Luke Lingo '20 Recruiting Profile

I have been playing soccer since I was five years old.  After two years of AYSO soccer, I went to a club soccer tryout with a friend.  I went because it sounded like a fun way to spend an afternoon.  I did not even know what club soccer was!  I came home from that tryout with an invitation to join the team and a new goal.  I have known from that day that I wanted to play college soccer.

My strengths on the field have always been my skills.  I have always been known for calm ball handling and passing; however, over the past couple of years I have had tremendous physical growth.  Now I am a calm ball handler who is stronger and faster than most of my peers.  Quick feet and strength have allowed me to become a very strong defender.  This physical growth has also corresponded with becoming very good at "set pieces."  I have a very strong, accurate leg and I specialize in corner kicks and mid-range free kicks (25 to 50 yards), where I have assisted on many goals as I usually hit my target (my team's tallest striker's head).

Academically, I have seen dramatic improvement.  While I have always been an honor roll student, this year, my junior year and most academically challenging so far, I have improved my GPA from a 3.1 to a 3.58 (on a 4.00 scale).  This improvement has come through hard work all summer and many early morning study sessions.  I am confident that this improvement will continue as I feel that I really hitting my stride academically.

Volunteering has always been stressed by my family.  As a family we have cleaned beaches, collected food for low income families and tutored young students.  Personally, I have mentored kids at soccer camps and refereed soccer for a local recreation league.  

I am hoping to find a college that is a good fit academically and athletically.  My father, grandfather and two uncles played college sports and have stressed the importance of finding the proper school to play and study for.  My father and his business partner both cite the time management skills they learned while being successful athletes and students, while putting themselves through school.  They now employ over 300 people.  I hope to follow in their footsteps!