Acclimating to college soccer is a difficult task, especially within the ACC, the best conference in the nation. Freshman forward Addison Halpern is going through that struggle right now.
“The speed of play is the biggest thing for me,” Halpern said in an interview. “It's a lot quicker, and you just have to make decisions faster.”
But if there is anyone who will be able to adapt quickly and make a mark on this Cavaliers squad, it is her.
Halpern was announced as Gatorade National Player of the Year in June, becoming the nation’s top high school player. On top of that, she has been training with Virginia since the spring. In her first few games, she has already navigated the changes in play that come with sharing the pitch with college soccer’s best.
Hailing from Middlesex, N.J., Halpern has impressive instincts in front of goal, bagging 180 goals in her high school career en route to a state championship three-peat from 2022-2024 at Rutgers Prep School. That kind of talent did not go unnoticed, earning her a call-up to the United States squad at the 2024 U-20 Women’s World Cup.
With all those accolades, Halpern had her choice of the lot when it came to her college recruiting. Yet the beauty of Charlottesville and the pedigree of both the team and the University shone through. When push came to shove, the choice to commit to Virginia was easy.
“I had a talk with one of my teachers at the time,” Halpern said. “And he said to me, ‘There's only a few times in your whole life where you feel like you step into a place and feel at home.’ And I truly did feel that when I came onto campus… I knew that this is where I belonged, and this is where I wanted to be for the next four years.”
Once Halpern arrived in the spring after graduating high school early, she got right to work, enrolling in classes and training with the team, trying her best to make the change in pace from high school to college soccer more manageable.
Now that the season has started, the Cavaliers’ attack is sure to be bolstered with Halpern on the field. Her speed, craftiness and prowess with the ball at her feet will make defending her one-on-one a tall task. Whether it is taking on her opponents on the wing or finding the perfect through ball, having a player like Halpern is exactly what Virginia needed.
“On the field, [I’m] just taking every day one by one and taking the little lessons that come with it,” Halpern said.
In her first two regular season games, against West Virginia and then against Xavier, Halpern was sharp. Never afraid of calling for the ball, she fearlessly took on opponents on the ground and was rewarded with a plethora of playing time — the most of any non-defender Cavalier in the game against the Musketeers.
That crescendoed into Virginia’s game Sunday at Liberty. Halpern started for the second straight game, a major milestone, playing 71 minutes in a 2-0 win.
Despite all the flashy success Halpern enjoyed prior to joining the Cavaliers and her promising early appearances with the Virginia squad, her focus has remained unselfish.
“Whether that's assisting, scoring, defending hard, making tackles, making runs, whatever it takes to get the team to win,” Halpern said. “It's not really about me personally, but just the success of the team as a total.”
WIth the ACC looking as strong as ever, Halpern’s team-first mantra needs to be contagious. The Cavaliers are set to face each of the top three ranked teams in the nation and will also have to suffer through a tough midseason travel streak. And with three victories already under Virginia’s belt, Halpern will need to continue to be an outlet for the Cavaliers’ stalwart midfield, including the likes of fifth year midfielder Lia Godfrey and junior midfielder Ella Carter.
If the skillset of Virginia’s front line is to be wielded effectively, the ball will need to be at their feet early and often. As anyone could guess, Halpern cannot wait to face these challenges headfirst.
“It's good to get the experience and the playing time and just the experience with these other players on the field,” Halpern said. “It's always a challenge. And I'm just very grateful to have teammates that are supporting me, coaches that believe in me.”
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