Fox Chapel grad Bella Urso makes immediate impact on Franciscan women's soccer team; basketball next

When he arrives on campus early in the morning, Franciscan women’s soccer coach Nick Miller often sees Bella Urso in the gym sharpening her basketball skills. Basketball practice officially started last week, so the Fox Chapel grad is trying to stay sharp until she can join the Barons women’s team full time. 

For now, she is finishing out her freshman soccer season for Miller. And if she adapts to college basketball as quickly as she has adopted to soccer, coach Iliana Spoelman will be getting a player who can make meaningful contributions right away.

That’s what she has done for Miller.

The Barons have three matches remaining, and over their previous 14, Urso has played in every one, starting the past five. She began the season playing outside back on defense, but she since has transitioned into a midfield role.

“She’s kind of played every position for us at one point or another,” Miller said. “She’s one of those players who you tell her to go somewhere, and she’ll do it and you know you don’t have to really worry about what she’s going to do.”

Urso has contributed three goals, tied for second on the team. Her first came in the 85th minute against Saint Vincent, securing a 3-3 tie and point for the Barons. Her second, scored in the second minute against Westminster, was the game’s only goal in a Franciscan win.

“No, I wasn’t really expecting that,” Urso said about her goal-scoring, “but I will say my teammates definitely had a big part in all my goals. They pretty much set me up perfectly, so it worked out.”

That Urso has excelled in sports should come as no surprise. She comes from a large, athletic family with three siblings who played college sports before her: Brother Brevin played golf at Saint Vincent, brother Billy played basketball at Allegheny and sister Bryanna played soccer at Allegheny.

Further, her cousin, Brian Urso, who played at Westminster and Point Park, is the boys basketball coach at Central Catholic.

“They always had me doing workouts and stuff with them,” Bella Urso said about her siblings, “so they are a big part of why I ended up playing two sports (in college).”

Aside from her technical skill, Miller said it was Urso’s competitive nature — a product of all those family workouts — that got his attention.

“Just kind of the competitive edge that she has … that’s something that we look for in players when we talk to them about coming here to Franciscan,” he said.

The Barons will need every bit of Urso’s competitiveness along with everyone else on the team if they want to make a run in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference playoffs. Entering the final stretch of the regular season, the standings are tightly packed and any number of teams appears to have a chance at the title.

First, Franciscan has to secure a playoff spot. It sat seventh in the standings (3-3-2) entering the week, and the top six teams qualify for the conference tournament.

Two of the Barons’ remaining three games are against teams ahead of it in the standings: Allegheny and Geneva. But Urso is confident she and her teammates can put together a strong finish.

As for Urso herself, she is just getting started.

“Coming in here, I played defense, but now I’m in the midfield more,” she said. “It’s definitely a change, but I’m enjoying it. The girls are making it a lot easier because they communicate with me and tell me what to do.

“I’d say I’ve definitely gained some confidence.”