Claire Cavacini Did Not Expect Early Success She Had At Centre College

Claire Cavacini did not expect early success she had at Centre College.

By LARRY VAUGHT

Claire Cavacini knew playing soccer at Centre College would be the best level of competition she had ever faced. She thought it would take time for her to gain experience and show what she could do as a player.

Instead, she was the Southern Athletic Association Newcomer of the Year in 2024 when she started 15 games, played 908 minutes, scored four goals, and had four assists. She was an all-conference second-team selection.

“I was not expecting that at all,” said Cavacini, a F. Thomas Highlands graduate.

She didn’t know anyone who had played soccer at Centre College when she decided to play for coach Jay Hoffman. She has an older cousin attending Centre, and both of the cousin’s parents attended Centre.

“It was one of those things where we knew people who had gone to Centre, Jay had reached out to me, and when I came on one visit, I ended up committing right after that,” she said. “I never wanted to go far from home. I am comfortable being at home. I didn’t like having sleepovers even in high school. I just liked being in my own bed at home.

“I came in here with no expectations of the player I had to be. I just played the game of soccer like I’ve always played and used my skills to help the team in different ways.”

She is doing the same thing this season. The Colonels are 10-2-1 (1-1 SAA) after beating Millsaps and losing toRhodes over the weekend, going into Friday’s match at conference favorite Trinity (Texas). Cavacini is one of the team leaders in minutes played,  as she averages about 59 minutes per game and is third in goals scored with four.

“I’m very driven in the sense that I’m hard on myself, but those little successes and even big successes are what drive me to the next level because the feeling of succeeding in something pushes me to just get that feeling over and over and over,” the Center sophomore said. “It just makes me a better player.

“I feel like my IQ of the game in the sense of knowing when to pass, where to dribble, not forcing things, and just knowing how the game should be played and what to do during the game makes me the player I am.”

She’s always been a goal scorer but knows getting the minutes she earns is about more than scoring goals on Centre’s balanced team.

“I’m blessed to be able to play for this team. I like being on the field. Whatever I do, I want to do my best,” she said.

Cavacini, a biology major, hopes to eventually become a doctor and knows success academically is as important as success athletically, which is not easy to do with the academic demands at Centre.

“I would definitely say academically it was harder than I thought.  Not in terms of contest, but more in study habits, you have to break from high school, where I could get along fine without studying that much. Here, you definitely have to put in time outside of class. So for me it is pretty much class, practice, library,” she said.

Cavacini tried dance and basketball, but knew by third grade that soccer was her favorite sport, and gave up basketball in high school to concentrate solely on soccer.

“With club and high school, I knew that soccer was what I wanted to do in college, and I wanted to dedicate all my time to that,” the Centre sophomore said.

She played club soccer along with high school soccer and has continued to play on a club team in the summer since she’s been at Centre. Highlands has a rich sports history in numerous sports, and that fueled her competitive nature.

“Highlands has a great sporting environment. Football games are awesome with an incredible atmosphere. Soccer games, baseball games … every sport was super competitive,” she said. “In soccer, I was always competing to play and just be the player I thought I could be.

Cavacini believes the offseason work the Colonels put in will continue to pay off despite the loss at Rhodes. The Colonels were 11-5-2 last season, did not make the conference tournament title gam, and did not play in the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s not just the skill we have on this team, but the dynamics and culture of this team are both very good,” she said.

She says the team appreciates Jay Hoffman’s coaching style and how he leads the team.

“He used to be an elementary school teacher. I think those fun sides of him make the game fun for us. He knows what to say and what to do,” the sophomore said. “He’s been a very successful coach, and you know you can put your trust in him. He just makes playing here fun. He’s tough but fair, and we all really respect him.”