“The ball doesn’t know how old you are.”
These words were among the first freshman Anna Cassell heard upon arriving at Northwestern (1-7-0, 0-1-0 Big Ten). As the starting goalkeeper on the women’s soccer team, Cassell has taken these words to heart, playing less and less like a freshman every game, according to coach Stephanie Foster.
Cassell sits in the top five in saves (34) and top four in saves per game (4.25) among Big Ten goalkeepers and has started in the net every game this season.
Cassell’s journey to success began at a young age. With a family full of soccer fans, she always found a supportive cheering squad at every game, from Mini Me youth soccer to high school.
“[My parents] have always pushed me and given me the opportunity to excel on and off the field,” she said.
And excel she did. Cassell posted a state-best 12 shutouts as a senior at Skyline High school in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was a four-year letter winner and was named to the First Team All-State roster three times.
Off the field, Cassell managed to finish first amongst the 457 students in her graduating class, also securing the titles of NSCAA Scholar All-American and National Merit Semi-Finalist. As Foster put it, “She is a legit Northwestern student.”
Cassell attributes much of her success to her ability to manage her time wisely.
“The time commitment [of collegiate soccer] is like a job,” she said. “I’ve had to sacrifice other things for the opportunity to spend time doing the things I love to do.”
But along with time commitment came an elevated level of competition and seriousness, qualities that Cassell was looking for in the next step of her soccer career.
Overall, Cassell’s coach and teammates have been impressed by her transition from high school to college athlete.
“She seemed ready,” junior defender Briana Westlund said. “I didn’t have to help her feel comfortable.”
Westlund, who also started every game of her freshman year, admitted that starting as a freshman is hard, but said that Cassell has been a “leader for the backs and another voice on the field.”
Foster appreciates the energy and enthusiasm that Cassell has brought to the team, as well as her desire to improve.
“She’s a learner,” Foster said. However, Foster stressed that Cassell is still “getting used to the speed and level of play. She earns more and more trust as the season goes on.”
According to Foster, Cassell must continue to improve on positioning and decision-making, but already excels at organizing the players on the field and minimizing problems before they escalate.
“Early in the season we could say ‘goalkeeper error,’ but now the errors are not on her,” Foster said.
Cassell and her teammates look to continue improving with matchups against Penn State and Ohio State this weekend.
The Nittany Lions (7-3-0, 0-1-0), in search of their 14th straight Big Ten Championship , lost their first conference game against Wisconsin on Sept. 17 and have since dropped out of the NSCAA Top 25.
The Buckeyes (5-3-1, 0-0-1) began the season with a Top 25 ranking but, in consecutive matches, lost to No. 24 Dayton and tied with unranked Minnesota in their first match of Big Ten play.
NU meets Penn State on Friday at University Park, Penn., then heads to Columbus, Ohio, for a Sunday clash with Ohio State.
