Latrobe soccer standouts Ella Bulava and Annalyse Bauer are running it back with the Pittsburgh Riveters.
Both players have come through the Riverhounds Development Academy’s ECNL teams.
The hard-nosed Bulava, who is a sophomore defender at Maryland, played in three games as a reserve last season, including the final regular-season game against Steel City FC.
She played in all 18 games this year at Maryland, with four starts, and had one assist.
“(Bulava) will bring valuable experience from her development at Maryland after playing every game this past fall,” Riveters coach Scott Gibson said in a news release. “Ella provides a lot of versatility to the group and is a leader in the way she works, each and every day in training. She played a big impact last year in our final regular season games, and we are excited to see her continued development this season.”
Bauer, a quick forward, will graduate from Latrobe this year and head off to Eastern Michigan. She is Latrobe’s all-time leading goal scorer with 76 scores.
She made the ECNL Ohio Valley Conference Second Team last year playing for the developmental academy team.
She came off the bench to play in the Riveters’ playoff game last season against Minnesota Aurora FC.
“Annalyse was drafted in from the RDA last year and thrown into the playoff game,” Gibson said. “This experience, coupled with her excellent senior year in the RDA, has earned her a full-time position as a Riveter this summer.
“Both Annalyse and Ella are proof of the pathway that exists, and they are leading the way for more players to follow.”