---

ATTLEBORO - She's a bundle of energy, Jenna Roncarati that is.

Some soccer coaches might look at her as being a perfect target person up top, roaming the penalty box area as a striker for scoring chances.

Others might look at her height and athleticism and deem her to be an ideal candidate for a goalkeeper.

Many would consider her demeanor and ability to recover as a perfect individual to fill a stopper or a sweeper's role on the defensive backline.

"Midfield is where I like to play, that's where I want to play," said the Bishop Feehan High School senior, who will be among the fleet of the area's finest girls' high school players to be participating in the second annual Sun Chronicle All-Star Game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Mansfield High. Roncarati has verbally committed to play Division I soccer in the Big East Conference, at Providence College next fall. But that won't dismiss her from working her wondrous skills on the pitch with some three dozen collegiate coaches scheduled to be in attendance for the showcase match.

"I've played in a lot of showcase tournaments before, for soccer and basketball, and it's a lot of fun to practice and play against some of the best players around," said Roncarati.

With Roncarati patrolling the pitch, recovering on the Shamrock side of the field in a defensive role, winning balls and taking possession at midfield and leading excursions into the attacking final third of the field, the Shamrocks produced a 12-2-4 regular season record and earned the No. 4 seed for the MIAA Division 1-South Sectional Tournament.

Not only did the Shamrocks play their toughest regular season schedule ever - meeting Needham, Weymouth, Dighton-Rehoboth and Attleboro (all MIAA Tournament-qualifying teams) - Bishop Feehan established a school record for fewest goals allowed (15) in a single season.

And not just that, but Roncarati totaled a dozen goals and collected eight assists to move into the No. 4 spot on Bishop Feehan's all-time career scoring list with 84 points (40 goals, 44 assists), just behind Mary Bucci.

"This year she was more outspoken, she's maturing as a player," said Bishop Feehan coach Paul Pontes of Roncarati's leadership skills. "She's such a great athlete, she'd excel in any sport - cross country, track, volleyball, you name it."

The Shamrocks won their 13th match of the season in beating Needham 1-0 in overtime in the first round of the MIAA Tournament before losing a quarterfinal round match to Weymouth.

Roncarati wondered too where the Shamrock goals would come from this season. So it became her mindset, along with her teammates, to cut down on scoring chances by the opposition, to better challenge for balls.

"Last year we won a lot of matches 4-0, 5-0 and I knew that we wouldn't score as many goals without (Shamrock career goal-scoring leader) Jen Leaverton," said Roncarati. "We knew that we would have to focus on defense, that if we were going to have any success, we'd have to take care of things in our own end and not allow teams to score goals."

As special a basketball player as Roncarati is, soccer has always been her sport of passion. "It's always been my first love. soccer," she said. "Basketball was something to do for fun. I care about it, but soccer is what I want to play in college." To that end, Roncarati has played with numerous club teams and most recently with the R.I. Rays, being coached by Jim McGirr - who not so coincidentally recruited her to PC. She had also considered Boston College, UConn, Syracuse and Villanova. But knowing the Friar coach, knowing that she might be able to step on the field as a freshman, to play in a highly competitive conference and near her Cumberland, R.I. home were strong selling points.

"I didn't want to go far," said Roncarati, who will officially sign her NCAA letter of intent with the Friars in February.

No sooner had the Shamrock soccer season ended than Roncarati continued running, with her basketball teammates for captains practice sessions.

"I've always liked playing at midfield, it's getting the ball upfield to your forwards, it's about defending, there's a lot that you have to do," she added. "You're always going back and forth - it's just having the work ethic to get it done."