On The Plains with Carly Thatcher: 'Make every day count'

Auburn, Ala. — For Auburn soccer senior Carly Thatcher, the charm of the Loveliest Village on The Plains was evident from her very first visit.

“When I first visited Auburn for a camp, the biggest thought I had was that it felt like home,” she said. “Not only that, but that the team is a family, and I could see and feel that when I visited. It’s still the same as it was day one.

“It feels completely unreal that time has flown by so fast. Saying I’m a senior honestly just doesn’t even sound right.”

As she nears her final season in the Orange & Blue, Thatcher reflects on her journey at Auburn and how the task of balancing soccer and her social life with the goal of heading to medical school in hopes of becoming a physician has been a massive challenge but has made her all the more strong because of it.

“There was a semester my sophomore year when I was taking three upper-level science classes and had pretty much no free time between all my responsibilities. It was hard, but it felt good to accomplish it. It really taught me to make every day count.”

Up to this point, on the field, Thatcher has appeared in 49 career matches, seeing over 2,000 minutes of action, but her fondest memories come from the very start of it all.  

“My favorite soccer memory is my first minutes playing for Auburn,” she said. “I played five minutes in a match my freshman year versus a ranked BYU team. I got an assist, and we ended up winning that game.”

Thatcher states she’s treasured her time on the pitch not because of goals, assists or any sort of athletic achievement but because of the group of teammates she gets to take the field with every week.

“My teammates are also my best friends,” she added. “We have such an awesome group of girls on the team that can make even the hard times fun.

“Off the field, I would describe myself as someone who is always laughing and is down-to-earth. I want my legacy to be that I could get along with anyone and that I was someone who was always cared about my friends.”

As a senior leader in 2024, Thatcher aims to show that sense of friendliness and availability to her underclassmen, while also helping them adjust to the ruthless nature of the college game.

“Mental strength is everything in soccer,” she said. “I try to first fix my head before anything else. I want to help our freshmen get to that point where they know how to control their mentality because they are the future of the program.”

Thatcher’s calm and collected mentality has not come easy. Like any player, she’s faced her share of obstacles and setbacks.

Last season, Thatcher was a regular in the Tigers’ starting lineup before suffering an injury that caused her to miss the final five matches of the season.

“I’ve learned many lessons, but the biggest has probably been that although soccer is such a huge part of my life, it is not my identity, and I am a person before an athlete,” she said. “I have also learned to appreciate every opportunity I get to play even more.”