Cara Jordan will play professional soccer in Ireland
- Sarah Barr
- Mar 16
- 3 min read
by Sarah Barr
Staff Writer
If there is a pot of gold inside a soccer goal post, Cara Jordan just scored it. The 2019 Cromwell High School valedictorian is now playing professionally for the Sligo Rovers in Ireland.
“It’s a big jump outside my comfort zone, but I’m excited. I’ve been working so hard for years now,” the lifelong resident said.
One could say she has been preparing for this moment her whole life. She started playing the game at the age of four.
“I think I loved being on a team from a young age,” she recalled of playing with her friends.
“I was pretty good at it. I was pretty fast. I wasn’t good at hand sports, always better with my feet. So, I played to my strengths. It’s a combination of being fun and being good at it that made me stick with it.”
It stuck definitely with her. Jordan did her fair share of dribbling, passing and tackling during her freshman and sophomore years at CHS. Then she became a student-athlete at the University of Connecticut and played five seasons, the extra year due to the disruption caused by the COVID-29 pandemic.
While at UConn, she earned her first bachelor’s degree in exercise science and then re-ceived a second bachelor’s in physics. All this probably sounds like a perfect set up for a fantastic sports formula, but in this case, it is more like Irish folklore – years of hard work and just a little luck.
“It’s a long story,” is the immediate response when asked how Irish eyes came to smile upon her.
“When I finished at UConn in 2023, I didn’t think about playing professionally,” she said, noting that it made her sad when she thought about her playing days being over.
So, while she continued her education, she decided to play in women’s leagues.
“I played for a semi-pro league in Middletown called Sporting CT. It was a good opportuni-ty to keep playing. It’s for girls of all ages from high school through their 40s,” Jordan said.
“My coach was a pro soccer player before returning home to Connecticut. She’s the one who made me realize that this [playing professionally] was an option,” she added.
That player-coach’s name is Tiffany Weimer. Call this inspiration a kind of a Ronaldo chop or step over that shifted Jordan’s momentum and focus.
“[I realized] I can do this as a career and not just something that’s fun that has to end now. So, I kept playing and I took my training more seriously, which is difficult to do when you’re not in college,” she said.
“Over the summer, I started looking for a team. I had to get an agent to help me look for a team in Europe. I didn’t find anything right away. So, I kept training all fall. During the next winter transfer window, an agent who reps a friend of mine found this opportunity.”
Her coaches, agents and game film said it all. She applied for a visa and was about to fly over the rainbow at the time of this interview. The Irish season is unique because it starts in March and goes until the end of October. She got to pre-season late, but she’s not late to the party.
“It was all happening so slowly and now boom,” she said, admitting she’s a little nervous.
“I traveled all over the country for soccer and on vacation but never lived anywhere but Connecticut,” she said. “I had been to Ireland with my family last year. It’s a beautiful coun-try. I’m so excited this is where I get to play. Now I have to go prove myself and prove that I’m worth it.”
Jordan will still hold onto her day job doing social media for Sporting CT. But no matter what, she is grateful to all her coaches throughout the years who took a chance on her.
“I’m being paid to play. It’s a low salary, but it’s a dream come true. From the moment I started believing that I was good enough to do this, it’s unbelievable that it is finally all fall-ing into place.”
She thanks her lucky stars. CL
Follow Cara Jordan’s journey on Instagram @carajordan and the Sligo Rovers @sligoroverswomen.