Former Citadel standout Caroline Cashion joined the Bulldogs’ coaching staff as a graduate student assistant for the 2018 season. Cashion helps with the day-to-day operations of the team as well as on-field training.
The 2018 season was a breakout year for the Bulldogs under Traquair. The ‘Dogs improved their win total by four from the 2017 campaign, won two Southern Conference games for the first time since 2014 and won a game in the opening round of the Southern Conference Women’s Soccer Championship for the first time in four years. Along the way, the Bulldogs bested both ETSU and North Florida for the first time in program history and started the season off 3-0 for the third straight year. The Bulldogs defeated VMI at home for the first time since 2004 and went undefeated at home in non-conference action for the first time in program history.
The Bulldogs were featured by NCAA Soccer on Twitter and Instagram numerous times, including two Top-Five Plays of the Week. Freshmen Mel Mikoy and Kessy Bradshaw had the No. 3 play of the week on Aug. 22 with Mikoy finding Bradshaw with a free kick that Bradshaw then put a header into the net. On Oct. 5, Ellie Burgess and Bradshaw combined forces for the No. 2 play of the week where Burgess passed the ball from right of the box in to Bradshaw for the finish.
The Citadel set program team records in three statistical categories, including assists (30), shots taken (334) and corner kicks taken (105), while also tying the program mark for points (98). The ‘Dogs held opponents to the fewest shots in program history (268) and fewest assists (22).
The Bulldogs entered conference play in the top-25 in the nation in six statistical categories, including tied for 14th with an average of 7.88 points per game and 15th with a scoring average of 2.75 goals per contest. The Citadel's 22 goals in the non-conference portion of the season were tied for the 17th-most in the nation and their 63 points to that part of the season had them 21st in NCAA Division I, including the 23rd-most assists (19) and the 24th-most assists per game (2.38).
There were six first-time collegiate goal scorers, matching the program record. Burgess, Bradshaw, Mikoy, Taylor Diggs, Devyn Nyhart and Emily Mason all notched their first-ever goals at the collegiate level, and graduate transfer goalkeeper Kelly Brahmbhatt set the program record for wins in a season with eight.
Bradshaw burst onto the scene with seven goals scored and a pair of assists to finish second on the team with 16 points. For her efforts, she earned the Bulldogs’ first post-season honor, Southern Conference All-Freshman plaudits, since 2014.
Cashion played in 46 games for the Bulldogs from 2014 to 2017, and in her final season rarely left the pitch, playing all 90 minutes in seven games and 104 minutes in the Bulldogs’ double-overtime home game against Chattanooga. In her career, she scored three goals and had two assists and scored the game-winner in the Bulldogs’ 1-0 road win over Jacksonville on Sept. 15, 2017.
A graduate of West Ashley High School, Cashion also coaches the U.S.A. Mount Pleasant U14 girls team and holds her F License from U.S. Soccer.
As a standout at West Ashley, Cashion lettered four times in soccer and three times in football, serving as a team captain three times on the soccer squad while leading West Ashley to a pair of state championships. She was named to the all-region team following her sophomore season and was a member of the all-tournament team at the Viking Cup during her junior campaign. She received the Andy Stone Soccer Scholarship from U.S. Youth Soccer Region III, an award that combines athletics, academics and other extracurricular activities and distinguished herself academically as an AP Scholar and Palmetto Fellow.
She was also the placekicker on the football team for three seasons and was the special teams MVP her senior year when she made 31 of 32 extra point attempts. Her field goal gave the Wildcats a 10-7 victory over Summerville during her sophomore season in arguably the biggest win in school history.
