Medina soccer player Anna Fugarino finds home with Northern Alabama

In order for Medina senior Anna Fugarino to find a place that felt like home, she needed to look 625 miles and a 10-hour car ride away to Florence, Ala. Fugarino made her decision official Wednesday when she signed her letter of intent to continue her soccer and academic careers at the University of North Alabama. Fugarino explored plenty of other schools closer to home, but none of them gave her the same feeling of a school and community connected like Medina has. "They have a nice small college town vibe in the city," Fugarino said. "The community seems very supportive of the school, and I really like that. It reminds me a lot of home here in Medina. "Obviously, it's further from home, but when I went down there it just felt right. The Lions, who became Division I in women's soccer in 2018, went 11-5-6 this season, including 5-3-3 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. They lost to Florida Gulf Coast on penalty kicks in the ASUN championship game on Sunday. After taking her official visit and getting the chance to meet the team, Fugarino accepted a partial scholarship. "The coaching staff and team were all super welcoming," Fugarino said. "They showed me around the school and talked to me about their culture and program." Adding to the connection Fugarino felt with the team was the fact that a number of her future teammates are already in the physical therapy/exercise science program that she plans to join. "I really enjoyed the campus and thought it was absolutely beautiful," Fugarino said. "They also have the major that I'm interested in, and a lot of the girls on the team are in the same major. I thought that was really awesome." As a lifelong athlete, Fugarino has long held an interest in physical therapy and athletic training as a career path. That thought was cemented when she saw how Medina's training staff helped her work through a sprained ankle this season. "I've played sports my whole life and getting to see what our athletic trainers do for us intrigued me," Fugarino said. "Me getting hurt, I got to see a little of what they do and that interested me in getting into that in the future." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.