Panthers' Feldstein fulfills Division I dream, embraces new challenge at St. Peter's

Amanda Feldstein wasn’t sure if her dream of playing Division I soccer was going to materialize.

“I thought the chance was slowly going away because it was becoming later and later,” the Petrides star senior said.

Then in January, Panthers coach Kim Caccese recieved an email and phone call from Brett Sarsfield, the new St. Peter’s College coach. After talking to him, she felt the rebuilding MAAC school would be a good fit for Feldstein, The Post’s All-City Player of the Year.

St. Peter’s had everything Feldstein was looking for. It presented the challenge of her career and a place she felt comfortable at with friend Karissa Gregor of St. John Villa already on the team.

Christina Santucci

Petrides' Amanda Feldstein scored 42 goals last season.

Joseph Staszewski

Feldsteiin signs her National Letter of Intent with her parents, Larry Feldstein and Jonna DeSantis.

As a result, Feldstein signed a National Letter of Intent with the New Jersey school Friday afternoon, choosing it over Division II Stonehill. Petrides' all-time goal-scoring leader will get a partial athletic and academic scholarship that adds up to a full ride.

“Everyone was always asking me, ‘Where are you going?’ and I would say. ‘I don’t know,’” said Feldstein, who was joined by parents Larry Feldstein and Jonna DeSantis … “Now it’s over, so I can breathe.”

The opportunity at St. Peter’s reminded her of the one she just went through at Petrides. During her four years there, she helped build the small Staten Island school into one of the best programs in the city. The year before her arrival, Petrides was winless in Staten Island A, arguably the city’s best division. With each year came improvement, culminating in the best season in program history.

“[Sarsfield] wants to build a program to the potential it has,” Feldstein said. “That’s what happened in high school, too. Since we are a small school, we don’t have the athletes to choose from like Tottenville and Wagner so that’s what happened here. We slowly made our we up.”

The Panthers put up a program-best record of 12-2-1 this fall and earned its first win over rival McKee/Staten Island Tech on its way to making its first-ever semifinal appearance. St. Peter's finished 3-16 overall last season and 0-9 in the conference with a team that had just one senior. Caccese believes Fieldstein, who wants to study physical therapy, is the type of player who can make an impact immediatley.

“I tried to explain to her that she can go to a team and make a difference,” she said. “I think that’s what she really enjoyed and got a lot out of Petrides because she was able to make such a difference and build a team. She really feels like she can go there and help contribute.”

Feldstein scored a New York City-eading 42 goals last season. Two of them came in a 3-0 win over Francis Lewis in the PSAL Class A quarterfinals to give her 100 for her career. Her breakaway speed, precise shot and chemistry with midfielder Katrina Wiesner made her a threat to strike at anytime. There wasn’t an angle or distance over midfield that Fieldstein couldn't put a dangerous shot on net.

“She looks forwards to challenges either in the classroom or on the field,” Caccese said.

The coach, Feldstein and her parents were all relieved to have the process finally over with. Caccese felt the wait was worth it because she ended up at a school and program that best fit her, putting a cap to a year filled with memorable accomplishments.

“Absolutely,” Feldstein said. “It was just the cherry on top of everything.”

jstaszewski@nypost.com