By Collin Bolebruch
Jessica Mare is a senior midfielder for the Cardinals women’s soccer team and was Cardinal Points’ Most Improved Player for the Fall 2024 season. She became a starter this season and bagged three goals across 14 starts, including two game winners and the first goal of her collegiate career.
Jessica’s minutes on the field ballooned in her senior season. She finished this year with 950 minutes of playing time. She recorded her first goal this season against Fredonia.
She came to Plattsburgh State in her sophomore season after transferring from American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Jessica is originally from Deer Park, New York.
Alongside her tenure on the soccer team, Mare competed on the Plattsburgh track and field squad as a sprinter and jumper.
Question: What factors contributed to your transfer, and how difficult was the decision?
Answer: A big factor that contributed to my transfer was definitely the team. When I was looking for a new school, the biggest thing I was looking for was a home away from home. For me, a home isn’t four walls or the fancy classrooms, but it’s the people you surround yourself with. I wanted to go somewhere brand new, where I wouldn’t know anyone and where I could make my own experiences. No one I knew was attending Plattsburgh or has already attended Plattsburgh. It was a difficult decision to make being so far away from home, but at the same time it was the simplest and best decision I have ever made.Â
Q: You saw the field more this season than you ever have, what did the experience mean to you?
A: This experience for me was a big moment in my life because for two years of not seeing the field, working hard everyday on the field and in the classroom, there’ve been so many times where I just wanted to quit. If it wasn’t for my teammates, I definitely would have quit. Having them made me want to show up everyday and keep working hard to get better because they believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. Having that foundation and family has helped me accomplish more than I could have ever imagined. Being at the final game, it felt like I had finally crossed the finish line after a four year race.
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Q: What was your time on the track and field team like?
A: Joining the track and field team was a great opportunity for me to go back to my old roots. I have been running track since I was 12 years old. It helped me remember a piece of who I was in a brand new place, made me feel a sense of myself again. I have met friends I will never forget and will have for the rest of my life. That team really helped me find who I was at a new school and gave me the confidence again that I was lacking.Â
Q: Your last game was a win with a score. How will you look back at that moment?
A: That is a moment I will never forget. I can walk away from this sport with no regrets, having that moment of my friends, teammates, and family seeing my final impact on this sport — I couldn’t have asked it to end any better way. I will look back at this moment as closing a book with a happy ending.
This question-and-answer was conducted with Jessica over email Nov. 13.
