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10/07/2021 12:00 AMAfter seeing little varsity playing time during her first two years in the program, Aisling Pretty earned her spot as the starting right back for North Haven girls’ soccer squad as a junior this fall. Midway through the season, Aisling is proving one of North Haven’s most improved players and is a focal point for the team on defense.
Aisling started playing soccer for North Haven’s town league in the 1st grade after getting introduced to the sport by her mother Ann and other members of her family. That side of Aisling’s family founded the Lindenhurst Soccer Club in Long Island. Aisling grew up watching her family play soccer and decided that she wanted to be on the field, too.
“My family on my mom’s side started a soccer program in Long Island. It runs in my family,” Aisling says. “They have tournaments every year, and I remember going down when I was younger. It interested me a lot. My family enjoyed playing, so I thought I would enjoy it.”
Aisling played in the youth program up until her freshman year at North Haven. She also played at North Haven Middle School in her 7th- and 8th-grade years. With soccer being the only sport she played at the time, Aisling was able to focus all of her effort toward improving her skills on the pitch.
“I really focused on soccer most of my life. I never played any other sports when I was younger,” says Aisling. “It was good to focus on one sport and give one sport all of my effort.”
After spending her younger years as a forward, Aisling moved over to defense beginning with that 7th-grade season. While it was a big change, Aisling felt that her time playing forward helped her get ready to take on a defensive role. Aisling knew how to get under a defender’s skin as an attacker and used that to her advantage when she started playing her new position.
Aisling was cross-rostered between North Haven’s varsity and JV teams as a freshman, but rarely saw any varsity playing time. As she made the transition into high school soccer, Aisling’s teammates were crucial in helping her prepare for that challenge.
“It was very intimidating. I was very nervous,” Aisling says. “But I knew that I was with my friends. My soccer teammates are some of my closest friends. Being with them made it a much easier transition.”
Aisling made the varsity jump as a sophomore and saw a bit more playing time. Then in her junior season, Aisling became the full-time starting right back for North Haven’s varsity team. When COVID-19 shut down high school sports last year, Aisling started to concentrate more on soccer and realized what she needed to do in order to succeed at the highest level.
“With COVID, I really started working out on my own more. I just know that if I want to get better, it’s going to take hard work and discipline,” says Aisling. “That has really been my motivation for the past couple of years.”
Head Coach Gary Collins has seen Aisling make immense progress during the first half of North Haven’s season. Collins says that Aisling’s hard work from the offseason is paying dividends for her as a key member of the team’s defense.
“Aisling worked very hard all through the spring and summer. She came in fit and had a very successful preseason. She had limited play last year, but her hard work and commitment has paid off, and now she’s a full-time starter,” says Collins. “Aisling has been our most improved player thus far. It has been a pleasure to work with her as she continues to get better.”
While she didn’t play any other sports growing up, Aisling did join North Haven’s girls’ lacrosse team as a sophomore. Just like with soccer, Aisling plays defense in lacrosse and takes the same mentality into every game no matter what sport she’s playing.
It’s been an honor for Aisling to compete alongside her teammates as a member of the North Haven girls’ soccer program. When she takes the field with her teammates, Aisling feels proud to represent the family that introduced her to the sport, as well as the family that she’s formed on the field through the years.
“I am honored that I’m able to call myself a soccer player. It’s something I’m very proud of,” Aisling says. “I feel like I’m carrying my family’s legacy from Long Island all the way to North Haven, Connecticut.”