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08/30/2018 12:00 AMThe East Haven Alumni Association recently announced its Hall of Fame inductees for this year, and one of those inductees is Jennifer McCabe, who was a standout soccer and track athlete for the Yellowjackets. Jennifer, a 2004 East Haven High School graduate, says she feels honored to have received her call to the hall and was somewhat surprised when she heard the news.
“I was surprised. I never really considered myself to be that prominent in East Haven athletics,” says Jennifer, whose name was Jennifer Lucatino when she attended East Haven. “I was good in [soccer] and decent in track, but the progress that has been made since then makes my accomplishments not that big. I was definitely humbled by it. It’s really cool. I’m definitely honored.”
A four-year letter-winner in soccer, Jennifer was part of the first victory in East Haven girls’ soccer history during her freshman season and wound up setting four school records throughout her tenure with the team. When she graduated from East Haven, Jennifer held the program record for goals in a season (11), assists in a season (9), career goals (25), and career points (59). Those records have since been broken, but the memories live on for Jennifer.
“It was exciting to have that, to leave some kid of legacy behind. Even though I might have been a minor legacy, it was a start. It gave somebody something to break,” says Jennifer, who lives in Middletown with her husband Matthew and son Chase, who is nearing his first birthday. “Although they may not have been the best records you’ve seen, it was still fun and got the program started and made people excited about girls’ soccer. To be a part of holding a record for anything athletic is really cool, even for the short time it was.”
Jennifer started playing competitive soccer when she was in 8th grade. Her brother, Christopher Lucatino, was a soccer player, as was her friend, Mary Luther. Ultimately, Luther and her father convinced Jennifer to step on to the field.
“Her father [Bob Luther] was coaching a public team and asked if I wanted to play a few games here and there. When I got to high school, I decided to join the team,” Jennifer says. “I made some great friends, so we stuck it out. I liked the idea of organized sports because it kept me busy.”
John Gildersleeve, who has been affiliated with East Haven Youth Soccer since the 1990s, says that Jennifer’s quickness on the pitch always stuck out to him.
“She was known for her speed. She and her best friend, Mary Luther, just worked well together. They knew how to connect and, with her speed, Jennifer could just beat anybody,” Gildersleeve says. “She played in our first Alumni Game a couple of years back and blew by everybody and scored. She still has it.”
Jennifer says that she wasn’t the most technically savvy player, instead using her speed and overall athleticism to succeed while playing for the Easties. Jennifer is still involved in sports nowadays.
“I was willing to put in a lot of effort, so eventually, I got there,” says Jennifer. “I still love playing to this day. I still play through work. We have a co-ed league, and it’s just fun. My husband and I even play on a co-ed softball team, so being athletic has allowed me to have that type of relationship with him.”
As a member of the Yellowjackets’ track program, Jennifer held school records in both the 55-meter hurdles and the long jump at the time of her graduation. She was a CIAC Scholar Athlete and also earned the John “Whitey” Piurek Award for her performance on the soccer field. It means a lot to Jennifer that East Haven girls’ soccer has grown so much since she competed for the team.
“That was our starting point, so you can imagine every accomplishment along the way was exciting. I’d love to be a part of the team now that’s making states, but you have to start somewhere, so it’s cool to be a part of that team that helped get the ball rolling,” says Jennifer. “As much as I’m saddened to see records I set back then be broken, it was just great to see how well the program has evolved. I hear many players now are going off to play in college, and that’s awesome to get that visibility. It’s really cool to hear.”