SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior Ally Gage will continue her soccer career and attend Dominican (Ill.) University outside Chicago next fall.

"I am really excited," said Gage. "After I went on my visit, I really liked the coach, team and their style of play. I am really excited to contribute to the team's success next year."

Gage will play for Head Coach Carlos Carrillo, who was named the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Coach of the Year this fall. He led the Stars to an 18-3 overall mark with a perfect 11-0-0 record in his fifth season. The Stars lost in the opening round of the NCAA Division III tournament last Friday.

"The team is very close and have bonded really well," said Gage. "Not all teams are like that, I really liked that aspect of the team. When you are younger you always imagine playing college soccer. It is really cool that I get to play it next year."

She is excited to move to the Midwest and live in one of the country's most popular cities.

"I am excited to live in Chicago but my friends are making fun of me because I am complaining about the cold in Sacramento," said Gage. "They think I am going to complain a lot more in Chicago."

Dominican discovered Gage, who plays for the San Juan Soccer Club, at a Showcase event in Las Vegas.

"They came to one of our games in Las Vegas at a Showcase," said Gage. "We visited when we were in Chicago and I really liked it."

While Gage played for the St. Francis junior varsity soccer team as a freshman, she had to pick a high school sport when soccer moved to the winter before her sophomore season.

"I created a bond with my basketball teammates and I could not really see myself leaving," said Gage. "I like playing basketball for fun and like the competitive aspect of it. At the time, Coach Pitton was coaching and always wanted us to get better and play so I kept continuing to play."

She has played the last two seasons on the varsity basketball team, seeing action in 57 career games while helping the program to back-to-back Delta League titles and Sac-Joaquin Section playoff berths.

"Hopefully we can make it far this year," said Gage. "It is probably my last year playing basketball unless I play intramurals. I am hoping we can do well."

Gage will play for first-year head coach Heather Volek Brownholtz this season. She is excited her senior standout has kept playing hoops.

"Ally has heart, is full of passion and plays to win," said Volek Brownholtz. "She will change the culture because the moment she steps on campus she will be there to compete. She will raise the competitive level of the team. I am sure that is why they recruited her. She is a huge asset for their program and we are very proud of her. We are so fortunate she is still playing basketball for us because she is a difference maker for our team."

Gage will also play one final season on the hard court with her longtime friends.

"They mean a lot to me," said Gage of her senior teammates. "We have played together since eighth grade. We know how each other play on the court and I know where they are going to be at because I have played with them for a long time. If we go far this year, it be cool see our eighth grade team transformed in high school."

Gage will be among 12 seniors participating in the St. Francis Signing day Celebration on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 8:30 a.m. in the CLC. The event will be shown online on TroubieTV.

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