Bethel Park graduate catches success with Pittsburgh Passion

Russell Finelsen, Editor-in-Chief|July 11, 2015

Rachel Wojdowski, who graduated from BPHS in 2000, is finishing her fifth year with the Pittsburgh Passion. She is one of the best receivers in the league, and had helped her team be the best.

The Passion have won their last 21 games and are 10-0 this season, including a 8-0 record during the regular season. The team has advanced to the league’s finals, where they will face the Utah Falconz (7-0) on July 25 at Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Wojdowski started the postseason with a touchdown catch against the New York Sharks. This helped the team win, 35-28, and advance to the semi-finals. There, the Passion dismantled the Carolina Phoenix, 41-12, to advance to the finals.

Wojdowski, the team’s main wide receiver, had 25 catches for 452 yards this season, which is second in the league. Wojdowski also had 11 touchdowns. In addition, she was chosen as an Eastern Conference First Team All-Star.

This is the team’s second consecutive appearance in the finals. Last year, the Passion beat the Houston Energy 41-7 to take the title.

In addition to being a Pittsburgh Passion star, Wojdowski also is the assistant coach of the Duquesne Dukes’ women’s basketball team. During her tenure at Duquesne, which spans six years and includes her being director of basketball associations during the 2011-2013 seasons, she helped the team win 111 games.

Wojdowski attended Duquesne and UNC-Wilmington as a student before graduating from NYU. With NYU, Wojdowski averaged 16.4 points in 55 games, in which the university won 46 games. She was inducted into the NYU Hall of Fame this year.

After college, Wojdowski played all around Europe before coming back home to Pittsburgh in 2010, where she was an assistant coach with Peters Township. The team reached the WPIAL semi-finals after upsetting Oakland Catholic in the first round.

Before all this, Wojdowski became a star with the BPHS girl’s basketball team. Even though she missed the 1999-2000 season with an ACL tear, she averaged 17.6 points and 10.7 rebounds during the 1988-1999 season, in which the team went 19-9.

Good luck to Wojdowski in the IWFL finals on the 25th.