Rachel Buffalo

Height:
5-7
Class:
Sophomore
High School:
Lake Mary HS
Hometown:
Longwood, Fla.

2014
Started all 22 games for the Orange and Black…Anchored a Mercer defense that tallied seven shutouts and was second in the SoCon with a .318 shutout percentage…Helped the Bears to notch a league-leading .886 goals-against average…Tallied an assist in the 1-0 win over Western Carolina (Oct. 12).

2013
Started in all 21 games for Mercer...Played a team-leading 1877 minutes…Was named to the A-Sun All-Tournament Team…Tallied an assist…Helped lead a Mercer defense that recorded six shutouts in 2013.

2012
Was a steady force right in the heart of a Mercer defense that tied for first in the Atlantic Sun Conference with 11 shutouts last season...Appeared in 20 games in 2012, including 19 starts...Part of a Mercer backline whose 11 shutouts were the second-fewest in Mercer program history and the 10th-fewest in A-Sun Conference history...Scored the first goal of her collegiate career in a 7-0 win over Alabama A&M (Aug. 31)...Finished the season by being voted onto the A-Sun All-Tounrnament team and named an A-Sun All-Academic Honoree.

2011
Was one of five players to start and play in all 20 games for the Bears and of just two freshman to accomplish the feat...Helped fill in a major hole in the Bears defense last season and did a remarkable job in her first year in Macon...Recorded the second-most minutes on the team last year (1,752) and the most among freshmen...Had just three shots in 2011, yet helped lead the Bears to their best start in program history, including seven shutouts in the first nine games ... Also named an All-Academic selection by the Atlantic Sun.

High School
Lettered all four years in soccer at Lake Mary HS and her team recorded 50 wins during that time ... Was named First Team All-Central Florida and participated in the FACA State All-Star game ... TopDrawerSoccer.com listed her as the No. 8 "Player to Watch" in the state of Florida...She was a 2009 and 2010 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/Adidas All-Region III Team selection and a 2010 NSCAA All-America nominee...A three-time First Team All-Conference selection...Made the All-Central Florida second team in 2009-2010...Served as the team captain for her junior and senior seasons and was a member of a 2008 district championship team at Lake Mary...Also played for the Florida Rush Nike Premier club team that was a three-time Florida State Cup finalist in 2008, '09 and '10...Her Florida Rush team participated in the prestigious Region III Premier League...She also played on the ODP Florida State "A" team from 2007-2010 and was an integral part of two Region III finalist teams in 2009 and 2010...Has been a member of the Florida Olympic Development Program since 2007.

Personal
Graduated in the top 10 percent of her class with a 4.1 GPA and was a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society and was on the Principal’s Honor Roll…Buffalo and fellow Mercer teammate Lauren Gassie played on the same club team in Florida and now wear a black armband whenever they take the field in remembrance of their club coach Mike O'Kennedy, who passed away unexpectedly on August 24, 2010...Is the daughter of Chris and Bryan Buffalo and has a sister, Lauren.