Penna, 18 of Carlstadt, played in the Carlstadt Recreation league for most of his childhood and was shortstop on Bergen Tech's baseball team.
An essay on how Carlstadt soccer influenced the athlete's life led him to become the organization's second scholarship recipient.
"I just wrote about how the coaches shared a love for the game that will stick with me for the rest of my life," Penna said. "Playing soccer taught me how to work together as a team and be dedicated to everything that I do."
The athlete will put his baseball his career on hold to study mechanical engineering at Villanova.
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