Amanda Rooney will play professional soccer in Lithuania.
Rooney, who played in the Long Island Junior Soccer League and for the Olympic Development Program of Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association, has signed with Gintra Universitetas, Lithuanian champions the past 13 seasons.
She will join the club next month.
“I’m definitely most excited about showing what I can do at the professional level,” Rooney said, adding that the opportunity to live and play in Europe as well as competing in the Champions League swayed her decision to head overseas.
Rooney, 22, who hails from Hicksville, N.Y., played for the LIJSL’s Albertson Elite Fury for eight years and served as the team captain, competed for Eastern New York ODP for six years and for Region I ODP for five.
She hoped to add some national championships in Lithuania to the two she has secured in the United States, playing for the 2009 Long Island Fury in the Women’s Premier Soccer League and the 2016 NCAA Division I crown with USC. She was named to the 2014 WPSL all-star team and was a member of the national team pool for two years.
“Amanda is a sophisticated footballer with range of passing, great soccer IQ and ability to unravel the opposition. She is well-rounded, a superb teammate and will play on both sides of the ball,” Albertson director of coaching Paul Riley said. “She was tremendously successful at the youth and college levels so I’m excited to see her enter the professional ranks. She has the mental capacity and soccer ability to be a very good professional.”
