On the first day of yoga class, she didn’t want to take off her socks, because she has “soccer feet.” So she went out to Target and bought special pair of yoga socks. Yes — they actually make special socks for aspiring yogis. And yes, “soccer feet” is an accurate term to describe the accumulation of blisters on a player’s foot.
In class, she is quiet and soft-spoken. You might even think that she’s shy. She is unquestionably modest, too. But, on the field, she’s aggressive, unrestrained, and outgoing.
18-year-old Holly Bowser is the new goalkeeper for the Bucks Women’s Soccer team, and she is one of the best in the area. As a Division 3 goalie, she has racked up 90 saves in her 13 starts, totaling a .818 save percentage. The team’s record is 6-6-1, with Bowser helping them pull off three shutouts.
On Sept. 28, Bowser was named “Athlete of the Week” by the Eastern Pennsylvania Athletic Conference. “It feels good to get the recognition that I’ve always wanted,” she says. “In high school, I was never really talked about.”
Bowser, a graduate of Neshaminy High School, lives in Langhorne with her mother, father, and brother, as well as two cats. She started playing soccer after she watched her older brother play the sport when she was four years old. By the time she was in fourth grade, her dad had her training with the high school players at Council Rock South.
Around 2007, Bowser found out that she had severe asthma due to abnormally small bronchial tubes. “One time, at CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia), I had to run on a treadmill with tubes down my throat,” she recalls. This discovery influenced her positioning on the field. “I knew that I definitely had a disadvantage to the field players,” says Bowser.
Her health condition isn’t her only disadvantage. Bowser is weighing in at approximately 120 pounds, only measuring 5 feet, 2 inches in height. “People think that I have a handicap because I’m short so I want to prove them wrong.” Bowser continues, “It makes me want to work harder.”
Bowser says that she actually performed her best in this current season, and wasn’t always a star player. In 2013, the Neshaminy Redskins won the State Championship and finished undefeated with a record of 25-0, but she wasn’t always the starter. “Granted I didn’t play when we won [States], it was an overwhelming feeling,” Bowser says. “That was probably the best moment in high school soccer that I had.”
This season, she has started every game that the Lady Centurions have played. She credits her success to the dynamic of this year’s team. “It’s just a better environment,” says Bowser. “It’s a psychological thing,” she continues, “when you’re happy you do better.”
Bowser feels extremely comfortable this year, even though she was nervous coming into this season. She remembers thinking, “This is a new team. I don’t know if they’re gonna like me.” She now knows that her fears were irrational, since she practically spends all of her free time on campus with “the girls.” “No one thinks less of anyone else,” she explains.
Thus far, this feeling of comfort has expanded into her overall experience at Bucks. Even though Bowser says, “it does fell like high school 2.0,” she has expertly balanced her 15 credits, soccer, and work for nearly 2 months. With the soccer season coming to an end, Bowser plans to pick up extra hours at her job.
Bowser will be returning to the soccer field at Bucks next season, but that may be her last season as an active player in the sport. “I don’t think I want to play soccer at a competitive level after this,” she says. “I chose Bucks because I want to be more focused on my major than soccer.”
Bowser is an environmental science major, unlike many of the exercise science majors involved in team sports on campus. After earning her Associate’s degree at Bucks, she plans on transferring to Temple to work on obtaining her Master’s. Ever since she was little, she has enjoyed being outside and involved with nature, and hopes to work for the Environmental Protection Agency one day.
Her fondest memories are of soccer games and science experiments. Bowser talked of a little microscope she received as a child, and her memories of travelling to Virginia for soccer at the age of 10. She has always had a passion for both the field and the lab, and knows where her focus needs to be.
Bowser’s idol isn’t a famous athlete or a well-known scientist. It is her mother that gives her inspiration. “She gets me through everything.” Bowser adds, “She just raised me really well.”
Bowser’s father has also been a source of strength for her. When she was in middle school, her father was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. “He really pushed through it,” says Bowser. “He still got me to every practice,” she continues, “got me to every game.”
After successful chemotherapy, Bowser’s father is now in remission. “I’m a lucky kid.” Bowser adds. “I take that for granted sometimes.”
Bowser’s parents must be happy knowing that they raised such an exceptional specimen. She’s intelligent and focused, with a drive that seems to have been parentally instilled. “I’m very lucky to have supportive parents,” says Bowser.
Even with the vigor of a 5-foot mule, Bowser appears to be relaxed and laid back in many ways. Constantly using terms such as “dude” and “like,” wearing gender-neutral clothing, and watching cartoons from the late 90s, Bowser appears to be a physically active, modern-day hippie.
If she were granted one wish, it would be for world peace. When asked what the premise of a movie about her life would be, Bowser simply says, “Don’t take life too serious.”