Cara Silverman is already making a name for herself as a “superfrosh” for the University of Connecticut.
Photo courtesy Cathy Silverman
September 18, 2008
The first two games of University of Connecticut freshman forward Cara Silverman’s college career have compelled head coach Nancy Stevens to refer to the newcomer from Roseland as “a superfrosh.”
Silverman’s superpower of choice would seem to be efficiency. Of the five shots she’s attempted through two contests — both ending in UConn victories — four have found the back of the net.
Her goal tally is tops on a roster loaded with NCAA tournament-tested veterans, and despite seeing action exclusively in a reserve role, Silverman has accounted for nearly half of the offense for a unit that ranked eighth nationally in scoring a season ago.
“Cara really improves our athletic profile,” said Stevens. “She’s super fast, very aggressive, and she has a nose for the goal.”
In the season opener against Sacred Heart, Silverman capped a dominant effort for the Huskies with the game’s final two scores. The first came in the closing minutes of the first half when fellow freshman Jill Kleeblad sent a centering feed to the near post that Silverman knocked past Sacred Heart goalkeeper Whitney Mills. She added another with just over 10 minutes remaining in the second period on a one-timer setup by sophomore Anna Easty.
Silverman is proof that a player needn’t start the game to have an impact on it, and her coach has been pleasantly surprised by her effort thus far.
“Did we think she’d score two goals in her debut? No,” Stevens said. “It was very exciting for her, and it certainly gives us an added dimension. When you bring a reserve into the game, you want them to add a spark or a pop to the tempo, so with her athleticism she does that for us. She’s certainly a spark off the bench.”
Stevens and her coaching staff have made depth a priority in the early part of the season, rotating as many as 18 different players in exhibition play and using 15 players in Monday’s home victory over Maine.
Again, Silverman maximized her opportunities on the field, converting both of her shots against the Blackbears for goals. The game was scoreless in the first when she propelled herself inside the circle and struck a backhander into the upper reaches of the net. Her second goal came on a well-executed deflection play with freshman Bethany Semlear taking the initial shot and Silverman sliding in to poke the ball through the legs of Maine goalkeeper Brittany Fleck.
The play put UConn in front by a score of 4-1 as they cruised to another one-sided win out of the gates. With her performance in the two victories, Silverman has established herself as the team’s most potent scoring threat off the bench, a role that she seems to invite.
“When I go in I know I should be able to do something right away,” Silverman said. “I’m coming in with fresh legs so I just go in and try to make things happen.”
Editor’s note: Cara Silverman is a graduate of West Essex High School and attends Congregation Agudath Israel of West Essex in Caldwell. Her mother, Cathy Silverman, is executive director of National Council of Jewish Women, Essex County Section. This story was reprinted with permission of The Daily Campus, the newspaper of the University of Connecticut.
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