By Chandler McDougal, Intern
Erin Cembrale is a Junior Student-Athlete at Huntingdon College and has played for the Women’s Soccer program for the past 3 years. Cembrale has attended Huntingdon since the fall of 2019 and has made an impact on the soccer program ever since her arrival on campus. Cembrale is from Oyster Bay, New York and chose Huntingdon because “It felt like home to me. I love how small it is here. I love how awesome the professors are here and how they care about us as a person. They want us to succeed and do great in life. Additionally, I love my coaches, my coaches have been my biggest fans ever since the day I got here. This place has taught me how to grow and become the best version of myself.” Cembrale is a Biology major with hopes of graduating in the Spring of 2023.
Being the best version of oneself as a student-athlete can be challenging to those that do not embrace the balancing of both. Cembrale would go on to mention that time-management is essential for student-athletes, not only those at Huntingdon College, but for all accredited student-athletes. Luckily for her, Huntingdon Women’s Soccer Program makes it easier on her and her teammates to balance both. Cembrale would go on to state “It’s not hard to balance soccer with school. All you need is a great time-management schedule. Huntingdon has helped me a lot with that. When I am away for games, I talk with my professor and I will do my assignments before I leave for the fames, so that way I’m not behind in my classes. They (Huntingdon Staff) are very understanding here and so are my coaches as well. The coaches know that school always comes first. If I have a test that I need to study for Coach Cliff will let us leave practice early so we can go study for our tests. His main goal for us is to do great academically.”
Growing up, Cembrale and her mother would watch soccer on a daily basis, which would lead to the burning passion that Erin would embrace today. Erin played three sports throughout her childhood, but nothing ever came close to the impact that soccer had on her emotions and her heart. While watching soccer games on television, Erin would constantly tell herself that one day, she would be the one that plays for her own country. Thus far, Erin has made strides to accomplish this goal as she is a member of the USA Deaf Olympic team. Having a hearing disability has not hindered her in any manner, as instead of using it as an excuse, she pushes through obstacles in her path to accomplish what she sets her mind towards. Having the joy when she steps on the field is a major contributor to this attribute of hers. “Soccer has brought me so much joy and brought me to wonderful places and people that I would not have been able to meet. The second I step onto the pitch; I feel like myself and I feel at peace”. Cembrale and Soccer have had a genuine relationship this far and will continue to embrace one another for more years to come.
Going into the offseason, Cembrale and her teammates are hungrier than ever for a chance at the USA South Conference after a tough defeat in the USA South Conference Quarterfinals to Methodist with a final score of 2-0. On how the team can improve heading into the spring, Cembrale would state “I believe if we work on the small things, we can achieve bigger things. If we put our minds to it, nothing will stop us. When we made it to the Quarterfinals and lost, it hurt, it hurt the whole team as we aspired to win the whole tournament. I know it definitely pissed off the juniors, including myself, who will become seniors in the fall. After that game, we huddled and made a promise that we will be back next year. We want to bring home the trophy. We have to keep working for each other and believe in each other. I totally believe this team is where it needs to be. We have goals and we can definitely achieve winning the conference in the fall.” With an intensive weightlifting/conditioning regime lead by Charlie Goodyear, the Hawks will look froward to improving amongst themselves to make strides for the future.
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