Laura Hofrichter of Great River, N.Y. and Allison Rainone of White Plains were named winners of the Patricia Louise Masotto/Brenda Driscoll Scholarship. They will be honored, receiving a check and a plaque, at the Eastern New York holiday party in December.

The scholarship is named after two friends who died in a car accident in 1985.

Laura Hofrichter

Hofrichter said her career changed for good in her first game during her sophomore season, when she tore her right knee ACL.

She underwent physical therapy to strengthen the knee prior to surgery and then more therapy afterwards.

"I know it is called therapy, but it seemed as though there was nothing therapeutic about what was being done to my knee," she said. "It was pure torture. I was being contorted into positions that seemed 'pretzel-like,' yet was told it was necessary for healing.

"Depression set in, as my weight plummeted 20 lbs. I saw no end to this living nightmare. Yet, as I continued three days per week for what seemed like an eternity, I started to feel better, more pliable. I was exiting the tunnel and I could see the sunshine."

Hofrichter was given clearance to return to sports in July, some nine months after the injury. It took a while, but she regained her confidence.

"Despite the assurance from my orthopedist, I was insecure about my abilities," she wrote. "I felt a s though the opposing team knew about my injury and had placed a target on my knee. Over time, my nerves relaxed."

Her attitude had changed.

"I still play soccer because I love the sport, but my attitude about the game has changed tremendously," she wrote. "No practice or game is taken for grand and every time I step out onto the field I remember what it was like sitting on the sidelines watching my teammates play," she wrote. "Overall, I am more passionate and appreciative for the game than ever before. It's been two years since my injury. The four-inch scar on my knee will forever be my "badge of courage."

A member of the Long Island high school soccer championship side last year, Hofrichter was captain of the soccer and basketball team. She played in the Long Island Junior Soccer League and performed for ENY ODP as well.

At East Islip High School, Hofrichter had an unweighted average of 97.363 and was ranked 11th in her class of 401.

She has a long list of community service that includes a tutoring in math, Food Drive for the Needy and work with the East Islip Soccer Club in various capacities (training, registration and indoor tournaments).

Allison Rainone

Like many of the scholarship recipients and candidates, Rainone loves soccer. But she admitted she did not have a favorite subject in school -- "just never one that I truly had a passion for" -- until the eighth grade, when she started taking Spanish.

She said he had found herself speaking more Spanish than English, immersing herself into the culture. Not surprisingly, Rainone went on school trips to see Spanish movies and plays and spent 11 days in Costa Rica where she lived in a home-stay.

"Speaking English was literally not an option," she wrote in her essay.

Rainone wrote that she quickly realized that learning Spanish would be extremely beneficial because it was "one of the most widely spoken languages in the world."

So, Rainone is continuing her education as a Spanish major in college and teach it at the high school level.

"Today, we are constantly interacting with other cultures, whether it is in something as important as politics or as recreational as sports," she wrote. "We are being forced to communicate with people that don't speak our language, and that's why I believe that learning Spanish is advantageous and even somewhat necessary."

She later added: "By continuing my education in Spanish I would help to bridge the gap between local and global populations."

Rainone had a 3.8 grade-point average at White Plains High School, where she was in the top 20 percent of his class.

She played varsity soccer all four years and in club travel, she performed in the Westchester Youth Soccer League and the Premier League.

A member of the National Honor Society, Rainone also played in the school's symphonic orchestra from grades 9 to 12 and was student government treasurer as a junior and vice president as a senior.

She has volunteered and done community service with several activities, including Relay For Life and the YWCA Carnival.