Salem grad Hammill makes immediate impact with Rutgers soccer program
2024 Salem grad Claire Hammill made an immediate impact on the Rutgers University women’s soccer team during her freshman season with the Scarlet Knights. PHOTO COURTESY OF RUTGERS UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Salem High grad Claire Hammill’s transition to Division 1 college soccer couldn’t have gone much smoother this fall.
Hammill, a star on the Rocks’ 2024 Division 1 Final Four squad, earned a starting spot on Rutgers University’s backline from the get-go, helping the Scarlet Knights’ defense evolve into the one of the hardest-to-score-on units in NCAA women’s soccer.
Through the first half of the season — which concluded last week for sixth-seeded Rutgers with a 2-1 setback to the University of Connecticut in the NCAA tournament — Hammill and her defensive peers were instrumental in holding opponents to a 0.22 goals-against average, which ranked second in the entire country.
“We always stress to defend and help the person next to us,” Hammill told ScarletKnights.com. “We know if we get beat that there is always someone else there, and someone will cover us. It’s not just 1-on-1 defending.”
Fabulous freshman
Despite her true freshman status, Hammill played huge minutes for Rutgers, logging 68 minutes in the season-ending setback to the Huskies. She ranked fifth on the experienced team’s total-minutes-played list with 1,511 while playing in all but one of Rutgers’ 21 games.
Hammill was a standout in her only season with the Rocks after excelling for the elite Michigan Hawks 2006 ECNL team during her first three years of high school.
The daughter of John and Maryann Hammill, Claire was selected for the Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association’s 11-player “Dream Team” after a stellar senior season.
Hammill was a star swimmer for the Rocks, earning six All-State honors in the pool. She also was the recipient of multiple academic awards.
“I chose Rutgers based on the family atmosphere and the opportunity to be challenged by outstanding players and coaches everyday,” Hammill revealed on her ScarletKnights.com biography page. “The great academics and wide variety of majors also helped me know that coming to Rutgers was the perfect fit for me.”
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
