Carolina Lucci Enters Senior Season at Chowan Looking to Make History
This is the continuation of a series of Body, Mind & Soul stories that highlights member student-athletes, coaches and administrators of Conference Carolinas.
MURFREESBORO, N.C. — Carolina Lucci was born into a working-class Italian-American family in Monaca, Pennsylvania, a small town along the Ohio River located about 25 miles from the city of Pittsburgh.
It sits smack dab in the middle of Beaver County, a veritable cradle for Hall of Fame football quarterbacks. It seems a legendary passer rolled off the assembly line in that region more often than any other place in the United States. Cases in point: Joe Montana, Joe Namath, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly and Johnny Unitas.
“I definitely grew up in football country,” Carolina said. “My family and I are big Pittsburgh Steelers fans!”
However, Lucci made a name for herself with her feet, not her arm. But she did it with the same steel-town grit as those former NFL stars. Introduced to the sport at four-years old, she has blossomed into a true soccer legend and one of the most decorated athletes in Conference Carolinas history.
Lucci, a career 3.92 GPA student scheduled to graduate with an Exercise Science degree from Chowan University in December, is an odds-on favorite this fall to become only the fifth player in conference annals to be named a four-time All-Conference first team selection in women's soccer. The Hawks’ sensational midfielder would be just the second in Conference Carolinas women's soccer history to be named all-conference all four years as well as be named Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year during their career.
Carolina—named after her grandmother—already made history in 2017 when she became the first women’s soccer player in Conference Carolinas history to be voted both Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year.
“The two words that come to mind when I think of Carolina are commitment and passion,” said Chowan head women’s soccer coach Fernando Zuniga. “She has the ability to set goals and get after it. Even with the extra pressure she’s faced the past couple years trying to equal her freshman season, she just performs and meets her goals. And she’s helped put our program on the map.”
Lucci served notice of her extraordinary talents with a freshman year for the ages. She proved a one-woman wrecking crew all season, as she set Chowan NCAA Division II single season records for most goals (19) and most points (42).
“Carolina had such a great first season,” said Coach Zuniga. “She was a little reserved at first, but once she got comfortable with her teammates and bonded, she slowly came out of her shell. We’re very excited about Carolina’s final season this fall. We would love to see her finish a great career on a high note.”
Zuniga, who served as the team’s assistant coach during her recruitment, marvels at the school’s good fortune of signing Lucci to a scholarship after high school.
“During the scouting process, our head coach Chris White told me he thought she was being under recruited,” Zuniga said. “She came from a very competitive high school program, but she hadn’t had much exposure on the club level. We kind of found a diamond in the rough.”
White watched her during a summer camp held in Chapel Hill on the campus of the University of North Carolina, a perennial NCAA Division I powerhouse program.
“Coach White and I would talk at camp and he told me how he was going to rebuild the program at Chowan and wanted me to be part of it,” Lucci said. “He also expressed how academics and family always came first at the school. He offered me a scholarship and I knew it was the right place for me. Looking back, I was so lucky to find Chowan. I love the small classrooms and how accessible the professors are. They really want to help you.”
Lucci says she learned a strong work ethic from her parents during her formative years in Monaca. Her father, Michael, is a cabinet maker who also does kitchen and bathroom renovations. He learned the trade from his father, also a cabinet maker in Monaca. Her mother, Karen, is a stay-at-home mom except when working in the high school cafeteria when classes are in session.
Both parents follow their daughter’s soccer exploits closely. Each season, they will make the eight-hour drive to Murfreesboro to attend a couple matches. Otherwise, they are glued to computers, watching the games streamed online on the Conference Carolinas Digital Network.
“My dad watches while he’s making cabinets and my mom watches from the living room,” Carolina says proudly.
Carolina is one of four siblings. She and her two older sisters are the first family members to attend college.
Sister, Addie, 28, is a graduate of West Chester (Pa.) and currently serves as the head athletic trainer for the U.S. Olympic Luge Team.
Sister Elizabeth, 25, is a graduate of Ohio State and the Cleveland Clinic. She is a perfusionist who operates the cardiopulmonary bypass machine during cardiac surgeries.
Younger brother, Michael, 18, is a recent high school graduate who plans to major in engineering at Penn State.
“It’s funny how, when we lived together, we always picked on each other and didn’t get along that great,” said Lucci about her highly-accomplished siblings. “But now, when we come home to visit, we’re best friends!”
Clearly, Carolina has attacked her schoolwork with the same vigor as kicking one of her patented goals into a soccer net. She was a straight-A student throughout her four years at Central Valley High School. The flawless streak continued at Chowan, spanning almost six consecutive years of perfect academia before receiving her first “B” in the spring semester of her sophomore year.
Lucci, who later received a “B” in a physics class, has matured during her time in college and takes those rare “B’s” with more perspective now.
“I do still take it pretty seriously,” she admits. “But as I’ve gotten older, I put in my studying, but I no longer stay up until 2 a.m. stressing out.”
And why should she? After all, her academic honors have matched her remarkable soccer career. Carolina has made both the President’s (3.8 GPA required) and Dean’s (3.25) lists every semester, and recently was awarded the Amy Rozmus Hammond scholarship, which is awarded by the faculty to a deserving Exercise Science major.
The Conference Carolinas All-Academic Team member remains undecided on how she will utilize her major after graduation in December.
“I’m still researching and deciding what direction to take,” she says. “I definitely have an interest in nutrition. I know I want to be in a job where I stay active. I don’t want to just sit at a desk. If it could be connected with sports, that would be great. But no matter what, I want to help people.”
Before pursuing her professional career, Carolina hopes to travel and see the world.
“I’m thinking about applying for a semester-at-sea program offered by Colorado State that starts in January. I would study while on a boat that will tour South America with stops in Ecuador, Chile, Brazil and ends in Ireland and Germany.”
And if COVID-19 rears its ugly head with a second-wave pandemic that derails the program, Lucci said she might just delay her plans to next fall.
Of course, Carolina still has one season of soccer left at Chowan, not to mention playing the sport beyond college.
“My sisters joke about me entering the (National Women’s Soccer League) draft,” she says. “Part of me knows that once soccer ends, I’ll probably miss it and wish I had kept playing.”
For now, Lucci prepares to return to Chowan in August for her final semester.
“The time here has gone so fast. It seems like only yesterday that I was a freshman. When I graduate, I’m going to miss this place, especially my friends and teammates.”
And judging by her long list of uncommon accolades, both athletically and academically, Chowan University is also going to miss Carolina Lucci.
Bob Rose is a longtime sports public relations executive who has worked for the San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, the NFL Cardinals, Cal, Stanford and other organizations.