Buford soccer star Carolyn Calzada aims to continue dominance with Aggies
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (BVM) 鈥� Carolyn Calzada has been playing soccer since she could walk. And now the Buford High School standout is on her way to play for the Texas A&M Aggies.
Calzada, a native of Sugar Hill, Georgia, grew up playing every sport imaginable. But it was soccer that stole her heart in the end.
鈥淚鈥檝e been playing [soccer] for as long as I can remember,鈥� Calzada said. 鈥淚’ve played a ton of sports, but as I got older and as they (sports) got more competitive and took up more time, it was just the one I enjoyed the most and [it was the one] I loved playing all the time.鈥�
Continuing her journey on the pitch, Calzada鈥檚 athletic career began to take off when she joined the Tophat soccer club in 2016. She would find an abundance of success and get to experience things some athletes can only dream of doing.
Joining the U17 women’s national team, Calzada helped her teammates win the 2019 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) development tournament. She and the USA squad captured the title with wins over the Czech Republic, Belgium and Ireland.
鈥淚鈥檝e traveled a ton for soccer, but it was probably the coolest experience I鈥檝e had,鈥� Calzada said. 鈥淚 met girls [from] all across the country (U.S.). Some I鈥檝e never heard of [and] a lot that I鈥檝e played against. It was cool to meet the coaching staff and understand the different [tactics]. It was an eye-opening experience to see how much more [competition] there is out there.鈥�
With Tophat, Calzada also helped the club to the Southeast Division Region Championship in 2018, 2019 and 2020. The club won the Southeast title in her first year back in 2016 and took second place at nationals in 2021.聽
Along with her valuable time with her club team, Calzada played one year of high school soccer at Buford High School under head coach Megan Hill.
鈥淏ecause of developmental academy, I didn鈥檛 get the pleasure of coaching Carolyn until her junior year,鈥� Hill said. The opportunities are [greater] in the club world鈥’m so glad I got to experience her for a season because she is a remarkable player. Definitely one you don’t come across as a high school coach [very often].鈥�
鈥淚 enjoyed it so much (playing at Buford for one season),鈥� Calzada said. 鈥淚 loved my teammates, I loved being able to bond with the younger girls and being a great influence to them and being a leader for new people.鈥�
During her time with the Buford Wolves, Calzada helped her squad to an overall record of 20-1-1. It is the best record in school history and their only loss came in the Georgia 6A state semifinal match. As a defender and the captain of the team, Calzada tallied 15 goals and 12 assists.
Now with a successful prep and club career behind her, Calzada has made her collegiate intentions known. Back on Nov. 10, she declared that she’d be heading to College Station.
Welcome to Aggieland! 馃憤
鉁嶏笍 饾悅饾悮饾惈饾惃饾惀饾惒饾惂 饾悅饾悮饾惀饾惓饾悮饾悵饾悮
鈻笍 '21 All-State, All-Region 1st Team & POTY
鈻笍 Led HS team to best record in program history
鈻笍 Top 10% of HS class
鈫笍 97.4 grade averageIG 馃摬: carolyncalzada
Tw 馃惁: x— Texas A&M Soccer (@AggieSoccer)
鈥淗onestly it was a long process,鈥� Calzada said. 鈥淎&M was a team I originally reached out to when I started the process [of looking at schools] and as I started to make decisions and cut schools out, it was a school that was a really good fit for me. And I really enjoyed the coaching staff and the players and getting to hang out with them and go around campus鈥t just seemed like a really good fit.鈥澛�
At A&M, Calzada will join former U17 teammates Jordy Gunnarson and Makhiya McDonald. Along with her former teammates, Calzada will get to play for the one of the best coaches in NCAA DI soccer in G Guerrieri. He ranks fourth all-time among NCAA DI coaches with 484 total wins.
鈥�CC is an athletic and intelligent defender and leader from the nationally acclaimed Tophat Soccer Club in the Atlanta area. She will arrive in Aggieland prepared to play after training and playing on the highest level of soccer in America for many years,鈥� Coach Guerrieri said in a. 鈥淪he will immediately make us better at breaking whatever pressure our opponents try to put us under. Additionally, CC is a great teammate and proven winner.鈥�
There鈥檚 a lot that goes into being a college athlete. Sometimes young athletes look up to those who have been in their shoes before. For Calzada, Julie Ertz, Crystal Dunn and her own brother have been the main sources of motivation for her.聽聽
鈥淕rowing up I was a big fan of Julie Ertz,鈥� Calzada said. 鈥淚 used to play her postion, so she was somebody I really looked up to. More recently, because I play her position, I鈥檝e been really enjoying watching each Crystal Dunn and the way she carries herself. My brother has been a really big influence and all the adversity he鈥檚 gone through and how he carries him and pushes himself, he鈥檚 been a big inspiration.鈥�
Calzada will be graduating early and enrolling at A&M this spring. She gets a jumpstart on her college career and she鈥檒l aim to help the Aggies get back to the NCAA College Cup for the first time since 2014.聽聽
鈥淚’m really excited to go out there and learn from my teammates and the coaches,鈥� Calzada said. 鈥淚鈥檓 really excited to bring my speed [and] my agresion [to the field].
Calzada will hit the ground running this spring. She has accomplished her goal of reaching the college level, but with her continuous hard work and determination she can accomplish the other goals she has set for herself.聽聽
鈥淚 would love to go play in the National Women鈥檚 Soccer League (NWSL) after college or get some sort of experience overseas,鈥� Calzada said. 鈥淭he ultimate goal would be to play with the national team.”
