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Healthy Cuba playing in W-League
Mooney’s Cuba plays for Washington Spirit Reserves of W-League
By Curtis pulliam
Ashley Cuba almost quit soccer.
“I still remember one of my first games,” Cuba said, who was 4 at the time. “It was snowing, and I just remember getting a ball to the stomach and I bawled my eyes out and I wanted to quit so bad.”
But she knew she couldn’t quit and her mother wouldn’t let her.
After failed stints with ballet and cheerleading which Cuba “hated,” she used her “persistence” towards soccer. And by 6, she was making predictions to her grandmother.
“I told her, ‘Grandma, one day I’m going to get a scholarship to play soccer so it will pay for college,’” Cuba said. “I don’t even remember doing that, but then I’m like ‘what 6-year-old says that?’”
A 6-year-old with a plan, that’s who.
After a year at Poland, Cuba went on to have a historic career at Cardinal Mooney, earning All-America her junior and senior years while accumulating 76 goals and 58 assists in three years for the Cardinals.
After a standout career at Pitt, Cuba had offers to play overseas professionally, but Cuba encountered a setback at the end of March, 2013.
“I tore my ACL and meniscus,” said Cuba, who graduated last April. “I had surgery in April and then I had another last September.”
Less than a year later, Cuba is still recovering and was wearing a brace at the time she made the roster of the Washington Spirit Reserves, a team in the W-League, a developmental league based in Maryland.
“When you put your brace on, it’s a whole different mentality,” Cuba said. You know it’s on and it’s like you are more careful with it.”
On May 17, in her first game in over a year, Cuba picked up were she left off scoring two goals in a 4-1 victory over the Braddock Road Stars.
“It was just a big confidence booster,” Cuba said. “My training wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great. It was just a boost of confidence.”
Cuba took that confidence into the 2014 US Soccer National Amateur Championship, where she assisted on what would be the winning goal for the Spirit Reserves.
“It was pretty sweet,” Cuba said of winning the inaugural title.
The Spirit Reserves are 6-0 on the season and 4-0 in league play, scoring 21 goals while giving up one goal in those contest.
“Our back line is absolutely amazing,” Cuba said. It’s probably the best line that I’ve ever played with.”
While Cuba is not part of the back line (she’s listed as a midfielder) or the starting lineup (playing about 30 minutes a game) at this point, Cuba is not upset.
“I actually prefer it that way because I can only go up from there,” Cuba said of not starting. “I like to compete and earn my spot.”
Coming out of high school, Cuba had numerous offers from different universities.
“I had an offer from Notre Dame and a lot of Ohio schools,” Cuba said, who ultimately decided to play for the University of Pittsburgh. “I felt like Pitt was the best option for me because it was close to home and still in the Big East [conference].”
Cuba did not disappoint at Pitt either.
In 2009, Cuba was named to the Big East All-Rookie team. She led the Panthers with seven goals, (five were game-winners) four assists, and 18 points.
As a junior, she broke the school record for most goals in a career (23). A short year later, she broke the school record for points with 51.
“It’s awesome,” Cuba said. “I really couldn’t have done it without my teammates and Sue-May Chin [former Pitt head coach].
“I went in thinking ‘I’m a freshman, I’m not going to play.’ Then I ended up as the all-time leading scorer. That was just a bonus to the package.”
Friends and former teammates can keep up with Cuba at www.ashleycuba.com.