Ariana Ruela  

 

Soccer Bio

 

KEARNY, NJ: January 28, 2010

 

Soccer was not the first sport/activity I started when I was younger. Being a girl of course my mom enrolled me in ballet school. But, at the age of 8 I had had enough of tutus and started playing soccer with Kearny Recreation for a few years

 

It was at the age of 10 that I was asked to join the Den of Lions as they were forming travel teams.While at the Den of Lions, I played on a boys teams until I was 12 at which time a girls team was created under the coaching of Francisco ( Xico) Abreu.

 

In an effort to further develop my skills and advance my desire to play at a higher level of soccer, I was given an opportunity to play for the Parsippany Soccer Club at the U 16/17 level initially under William Bustamante currently the director/owner of B’elite Player Development. I also played for Coach Bustamante at Ironbound SC, in the Super Y league, U-17 division.

 

While playing for the Parsippany Storm, I was recruited by James Madison University – a Division I soccer team based in Harrisonburg, VA where I am currently a sophomore studying international relations/humanitarian affairs. During my freshman season we progressed to the round of the “Sweet Sixteen” in the NCAAs losing to University of Portland, in Portland, Oregon.

 

At the age of 19, I was selected to play for the U 19 National Portuguese Team. I participated in a UEFA Cup qualifier during the Spring of 2009 where we played in Portugal against, France, Wales and Azerbaijan. I scored my first international goal against Wales, giving us a win in that series.

 

Just this past week, I was called up to the Senior National Portuguese Team by Coach Monica Jorge to play in the nationally known Algarve Cup-Mudialito. The tournament will take place from Feb 24th to March 3rd in the Algarve.

 

This summer, I will be playing for the W League team, NJ Valkyries as part of the TSF Group under the direction of Mark White.