Marlow is first Santa Rosa athlete to receive scholarship

Santa Rosa Academy soccer player Marie Marlow poses with her entire family at Wednesday's signing ceremony. Menifee 24/7 photo: Doug Spoon

Students and staff at Santa Rosa Academy gathered in the lobby of the school's new gym Wednesday to celebrate an important occasion in the athletic department.

Senior Marie Marlow, a four-year all-league player for the Rangers' girls soccer team, became the first Santa Rosa student ever to receive a college athletic scholarship. She signed a letter of intent to play for the University of San Francisco next year.

Marlow entered Wednesday's regular-season finale with 128 goals scored in her four-year career. Behind her leadership, the Rangers beat Temecula Prep 10-0 in that game and will enter the CIF playoffs with a 15-1-2 record (10-0-2 in league play). Marlow, an All-CIF honoree last season, has served as team captain the last two years.

"It’s been an absolute pleasure to watch her play," said coach Mike Vandereb. "What's so impressive are her fundamental skills and her speed. She’s extremely fast. Plus she’s got great vision on the field."

In addition to starring for the Santa Rosa soccer team, Marlow has played for the Legends and Arsenal club teams. She started playing youth soccer at age 7.

"I wasn’t considering any other schools," Marlow said about USF. "My club coach made a call and said the coach at USF needed to come watch me play. He liked me, and that’s how I ended up going there."

Marlow is one of 10 children, all of whom attended Wednesday's ceremony with their parents. She admitted that moving to San Francisco will be an adventure.

"It will be a totally different experience," said Marlow, who plans to major in sports management. "I have no family up there. But I really like the school and I love the campus."

Santa Rosa Academy Athletic Director Dan Torres announced that Marlow's high school jersey will be framed and permanently displayed in the gym lobby in commemoration of the school's first scholarship athlete.