Over the summer, two Edwardsville seniors committed to play field hockey at Lindenwood University, a division two program in St. Charles, Mo. Seniors Allie Hosto and Sophia Swalley are both excited for their last high school season as Tigers and for their upcoming years together as Lions.

Lindenwood University is a member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference, or ECAC. In 2016, Lindenwood won the ECAC Tournament and coaches in the conference labelled Lindenwood as the No. 1 team in the 2017 preseason.

“They are a really good field hockey team and their program has definitely grown in the past years,” Swalley said about Lindenwood’s success. “I’m so excited to be part of such a good and growing program.”

Both girls agree that their time at EHS isn’t over yet. Hosto and Swalley are focused on having a great year while preparing for the future.

“We play off each other really well, I think, and that brings a different dynamic to the team since we’ve been playing together for so long,” Hosto explained. “We’re going to be able to build on this relationship that we built over the last seven years of us playing together.”

Varsity head coach Jaimee Phegley can see the drive and leadership in Hosto and Swalley. She knows the girls work together well on the field every game and is expecting more this year.

“I think that it will be really nice to have them playing together this year knowing that they’ve already committed to play together in the future,” coach Phegley said. “They not only see it as a short term goal for this season but they also see it as a long term goal for their college career.”

Swalley and Hosto are both proud of getting into Lindenwood’s program. Hosto plans to major in biology, while Swalley is undecided but looking at an exercise science major. With her EHS career coming to an end, Swalley wants other girls to be inspired to follow in her footsteps.

“(As a leader on the team) I feel like I’m pushing people to follow that path and dream of playing in college because it’s such a good feeling.”