Most senior athletes would agree that choosing a college is a very difficult process. The decision couldn’t have come easier for senior soccer player Miguel Acosta when Division I DePaul University offered him a full athletic scholarship.
Acosta attended Troy Middle School and began high school at Lake Forest Academy before returning home to Joliet West for his junior year. Lake Forest Academy is a prestigious coeducational boarding school approximately 30 miles north of Chicago in Gurnee, Illinois, which he also received an athletic scholarship to attend. Students of this school represent 17 states and 31 countries around the globe. Acosta plays on a club team, the Chicago Magic. His practices usually run around the time that his peers are finishing homework and going to sleep, from 7-10pm, and sometimes later. “The Magic Club Soccer League strives to provide players with the best possible opportunity to achieve their utmost potential as elite soccer players,” Todd Bailey, Director of the league, said. Although he played one game on Joliet West’s summer league in 2009, playing for Magic occupies Acosta’s time and in turn eliminates his chance to play for Joliet Township’s fall team. “I feel bad for not playing with West because I played my freshmen and sophomore year with my old high school. I’d like to play, but my club team occupies me,” Acosta stated.
Acosta became interested in DePaul while he was just a freshman in high school. “I’ve been interested in DePaul for several years now,” Acosta said, “so I attended the soccer camps there my freshmen and sophomore year, the winter of 2009, and a summer one shortly after.”
Acosta received an offer from not only DePaul, but also from Northern Illinois University. “NIU also gave me the same offer, and it was the most difficult decision of my life. Their coach gave me a hard time for rejecting them.” After declining NIU’s offer, Acosta contacted DePaul’s head soccer coach and committed to play as a Blue Demon, starting July of 2011. “I’m excited about having the opportunity to fulfill the chance of going to my dream school, something most kids only dream of. I’m very fortunate to say the least.” He will be residing with the soccer team at a residence hall at the Lincoln Park campus. Acosta is one of few Joliet West alumni that will be moving on to play soccer at the Division I level.