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Brockway Native Juli Esposito Reflects on Athletic Career; Talks About Love for Coaching
If there was a Mount Rushmore of top Brockway, Pennsylvania athletes in the 2010’s, the Esposito siblings would easily find their way on that mountain range. Phil, Juli, Jarrett, and Anthony were/are collegiate athletes. Phil became a kicker for Clarion University and Jarrett followed in his older brother’s footsteps by being the kicker for the Golden Eagles presently. Youngest Esposito brother Anthony was a former Presidents Athletic Conference (PAC) champion in soccer with the Westminster College Titans in 2018. The brothers each found success in their own way post high school, and so did their sister Juli who played four years of collegiate soccer at Slippery Rock University.
Julianna (Juli) Esposito enjoyed a three sport athletic career in high school participating in soccer, basketball, and softball. She used her speed and athleticism to her advantage on the court and diamond, but it was obvious her favorite and best sport was the game of soccer. She set the Brockway girls soccer record for goals in her junior season and also graduated as the Tri-County leader in goals. Since, her record has been broken, but the impact she had on Brockway soccer will not be forgotten, and is not finished yet.
After her college career ended, Esposito started coaching with her brother Phil at DuBois Central Catholic. The girls and boys did not have enough players to have their own teams, so they played co-ed high school soccer in 2019. It was Esposito’s first taste of being a coach, but she admits playing for Slippery Rock was something that prepared her for coaching after she concluded playing competitively.
Recently, Esposito was named the Lady Rovers next girls head soccer coach, and she is excited for the opportunity to give back to her alma mater. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree as each of her parents were long time soccer coaches for the Brockway Rovers. Dana and Rich have surely done their best to grow and continue the strong tradition that is Brockway soccer. While each have taken a step back from coaching, their kids are now taking advantage of the opportunity to give back.
When talking about the influence her parents and brothers have had on her, Esposito said “My parents were my first soccer coaches and first coaches in general. They each have always had a strong passion for soccer, and they taught themselves more and more about the game over the years. They never forced me to focus on just soccer or to get better, but they were there when I wanted to get better and my siblings as well. We all share the same passions for soccer and sports. It has ultimately allowed us to all build a close bond because we all love and care about it so much.”
Her high school soccer days were filled with many goals and countless accomplishments including racking up twelve total letters, 135 career goals in soccer, four UAVSL all-star selections, and three UAVSL MVP selections. She attracted attention from the likes of Mercyhurst, Penn State Behrend, Slippery Rock, and a few other schools. She narrowed her options to Slippery Rock and Penn State Behrend, but decided on Slippery Rock for a few reasons. “I picked Slippery Rock because I was going into college undecided, and Slippery Rock had more majors I thought I could be interested in. I also toured Slippery Rock and how I felt while being there was amazing. Getting the chance to play Division II soccer in the PSAC was also an added bonus.”
In Esposito’s first collegiate soccer game, she found the back of the net in a game against Daemen College. It was hopefully a sign of what was to come, but life had a different plan for her. For the first two years of her collegiate career, she served primarily as a reserve, but found value in learning more about the game and improving her skills in practices. Heading into her junior season, Esposito had high hopes for herself and what was to come the next two years, but unfortunately, a torn ACL kept Esposito for the later half of her junior season. She had started the first eight games of her junior season, but in the ninth game of the season, she went down with the injury. It was a long road to recovery, but she found strength and confidence from the rehab team she worked with at Slippery Rock.
“The trainers and team who helped me get back for my senior season were all phenomenal,” Esposito said. “They invested so much time in me to get better, and they cared about me more deeply than just as an athlete. They were the best people possible for me to help get back to where I wanted to be.” Coming back from a knee injury is not easy, but Esposito was healthy for her senior season and appeared in fifteen games. She finished her career appearing in 45 games and drawing 14 starts. She also scored a game winning goal against IUP in a 1-0 win over their PSAC rival. It was a roller coaster career to say the least, but Esposito learned so much.
“The team oriented vibe at Slippery Rock was incredible. The team became a second family to me, and the bonds I created there are something I will never forget. I also learned so much about soccer, and my coaches would come to me during my junior season when I was injured and ask me my advice during the games and during practice. This was pretty humbling to me and their belief in me really stuck. This gave me a great deal of confidence and has helped me transition well to coaching.”
At Slippery Rock, Esposito was assigned to be the mentor of St Marys Area High School graduate Kaitlyn Barackman. Barackman improved greatly during her career at Slippery Rock, and Esposito calls one of her good friends “a ray of sunshine”. “She improved so much during her four years, and I could not be more happy for her and her ending her career with a PSAC title.”
At Slippery Rock, the Brockway native majored in criminal justice and criminology with a minor in psychology. She is employed as a case manager presently while also taking classes online through Arizona State University. She is studying for a masters in forensic psychology, and one day hopes to take her career and life to the western part of the US. Traveling is something she enjoys in her free time along with creating both canvas and wooden artwork. Her attention to detail and enjoyment for the simpler things in life is apparent and is a huge part of who she is as a person.In the past she has taken a trip to Costa Rica to both teach and play soccer while also taking a trip west which she listed as life changing and eye opening. Since this trip west, she knew this is a place she wanted to call home one day.
For now, Esposito is enjoying giving back to the local community through the game of soccer. This game has given her so much, but she is also giving the game a great deal. Soccer will always be a huge part of Juli Esposito no matter where life takes her, but her journey is far from over.
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