Cole Young isn’t the only North Allegheny graduate having a spring to remember.

Former high school All-American Sarah Schupansky is enjoying a whirlwind spring that included her debut in the National Women’s Soccer League, her first professional goal, trips to California and Germany with the U-23 U.S. National team and a North American club championship.

“It’s indescribable, everything that’s been going on,” she said. “It’s been truly incredible. I’m just trying to appreciate every moment.”

While first-round MLB draft pick Young made his big league debut with the Seattle Mariners on May 31, the 21-year-old Schupansky has continued to ascend through the U.S. women’s soccer ranks. Since leaving Pitt this past winter, following a record-setting career with the Panthers, she has signed with the top league in American women’s soccer, trained in Spain, won a CONCACAF W Champions Cup in Mexico and played friendlies in Germany wearing the red, white and blue.

Not a bad stretch for the driven, highly skilled sniper who led North Allegheny to back-to-back WPIAL titles, including the program’s first, as a junior in 2019.

Schupansky has started 10 of the first 11 games for Gotham (3-5-3). The 5-foot-5 forward has one goal and two assists and is tied for the NWSL lead in crosses (59) and tied for second in corner kicks (30) as of June 6.

“Being a part of this team and being in this league are two dreams come true,” she said. “It was my dream for the longest time, and I’m incredibly grateful that it’s my reality now.”

Schupansky trained with Gotham FC for a couple of days in the summer before her senior season at Pitt, and they approached her in the fall about signing with the club — the NWSL had abolished its draft. In late December, she inked a two-year contract with a third-year club option. Schupansky, the first player in Pitt program history to earn first-team all-ACC honors, had achieved her goal of playing pro soccer.

“It was a really special time for everything to happen,” she said. “It was really easy getting Christmas gifts for my family that year. Gotham (merchandise) and gear was all they wanted.”

Gotham FC, the 2023 NWSL champion, plays home matches at 25,000-seat Sports Illustrated Stadium, the former Red Bull Arena, in Harrison, N.J., 7 miles west of Manhattan.

“When they made the offer, it didn’t take long for me to accept,” Schupansky said. “I knew in my heart that Gotham was where I wanted to be.”

After training with the team in Spain in February, Schupansky made a quick start to her pro career. She was named player of the match in her debut, a 1-1 draw with the Seattle Reign on March 15, and scored her first goal in a 3-0 win against the Washington Spirit on April 26.

“There was a little bit of nerves and a little bit of pressure, but the players were so encouraging and really made sure that I knew they believed in me,” Schupansky said. “All I had to do was believe in myself.”

Said Gotham coach Juan Carlos Amoros, “Especially happy as well for Sarah Schupansky and her first professional goal. I think that was executing the game plan to perfection.”

The Gotham roster includes Rose Lavelle, a World Cup winner and Olympic gold medalist, and 14-year-old forward Mak Whitman, the youngest player in NWSL history. Schupansky admits being a little bit star-struck by the veterans.

“It’s so surreal at times,” she said. “They have done so much for the sport, and I have been looking up to them for so long. I was on the couch watching Rose Lavelle clinch a World Cup title (in 2019), and now I’m sitting next to her in the locker room and on the bus. It’s incredibly surreal.”

Schupansky helped Gotham seal the 2024-25 CONCACAF W Champions Cup. She had an assist in a 3-1 win over Club America on May 21 in the semifinals and started in a 1-0 win over the UANL Tigres on May 25 in the finals. The title, clinched at a 41,000-seat stadium outside Monterrey, Mexico, qualifies Gotham for the 2026 FIFA Women’s Champions Cup and the inaugural 2028 FIFA Women’s Club World Cup.

Her spring also featured a pair of weeklong training camps as part of the U.S. Under-23 Women’s National Team. She was among two dozen players selected. They trained March 31-April 7 outside Los Angeles and May 26-June 3 in Germany, where they played a pair of friendlies against the host nation.

“That was an incredible experience,” she said. “When I got the call that I was being put into the system, I was definitely a little bit teary-eyed. It was a dream of mine for so long to be a part of that.”

The 24-game NWSL season runs until early November. Schupansky, who lives in team housing with fellow rookie Khyah Harper, a former first-team all-Big Ten forward from Minnesota, is starting to feel right at home in the pro league.

“I was expecting it to be a little bit more daunting to play in front of so many people,” she said. “But it’s turning out to be really great. It feels like a really special environment.”

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