Super Sailor

Senior Captain Cate Rozelle Leads Marymount High Soccer Squad to Sunshine League Championship

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

When Marymount High soccer player Cate Rozelle stepped onto the field for Senior Day against Notre Dame Academy last week, there was no time for nostalgia. She had a game to win—and winning is what she has been about since making varsity as a freshman four years ago.

Rozelle played all but a few minutes—at multiple positions—and created numerous scoring chances throughout a 3-0 victory that clinched the Sunshine League championship for the Sailors.

“We’re all very happy to win and thankful it worked out,” said Rozelle, one of five seniors and three captains presented flower bouquets by their teammates at a touching postgame ceremony.

The attributes Marymount head coach Manu Appelius admires most in Rozelle are her leadership and versatility.

“This is the biggest crowd we’ve had all season and it’s because of our seniors,” Appelius said. “Cate is very coachable and very sweet. She never utters the slightest complaint nor does she expect special treatment.”

When sophomore teammate and fellow Palisadian Alison Adams tore her ACL in the first half of the Sailors’ season opener, Rozelle took her spot at right back and became the anchor on defense. “Her favorite position is wing and she was the Offensive  MVP in our league last year, but she plays in the back on her club team,” Appelius said. “Initially I wanted to move her up, but she did so well we kept her there.”

Rozelle was 15 months old when her family moved to Pacific Palisades in 2001 and sports have been a big part of her life ever since. She played basketball at the Palisades Recreation Center for five or six years, tennis at the PTC for three or four years, and swam with the YMCA team (Palisades and then Santa Monica) for two or three years. She started in AYSO as a 5-year-old and quickly became an All-Star, then switched to club, playing for the Westside Breakers for three years, Santa Monica United for three more and the Eagles ECNL for another three years.

An All-League first team and All-CIF selection last season, Rozelle will attend Dartmouth in New Hampshire in the fall and while she isn’t planning on joining the soccer team, she’s positive she will participate  in intramurals and spend time hiking, stand-up paddling on the river and skiing.

“I wanted to get a change of scenery,” Rozelle said of her college choice. “You’re surrounded by nature there. I’m still trying to figure out my major. I like bits and pieces of multiple subjects.”

Rozelle started attending Corpus Christi School in kindergarten, excelled at every sport—volleyball, basketball, soccer, track and cross country—and earned Athlete of the Year honors in eighth grade.

Keeping her preoccupied are a multitude of pets at her Huntington home, including a golden retriever Mabel, two  ragdoll cats, four birds and a betta fish. Her older brother Will, now a sophomore at the University of Texas in Austin, played freshman football and freshman, JV and varsity soccer at Loyola High. Her younger brother Drew is a freshman at Loyola, where he too plays football and soccer.

Two teammates who will miss carpooling with Rozelle are Palisadians  Isabel Bellitti  and Margaret Kornfeind.

“Cate has been a huge factor in our success this season,” said Bellitti, a sophomore defender who lives in the El Medio Bluffs and plays club for the Breakers. “Whether we’re winning or losing she’s always positive, pushing us to pick up our game.”

Kornfeind, a freshman midfielder whose dog Reilly is Mabel’s littermate, agreed: “Cate’s  a good leader, she’s fast and has a big kick. She was my sister Lindsay’s freshman and now I’m her freshman.”

“I loved Lindsay and it was so nice to be such good friends with an upperclassman,” Rozelle said. “Now I’m the one driving the younger girls around. We talk about life, TV shows, music… whatever comes up.”

Rozelle’s immediate goal is a deep run in the Southern Section Division 3 playoffs.   

“I’m incredibly grateful to have grown up in this amazing place we call the Palisades,” said Rozelle, whose favorite eateries include Beech Street, Garden Cafe and Pearl Dragon. “I’m already looking forward to coming home from college during school breaks and over the summer.”