On Wednesday, April 24, 2024, Souderton seniors Leah Fowler, Autumn DiCandilo & Nicole Schulingkamp were recognized for committing to continue their soccer careers at the collegiate level.
“First and foremost, the biggest thing that stands out for me for the whole group would be the character,” Souderton coach Ian Smith said. ‘It’s really the main piece for all three of the players who are moving on to play in college.
“Autumn, Nicole and Leah are all selfless people, and they were with the team through some pretty difficult times. They dealt with a lot of the COVID stuff, they dealt with some tough seasons with not a lot of wins, and through it all, every single one of them was always asking what they could do to better themselves and what they could do to better the team. As somebody who is also as a coach going through those tough times with them, I was super appreciative of that.”
Autumn DiCandilo – Wilson College (Soccer)
Major: Animal Science
Final list of colleges: Wilson, Kutztown
Reasons for choosing Wilson: “I chose Wilson because of the campus – they allow pets, and the overall soccer team environment was really fun.”
Favorite Souderton sports memory: “My favorite memory was the last day of practice our senior year when we all dressed up as our Coach Ian and Pokemon, and we played World Cup.”
Coach Ian Smith says: “Autumn was somebody who - when she was a bit younger - was a little quiet and reserved. Over time, she took that piece of her character and used it to become somebody everybody can look up to because she approaches the game and practice and everything with a seriousness and the respect that it demands. So, I think she took something that maybe she thought was a weakness and turned it into an advantage, and it led to a lot of people really looking up to her approach each day. She was somebody who I could always rely on and move around in a lot of different positions, and I knew I was always going to get the best out of her in terms of the effort she was putting out, which I appreciated.”
About Autumn:
Favorite food: Steak
Favorite TV show: The After series
Favorite music: Country
Leah Fowler – Eastern University (Soccer/Track & Field)
Major: Exercise Science
Final list of colleges: Eastern, Cairn, Grove City, Geneva
Reasons for choosing Eastern: “Eastern was my top choice because of the campus style, but also, the coaches were super encouraging and
supportive and most involved out of all the coaches that I talked to.
Favorite Souderton sports memory: “My favorite memory was last year during the Henderson track meet, and our coach threw me and three other girls into the 4x100, and we had no warmup, we just ate lunch, we never practiced before, one of the girls had drank like a gallon of soda, and another one had a calf cramp, and we ended up running it, and we were only one or two seconds away from qualifying for districts.”
Coach Ian Smith says: “Leah was very similar to Autumn. Leah was somebody who approached soccer with that seriousness. She always came to coaches, always came to practice with a smile on her face and said, ‘Okay, what can I do to be better? Where can I help the team best?’ You can see with her moving on to play two sports at college – that’s a testament to the person she is and the dedication that she brings to both her sports.”
About Leah:
Favorite food: Pasta
Favorite movie: The Best of Me
Favorite music: Country
Nicole Schulingkamp – University of Scranton (Soccer)
Major: Occupational Therapy
Final list of colleges: Scranton, Misericordia, Moravian, Thomas Jefferson
Reasons for choosing Scranton: “I decided on the University of Scranton
because their occupational therapy program is phenomenal and also the coaches were so welcoming and all the girls on the team were great.”
Favorite memory competing in Souderton sports: “My favorite memory would be the game where we beat CB West in double overtime my junior year or the dance parties in the locker room before games.”
Coach Ian Smith says: “Nicole Schulingkamp is a little bit different than the other two in that she’s a much more vocal leader and was more demanding of herself in that (area), which provided a nice balance for us. On top of that, she was somebody who was always giving the most in terms of what she could give to the team in the offseason. When people weren’t watching, she was offering to help run workouts in the weight room, she was offering to do things to lift up underclassmen and make sure they felt that they belonged. She did a lot to really make sure that she contributed to the community of the team as well as being a standout player and earning all-league honors.”
About Nicole:
Favorite food: Pizza or Pasta
Favorite TV shows: The Blacklist & Gilmore Girls
Favorite music: Pop or Rap
- Log in to post comments
