Olympia alum Caroline Jeffers caps off college career with national title

Standing stoically between the pipes, FSU goalie Caroline Jeffers waits and waits.

The opponent across the field from her is a familiar one. About a month before, Jeffers and the Seminoles faced off against UNC in the ACC women’s soccer finals on the same field.

But this day is different. This time, it is for all the marbles. This is for the Division I national title at the Women’s College World Cup in Cary, North Carolina.

Although the game that Sunday, Dec. 2, wouldn’t be as high-scoring as the 3-2 win over the Tar Heels back in November, the lone goal from Dallas Dorosy and the shutout by Jeffers would be enough to seal up a national title for the ‘Noles in front of 12,512 fans — most of whom wore the light blue of Carolina.

“It was very surreal, honestly,” said Jeffers, a Windermere native and Olympia alum. “Four years ago, I could have never imagined myself playing in a national title game. It was crazy, because it was in North Carolina’s backyard, so it was basically like a home game for them — which was a huge advantage for them. It was amazing. I’ll never forget that moment.”

The championship game itself — and being named to the College Cup All-Tournament team — was the culmination of a long road traveled for the redshirt junior, who last summer suffered a severe ankle injury that forced her to miss the entire 2017 season.

“Four years ago, I could have never imagined myself playing in a national title game. It was crazy, because it was in North Carolina’s backyard, so it was basically like a home game for them — which was a huge advantage for them. It was amazing. I’ll never forget that moment.”

— Caroline Jeffers

Although the injury occurred during summer play, it wasn’t diagnosed properly until well into September — when Jeffers was back at FSU — and didn’t get worked on until December.

“I was battling it all season, until they finally figured out that I needed surgery,” Jeffers said. “At first it was like, ‘OK, well we can rehab this and you can start training later in the season,’ and that never happened. I basically had ankle reconstruction surgery — they had to fix cartilage, tissue and I had a bone spur.”

From there, it was rehabbing to get back to full strength, although the injury ensured she would be playing the role of back up — where she played until that fateful ACC championship Sunday in November.

In the second half of that match, starting keeper Brooke Bollinger went down awkwardly in the 62nd minute. From there, Jeffers took over.

Through her six games as the starter for the ‘Noles throughout the NCAA tourney, Jeffers only gave up two goals. Three of those big wins came against the past three national champs — USC, Penn State and Stanford.

Of all the games throughout the tourney, it was the Sweet 16 win against USC in penalty kicks that really stood out, Jeffers said.

“We had to go into PKs against USC, and personally, I think USC was a Final Four-caliber team, because we had played them earlier in the season and had tied them 0-0,” Jeffers said.

For Jeffers the national title was the cap to a successful career that spans back to her time growing up in Windermere.

Jeffers first kicked around a soccer ball at age 4, when her father — who grew up playing soccer — decided to sign her up for youth soccer. From there, Jeffers was hooked.

Although she is now known for her goal-stopping abilities, Jeffers actually started out her team career at Olympia as mostly a forward playing up top for the Titans.

Under head coach Scott Baker, Jeffers — a four-year starter — was an immense offensive threat. In her freshman year, she led the team with 12 goals, which she followed with a team-best 16-goal season during her sophomore year.

“It’s really just funny, because it helped me a lot playing on the field,” Jeffers said. “It helped me with my feet — being able to pass and have good feet.”

Although Jeffers’ career at Olympia saw her help lead the Titans to 40 wins and four consecutive district playoff appearances, a few moments really stood out — including a big win over West Orange in her last year.

“My senior year, we had never beat or tied West Orange since I had been there,” Jeffers said. “We tied West Orange 1-1 — we scored in the last 30 seconds of the game to tie them.”

Her time playing for the Titans, and for the Florida Kraze Krush for two years, drew the attention of ECU — where Jeffers started in goal in all 18 games of the 2016 season as a redshirt freshman. Following her year in Greenville, North Carolina, she transferred to FSU.

And although she still has a year left of eligibility, Jeffers — who graduates in the spring — decided to hang up her cleats and move on to a possible career in sports marketing. Wherever she ends up, Jeffers hopes to utilize the work ethic she honed in soccer and put it toward her future.

“Things aren’t always going to go the way that you expect them or want them to, but being a good teammate and working hard and doing all the things you’re supposed to will go a really long way,” Jeffers said. “People will remember you for how hard you’ve worked and for being a (good) teammate.”