Kathleen Casey: Captain and Key Player
Saint Mary’s College women’s club soccer team’s captain, Kathleen Casey, is a huge asset to her team and constantly leads by example.
Casey’s soccer story started at a young three years of age. First playing on an indoor soccer team coach by her dad, she then moved onto outdoor recreational soccer where her spark really ignited. Casey joined Mustang Soccer in Danville, California, to increase her level of competitive play.
After playing for a bit of time in two more competitive club organizations, Casey was found herself going into the high school level of competition. A student at Dougherty Valley High School, Casey held a position on the JV team her freshman year, and then played at the varsity level her following three years. While competing at the high school level, Casey also had her sights set on getting a college recruit.
Casey did go on to get a recruit spot at Dominican University in Stockton, California, but ended up turning it down. Instead, she chose to follow her path to Saint Mary’s College of California, located in Moraga, California.
“I decided to switch gears and and to go to Saint Mary’s College and stick to club soccer,” Casey said. “Currently, I am one of the captains of the SMC women’s club soccer team, and I have been playing all four years of college.”
Speaking to one of Casey’s teammates, Hannah Fuller, who is a junior at Saint Mary’s College, she had nothing but good things to say about Casey. Fuller spoke praises about her team captain’s skills both on the field and as a teammate.
“As a captain, Kathleen has very good leadership skills because she knows how to distinguish between being an authoritative leader and being a friend,” Fuller said. “On the field, she is a key playmaker in our attacking center field. This helps create many opportunities for the team, both offensively and defensively.”
In asking where she drew her inspiration to play soccer from, Casey pinpointed her parents as the source of her motivation in playing the sport for so long. Her parents actually met each other through soccer, and both her mother and father played when they were young. Her father even went onto play for the University of Houston after his family moved to America from England.
“I love everything that soccer does for my life,” Casey said. “I keep working out, while having a ton of fun. I have put so much into it throughout my life that I cannot imagine not playing anymore.”
