your faith throughout the process,” Molinari said while her hands tensed up.
Molinari really wanted to make this goal a reality starting her freshman year. After her local club team, Roadrunners SC, was on the brink of collapsing she made the decision to try out for a higher-level team within Galaxy SC to help her achieve her goal.
“I knew I wanted to play college soccer my freshman year when I was at a club called Roadrunners. My team was falling apart and I wanted to take it more seriously so I moved to Galaxy soccer and tried to get on the highest team I could,” Molinari said.
After her decision to switch clubs, Molinari tried out for the DGS girls varsity soccer team where she made varsity and became a starting player after her first game. These two moments in her career put her on track to go after her goal of playing in college.
Through her time at DGS, Molinari continued toward her goal. During her career at DGS Molinari became a starting player and eventually the captain of the girls’ soccer team. Her commitment to the high school team helped further develop her toward her goal of college soccer.
Molinari’s importance and role on the team were highlighted by her coach Chris Hernandez as some of the qualities that allowed her to reach her goal.
“What makes her so influential on the game and on the field is leadership and her physical prowess. She is a player who can understand the game and with Ashley, it’s like having another coach on the field and she can see the game which makes it easier for others. She has dominant physicality, she is very quick, and very technical,” Hernandez said.
After many visits, emails, and camps, Molinari committed to Illinois State University three hours after receiving her offer. Molinari was very happy and proud of her commitment as Illinois State checked all the boxes for her to pursue soccer and a career after high school.
“By the end of it was really top of my list because I really love the coach, it’s close to my house, they had my major and I really liked all the girls on the team,” Molinari said with a grin on her face.
Her quick commitment has set Molinari up for a longer career after high school as she now focuses on her final season as a Mustang.
Molinari’s new goals will follow her as she sets out to help bring a regional championship home for the girls’ soccer team in her final season as a player and captain of the team.
The girls’ soccer season will begin this March as the Mustangs start their 2025 campaign. Follow the team this season by using the DGS Athletics page to find a date to see their games or use the DGS Athletics YouTube page to keep up with Molinari and the team as they set out for that regional title.
