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Senior soccer player Margaret “Maggie” Denison signed her national letter of intent with Southeastern University on Wednesday.

Originally a volleyball player in middle school, Maggie says her interest in soccer developed around 6th grade after watching her younger sister succeed in the sport. “I began playing soccer because I saw my little sister playing so well and getting a lot of attention for it. So, I joined the Baton Rouge Soccer Club and enjoyed it immediately,” she explains. “I was on the second level team for just a year before I moved to the top playing level.”

A versatile soccer athlete, Maggie leads the field as a center, an attacking midfielder, and a forward player at St. Michael. She credits her coaches for pushing her to become a top-level athlete in just a few short years.

“I want to thank my St. Michael coaches, Coach Silverman and Coach Lyn Bradley, as well as my club coach, Coach Roger, and trainer Steve Bastura for encouraging me to become the athlete I wanted to be,” she shares. “I knew coming into high school that I wanted to play collegiately, and they pushed me harder than any other coaches.”

St. Michael Head Girls’ Soccer Coach Philip Silverman asserts that Maggie has been an integral part of the team since her freshman year, despite being rather new to the sport. “Maggie has been a phenomenal player during her time at St. Michael, leading the team in goals every year, even as a freshman,” he explains. “Unflappable no matter the opponents' tactics, whether they double mark her or try to physically take her out of her game, she has consistently put the ball in the back of the net, averaging nearly 2 goals per game for her entire high school career.  She is among the most technical players to ever come through our program and already holds the career goal scoring record for both boys and girls at St. Michael.”

Through her junior year (as her senior year’s accomplishments are not yet compiled), Maggie is a three-time letterman and has been named to the All-District First Team and All-Metro First Team three times. She has also been named an All-District Offensive MVP and All-Metro Offensive MVP. She is a two-time All-State First Team player and was named an All-State MVP. To top it off, she is the active leading female goal soccer in Louisiana with 117 goals as well as the all-time leading goals scorer at St. Michael High School. This year, as a senior, she has been named the team captain.

Maggie is tentatively planning to major in business at Southeastern and most looks forward to playing soccer as a collegiate athlete.