Harding, Seahawks Keep Pushing Through

The fifth-year midfielder has seen a little bit of everything at UNCW

What’s another bump in the road for Audrey Harding, anyway?

Conspicuously absent from the season’s first two matches for the UNCW women’s soccer team, the fifth-year midfielder was finally back in the lineup on Sunday night as the Seahawks topped UNC Greensboro 2-1 behind goals from Jordan Faveri and Madison Henry.

Harding, the team’s leading scorer from the spring season, played 27 minutes and put three shots on goal in her first action of the season, easing back into her role after spending the first week of the season in quarantine.

Like so many students already this semester, Harding — who is vaccinated against COVID-19 — was forced to quarantine amid a positive test and contact tracing, despite being symptom-free.

Just add it to the list of challenges that Harding and the Seahawks have endured since she arrived in 2017, going through a major coaching change and dealing with the effects of Hurricanes Florence and Isaias.

“I probably can’t ask anyone else at any other college if they’ve gone through anything like that,” she said, shaking her head.

Certainly, few who have been through what Harding and her teammates endured beginning in Dec. 2017, when former coach Paul Cairney was placed on leave amid a Title IX investigation.

For months, the program was without a head coach with no indication of what the future could hold as players waited for a resolution. It was an especially anxious time for Harding, who wasn’t pleased with a “nervous” freshman season that saw her appear in 12 games, managing a total of six shots.

Looking back, though, it was a formative time for both Harding and the program, as players were largely responsible for holding themselves accountable during spring workouts.

“When you don’t have a head coach or assistant or all your staff, you kind have to rely on your teammates and get through it,” she said. “So that’s what we did, and we just pushed through and I think it worked out.”

Cairney was never charged with crime, but he ultimately left UNCW in June 2018.

The resolution of that situation brought a different kind of questions, as the coaching staff that had recruited Harding was gone, and now, she’d be getting to know Coach Chris Neal and his assistants.

The anxiety around the change didn’t last long, as Harding quickly realized this group might even be a better fit, particularly for her communication style.

“When they came in, I feel like they knew exactly what they wanted us to accomplish, Harding said.

Boom, boom, boom — expectations and goals were laid out, one after another.

“I love that because I’m big on communicating on what what my coaches want me to focus on or work on,” Harding said. “I’d rather them just say it right to me, instead of beating around the bush or anything.”

With clarity came confidence for Harding, who doubled her playing time as a sophomore, netting three goals and handing out four assists as the Seahawks jumped from 6-11-2 in 2017 to 9-6-1 in 2018, despite the destruction from Hurricane Florence, which arrived less than one month into the season.

After another step forward in 2019 for UNCW (10-6-1) and Harding (7 goals, 5 assists), they were again thrust into uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2019. Those vital offseason workouts were wiped out for a program on the verge of a breakthrough, and when it was all said and done, the Hawks went 467 days — Nov. 1, 2019 until Feb. 10, 2021, — between matches.

Not only did Harding and the Seahawks have to play under the strangest of circumstances this spring, but they did it with 18 players getting on the field — quite the change from 28 players in 2019.

And not only did the Hawks overcome the pared-down roster — they might have gotten better because of it.

“I think a big part of why we did so well last season — such low numbers and making championship — we all were 100 percent in it,” Harding said. “We all wanted it, and I think that was just the mindset of this whole team.”

Harding certainly did her part, leading the Hawks with 14 points (5 goals, 4 assists) over 10 matches on her way to first-team All-CAA honors, netting big goals in the regular-season finale and CAA semifinals.

Rather than breaking through for her first trip to the NCAA Tournament, Harding was instead left heartbroken, as Elon scored in the 81st minute to top UNCW 1-0 in the CAA championship game on April 17.

That hurt didn’t immediately go away, especially as the NCAA Tournament was played all over the state and right on the UNCW campus. In time, however, it was gone and instead, the feeling shifted to what small improvements the Seahawks can make this time around to ensure they’re the team celebrating a championship.

Chosen by coaches to tie for second in the CAA’s preseason poll, UNCW has nine players on the roster with three or more years of experience. Blair Barefoot was chosen as the league’s best goalkeeper, and Harding is among four first-team all-conference picks.

“I think we just need to honestly just keep pushing forward,” Harding said. “We have a lot more numbers this year, which will also will be a big factor because we used to say last season were small but mighty.

“I think a big part of that will be defensive work, our work ethic and just plain as playing as a team and our chemistry.”

One thing is for certain, though.

No matter what comes the Seahawks’ way this season, whether it’s a short quarantine or spending a month away from home due to a hurricane, they’ll be ready.

Harding has seen it all in her four years, and now, it’s time for her to reap the rewards of what she and her teammates have endured.

“We’ve got all those things thrown at us, and you know, you can’t let it affect you,” she said. “Our thing as a team is we persevere through everything.

“(That’s) what the nature of our team is we, we get stuff thrown at us. We just deal with it, and we push through.”