La Salle’s Ella Cadigan fell out of love with soccer. Letting go of the pressure changed everything.

When Ella Cadigan arrived at La Salle, she was no longer the best player on her team.

She knew this would happen, but the transition to the college level was difficult. The midfielder previously starred at Westfield High School, a girl’s soccer powerhouse in North Jersey. In some ways, she was back at square one at 20th and Olney.

“I put so much of my identity on how I performed and whether I scored or not,” Cadigan said. “I just lost my love for the game a little bit.”

Self-doubt overcame Cadigan during her first two seasons with the Explorers. This summer, while playing for Morris Elite SC of the United Soccer League, she dispelled those feelings by focusing more on the “mental side” of soccer.

It led her further away from the pitch.

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“I realized there’s always an after college,” Cadigan said. “Do you want to play professionally or do you want to find a career for yourself? And for me, this summer, I kind of realized that I only have two or three years of college soccer left, and so just finding other things that I find joy in, not just soccer, that helped me relieve a lot of the pressure.”

On her off days, Cadigan began going on runs, reading, and baking. The Biology major also got lost in her studies, making time to work in the lab. When she returned to campus, she had a new mentality — one that has paid off.

This season, the junior captain’s team-high 10 assists leads the Atlantic 10 and ranks near the top of Division I women’s soccer. She also tallied four assists in a 7-4 win against Howard on Sept. 6, setting a new single-game program record.

Cadigan’s uptick in play helped guide La Salle (9-5-4, 6-2-2 Atlantic 10) to the quarterfinals of the A-10 conference tournament, where it will face Loyola Chicago (7-3-8, 4-1-5 A-10) on Friday (5 p.m., ESPN+).

“Scoring goals and having assists isn’t everything,” Cadigan said. “Obviously, it’s nice to get your name in the newspaper every once in a while. [I] just kind of take it game-by-game and by leaning on my teammates, focusing on what makes me a great player, a great leader, and doing what I can to support the team.”

La Salle coach Paul Royal added: “[Cadigan is] focusing more on the team success than being an individual out there. I think that’s one of the things that she grew immensely in by knowing that ‘Hey, I can influence others. They respect me. They look up to me.’”

Cadigan comes from a big family. She has a twin brother, Patrick, and two younger sisters. Ella’s father, Richard, played soccer at La Salle. When Ella and Patrick turned 5, Patrick was put into the sport — and Ella didn’t follow far behind.

“I got super jealous that he was signed up, and I wanted the attention,” Ella said. “So I mean, my parents signed me up too, and I kind of just fell in love with it.”

In 2017, Richard took Ella and Patrick to a La Salle women’s game, a 3-1 loss at Rutgers in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Richard introduced the twins, then in sixth grade, to Royal. Almost a decade later, Ella is starting for the longtime coach in another postseason run.

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“It was the first time I remember meeting them,” Royal said. “They were in middle school then. It was awesome just to see. There’s a men’s soccer alum that has these little kids that have dreams of playing at the college level.”

When Cadigan went through the recruitment process, Royal was the only Division I coach that looked her way. The fit was perfect for Cadigan, who wanted to go to a smaller college after four years at Westfield, which has nearly 1,800 students.

“I wanted to go somewhere where everyone knew each other,” Cadigan said. “It felt close knit, and obviously, a school like La Salle, we’re not the biggest campus, but I love the fact that you know everyone in your grade. All the athletes always know each other.”

Through her three years at La Salle, Cadigan has found a strong support system — one that has helped her overcome her own mental battles. On Friday, she’s looking to succeed with them too.

“I can really go to anyone if I needed to talk about anything,” Cadigan said. “As a team we’ve kind of built a foundation where everyone needs to play their role. But at the end of the day, we always have to be happy for each other.”