Ava Caldwell was waiting in front of the goal during the 2021 state soccer championship when she received a cross from a teammate. She tucked the ball in with her head and scored her winning goal. Ms. Caldwell, who was a freshman at the time, threw her hands up in joy. To this day she says it is her happiest moment in her life.
“I'm pretty short, so most people beat me with headers,” said the 5-foot-4 midfielder from North Oconee High School.
On that day, almost three years ago, she was tall enough.
Now a graduate, Caldwell has a chance to experience that feeling again.
The Titans will play Westminster in the Final Four on Thursday, looking to extend the season and move one step closer to the 4A state championship.
As a freshman, Caldwell never realized how big a deal it would be to win a state title, even though she was the athlete who made it. She thought it would be easy since she did it on her first occasion.
“I thought, 'Okay, I'll have four rings by the time I graduate high school,'” Caldwell said.
However, once the Titans won in 2021, they fell short the following two years. Last season they were state runners-up. They made it to the Final Four in 2022.
North Oconee has been to the playoffs every year since 2018.
After winning the championship as a freshman, Caldwell said it was hard to deal with not being able to experience that moment again after coming so close.
“It became more and more of an expectation year after year that we would get it again,” Caldwell said.
Caldwell's older sister, Ansley, also played soccer at North Oconee. The sisters' seasons have overlapped for three years, and they won a state championship together in 2021. But it was a different feeling for Ansley, as she was recovering from surgery on her foot and missed the game.
Although Ansley was injured, she was right there with her sister cheering her on and celebrating.
The sisters again discussed the state of victory. They thought his 2022 and 2023 teams would be even better than his 2021 championship. As a result, Eva, as a leader, took the playoff losses in subsequent years personally.
“Eva wasn't happy about it,” Ansley said. “She honestly put a lot of it on herself.”
Eva Caldwell scored 85 goals this season, breaking North Oconee's career goals record.
“I've never played with a striker of Eva's skill level before,” Titans junior Aubrey Patterson said. “Being able to protect her and have the experience of playing alongside her is a real learning experience.”
Caldwell, the team's co-captain, travels to Atlanta at least four times a week for his club team, the Atlanta Fire, coming to practice early in the morning and practicing late.
Caldwell's mother, Cindy, said, “At some points in her soccer career, she placed a lot of emphasis on soccer, sometimes too much emphasis on it.'' “I've grown to balance other aspects of my life.”
Caldwell spent the first 13 years of his life in Auburn, Alabama, and plans to return to his hometown to further his football career at Auburn University. She said that when she visited the Auburn campus, she felt like she was coming home.
Ansley, who graduated last year, currently plays at Columbus State University, about 60 miles from Auburn. Her sisters have grown closer to each other and are ready for the chance to train together again.
Ansley said, “She is a great training partner and always brings people to their best. Her mentality is second to none and she always wants to do more.”
She just wants to take another step to get that winning feeling again this Thursday in the Final Four game against Westminster.
Kaylin Vidal is a student in the Sports and Media Certificate Program at the University of Georgia's Carmical Sports and Media Institute.
