Ask Me Anything! with Sam Cary #2

Every Monday on our Instagram story, we ask our Socceristas to submit questions to our content creator Sam Cary. Sam is a senior at the University of Iowa, where she is on the women’s soccer team. She is a Big Ten Champion, the team captain, and a 4x Academic All-Big Ten Honoree. Here are her responses to four of the questions you submitted. So check out the Instagram story every Monday to submit your questions to next week’s Ask Me Anything!

Q: What was your favorite moment playing soccer?

A: My favorite moment of playing soccer is a unique one. During the Spring of 2021, Iowa was having a really off year. This was my sophomore year on the team, and although we made the NCAA tournament in 2019, this season, we were 0-7-1. 

However, every team made the Big Ten Tournament due to the pandemic. We started going on a winning streak and upset #4 Penn State in the Semi-Finals. Unfortunately, in the 60th minute of the game, I received my second yellow card, and my team was forced to play a man down. 

This moment was terrible for me personally, but I vividly remember the pride I had in my team in the fight and grit we showed. We won the game and ended up winning the Big Ten Tournament Championship. 

I also could not play in the championship game, which hurt so much. But seeing my team grind and play so passionately is a moment I will never forget. It is strange my favorite memory game from the bench, but through this experience, I grew so much as a person, and I got to be a part of my team lifting a trophy.

Q: Tips for forwards?

A: As a forward, my biggest advice is to find “your thing.” Each player has one thing they are special at. It could be speed, finesse, finishing, post-up play, or anything. Every forward brings a unique trait and has a different skill, so I encourage you to find your “special trait” and do it better than anyone else. 

Q: When did you start playing soccer?

A: I started playing soccer when I was four years old. As the story goes, I was an extremely chaotic child with too much energy. My parents put me in soccer to run off some of this energy, and I fell in love with the ball at my foot.

Q: Was anyone in your family a soccer player? 

This is sort of crazy, but no one in my family has ever been an athlete. So this presented a unique challenge because when I was learning my sport, so were my parents. 

I have specific memories of my dad taking notes at games to ask me what was happening or bringing a whiteboard to the field to explain the physics of how to shoot because he didn’t have any playing experience. 

However, learning together was an amazing bonding moment for my family and me, and they have supported me since the beginning, even though they did not play themselves. 

Q: How would Caitlin Clark do on the pitch or you on the court?

A: This is a great question. First, I am a TERRIBLE basketball player. Growing up, I played in a local youth league and fouled out of nearly every game because I didn’t understand the difference between a soccer foul and a basketball foul. 

So I would run away as fast as possible if I went against Caitlin Clark on the court. As for Caitlin on the field, she is the definition of a GOAT, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she was incredible. I would especially expect her to rip a shot from the half as she does from the logo. 

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