Girls soccer: Highland's Vanessa Zufall selects Radford University

Though it is roughly six hours away from where she went to high school, no place felt like a better fit for Highland senior soccer standout Vanessa Zufall's next step in her athletic and academic journey than Radford University. The 2024 Gazette MVP and three-time All-Gazette selection recently signed to play for the Division I school in Virginia after also being recruited by Eastern Michigan, Lehigh, Kansas State, Xavier, Florida Gulf Coast and several other schools. "Honestly, I just had an instant bond with the team and I just absolutely loved the coaching staff," she said. "It's really a beautiful campus that felt like home to me. Those are probably the biggest things that stood out." Her visit to Radford locked Zufall into everything the school had to offer after spending the day talking with her future teammates about playing soccer at the school and student life. "We spent two nights down there and I was basically down with the team and the coaching staff for the whole entire day (in between)," she said. "Their head coach (Ben Sohrabi) has been there for 30 years. That stood out to me. He really made sure that I was a top priority when I came down to visit and that everything went smoothly for me. He wanted to make sure it was a good fit for me and not just him wanting me to be on his team." Sohrabi has won more than 300 games at Radford, including a 10-5-1 record last season and a 7-1 mark as a member of the Big South Conference. The coach's experience and approach to the recruiting process, as well as the interactions with the rest of the Highlanders, were enough to alleviate any concerns Zufall might have had about making a move so far away from where she finished with 61 goals and 68 assists while helping the Hornets to district titles the last three seasons and the Division III state final as a junior. "I was kind of nervous to being going a little further away for college, but I think it's so worth it," she said. "I get a mix of good weather, even though it's a little further from home, and they have a practice field right on the New River." Zufall plans on going into business and finance, following in the footsteps of her father — and Highland's coach the past three seasons — Bill Zufall, who owns Zufall Financial Services. "I've grown up watching him in the business area," she said. "This past year I began interning at his office to learn a little bit more. I really wanted to make sure that was a major I was interested in pursuing. I've really liked it the past year, so it's something I could see myself doing." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.