Cardinal Gibbons’ Samantha Fuini is the Broward Girls Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Samantha Fuini once met one of her idols, USA women’s soccer star Carli Lloyd.
“I love her. She signed like three things for me,” Fuini said.
Fuini, a soccer standout herself at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, grew up playing the sport since she was very young.
It didn’t take her long to make an impact for the Chiefs, scoring a goal in the state championship game as a freshman and helping Gibbons win its lone state title in the sport.
But Fuini, now a senior who is headed to the University of Florida, is planning on studying political science and one day hopes to practice international law.
Fuini’s work on and off the field the past four years has given her plenty of options to pursue.
An honors student at Gibbons with a 5.367 GPA, and a first team All-Broward soccer defender, Fuini’s accomplishments earned her the Miami Herald’s Broward Girls’ Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors this season.
“I’ve played soccer for so long that it was just a matter of managing my time and having time to relax because that’s also a really big part of time management,” Fuini said. “You just have to figure out what you can get done so you have the best setup for the next day and the next.”
Fuini, who loves to write, said her dream school was always UF.
“I always wanted to be a Gator since I was little,” Fuini said. “Alumni always tell me about the experience and how awesome it was.”
Fuini immediately made her presence felt on Gibbons’ soccer team four years ago and became one of the key starters for the Chiefs, who have remained state championship contenders since winning that elusive crown in 2021.
Fuini started in over 60 games during her career and finished with 10 goals and five assists playing mostly as a defender. She fondly remembers that goal which contributed to a 2-0 win over Panama City Arnold in the state final that year.
“It was kind of a lucky goal,” Fuini said. “It got handed to me a little bit, but having that feeling of all my teammates around me and knowing that you made an impact especially as a freshman that young and having the support of all the older girls on the team.”
