It was a warm Friday night on Sept. 20. Georgia State women’s soccer’s match against Arkansas-Little Rock was still tied. There were only seven minutes minutes left to go in normal time and the team needed a hero to step up and save the day. Out of nowhere, a young Spanish striker got the ball, dribbled it up the field and unleashed a powerful strike into the opposing net, giving the Panthers the lead and sealing a dramatic win.
The player’s name was Jimena Cabrero, an 18-year-old freshman forward. Cabrero’s has quickly garnered a rising star status, as she leads the team in goals, with three, and in points, with six. All three of her goals have been game winners.
“I like scoring goals, and I enjoy when I score a goal … [After scoring an important goal,] all my teammates come with me and we are all together, and I think that that is a fantastic feeling,” Cabrero said.
Cabrero was born in Santander, a coastal city in Spain. She started playing soccer at the age of 5 after witnessing her older brother, Julio, play the sport. She originally took piano and dance classes but was inspired to play soccer after going to his matches. When she was little, her grandfather would take her to see the family’s favorite soccer team, Real Racing Club de Santander.
Jimena’s family has always been very supportive and proud of her since she took an interest in playing soccer. Her mother would always drive to matches and pick her up from them, while her father always pushed her to follow her soccer dreams as well. She describes her brother as being like her best friend. Throughout her life, he has been nice and patient with her and is always ready to give her advice as it pertains to soccer.
Colegio San Agustin, where she attended school, did not have a girl’s soccer team because it was not common to find girls playing the sport. This did not deter Cabrero, however, as she went on to become the first female soccer player to take the field in her school’s history.
Eventually, a women’s club soccer team, CD Monte, was created in her hometown and she joined at the age of 11. It was inside the club where Cabrero met her current Georgia State teammate, Eva Diez Lois. She started off playing goalie, but after her coach, Gestera Ordax, witnessed her kick the ball into the net during warm-ups, he asked her to play forward for a few minutes. Cabrero never looked back and has thrived in the position ever since.
“Playing soccer is something that helped me in everything,” Cabrero said. “If I have a bad day or something like that and I go to practice, I feel much, much better.”
If it were not for the position change, Cabrero may never had made it this far. She says the change helped to set her on her current trajectory and that it was a major confidence booster. It was at a game in which she scored a hat-trick that she was discovered by an AGM agent that offered her a scholarship to attend college and further her career in the U.S..
Her parents encouraged her to accept the scholarship and after watching college soccer matches online, she decided to make the life-changing decision to accept it. Cabrero ultimately chose Georgia State after speaking with a best friend of hers who also attended the university. A FaceTime call with head coach Ed Joyce only made the decision that much easier.
Cabrero credits her teammates for really supporting her and being there for her.
“You can tell them if you are in trouble or are struggling with something,” she said. “I think that they can help you a lot.”
While at Georgia State, Cabrero’s goal is to get her degree and win soccer matches. She plans to major in business because she loves economics, and her father, Julio Cabrero Cardal, was a business owner.
Cabrero says coach Joyce has been a big help. Whether helping her study for exams or picking her up from the airport, he has helped make the transition a lot smoother.
While Cabrero has not spent too much time in the U.S., she says that it is is very different from her home country of Spain, which she describes as being the best country in the world with nice people and an economy where it’s unfortunately hard to find a job.
For Cabrero, one stark difference between food in the U.S. and food in Spain is that Spaniards cook everything with oil while Americans do not.
Nonetheless, Cabrero has really enjoyed her time since coming to the U.S. What she enjoys most are the people she has met, who she says are very nice, especially to international students, and very open with each other. While her English may still need some work, Cabrero says it has improved a lot since she first stepped foot in the city.
Cabrero described the work-school balance as something that has been rather easy for her to manage since arriving at Georgia State. This is because she’s always focused on the next game and being ready for what’s ahead.
“I am always so excited for the game of that week,” she said.
As far as what helps to keep her grounded in life, Cabrero says that her relationship with her family and friends makes all the difference. She says that she and her good friend Eva Lois have really helped each other a lot since arriving at Georgia State.
“Without their support, I would probably be nothing, and they help me a lot and they support me a lot since coming here,” Cabrero said.
Even though her family still lives in Spain and her brother now lives in Italy, Cabrero manages to FaceTime them as often as she can. Because Spain and Italy are both six hours ahead of the U.S., Cabrero typically calls in the afternoon, to catch her family before they go to sleep. The conversations help Cabrero and her family keep up to date on important events.
