Cavalier Corner

December 2022

Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!

Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1483813

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 22 of 35

DECEMBER 2022 23 BY BILL BUNTING C ollege athletics boasts many things for the student-athletes who participate in them — a continua- tion of competition in a sport they love, a chance to invest themselves more deeply in the institution they attend and a family away from home. For some, the bond of family deepens when the chance to compete in collegiate athletics strengthen the connection with a blood relative when the student-athlete opts to play for a school where that relative also competed. Such is the case with Haley Hopkins, a standout forward on the Virginia women's soccer team. Hopkins didn't begin her career with the Cavaliers, but rather she started off at Vanderbilt. She made a name for herself with the Commodores, earning Freshman of the Year honors for the Southeastern Conference in 2018 before going on to earn All-America honors twice and all-region honors three times. She was twice named to the watch list for the MAC Hermann Trophy, which honors the top collegiate soccer player in the nation. As she finished her fourth year as a part of the Vanderbilt program and was ap- proaching graduation, she had amassed 34 goals and 12 assists for 80 points and was second all time in program history in goals scored. That was when she decided to ex- plore options to make a move as a graduate transfer and entered the transfer portal. The key would be finding the place to land that met her goal of providing high quality athletics and academics for the next stage in her life. "When I entered the portal, there was no doubt of the hope I had of playing in the ACC," Hopkins said. "I followed the confer- ence and watched games during my time at Vanderbilt. The soccer played was beautiful and fast paced. Any person who follows women's college soccer could tell you that the ACC is the top soccer conference in the country. "Virginia was always on the list, if not the entirety of the list. I still don't think at the time I fully believed in my ability to play at one of the top soccer schools, but it was worth every chance I had. I still find it dif- ficult to fathom that a program and coach like Steve [Swanson] had any interest in bringing me onto their team." The match seemed to be fated since Hopkins had caught Virginia head coach TRUE BLUE TRUE BLUE Her Virginia Experience Provides A Deeper Family Bond For Haley Hopkins Hopkins, a graduate transfer from Vanderbilt, has been an impact player on offense for the Cavaliers since 2021. She earned second-team All-ACC honors this season and was the team's leading scorer with 11 goals (and 4 assists) through 19 games. (Photo courtesy UVA)

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Cavalier Corner - December 2022