Women’s Soccer: Ex-Southold player to be inducted into college hall of fame
Caitlin Flynn thought the honor had passed her by and the nominating window had closed. It has been nine years since the former Endicott College soccer player graduated from the Massachusetts school, so if she hadn’t been selected for induction into the Endicott Athletics Hall of Fame by then, it was never going to happen. “I felt I was past the point of getting it,” she said.
Or so she thought.
Then one day Flynn received a phone call from Endicott’s athletic director, Dr. Brian Wylie. Flynn’s recollection is the conversation began something like this:
Wylie: “I bet you know why I’m calling.”
Flynn: “I hope I know why you’re calling.”
Then the purpose of the call was made clear. Flynn, a Southold High School graduate (Class of 2006), had indeed been chosen to have her plaque enshrined on the walls of the school’s athletic center in recognition of a tremendous soccer career. Earlier this month the announcement was made that Flynn will be one of four new inductees on Sept. 28.
“I think you feel validated for all those years of hard practices and games and training that you go through,” she told The Suffolk Times in an interview. “It’s the cherry on top of the icing on the cake for your athletic career.”
And what a career it was. Flynn, playing mostly as a forward but also some outside midfield, was a two-time Commonwealth Coast Conference Player of the Year and a three-time conference champion. From 2006-09, she put up 48 goals and 31 assists in 89 games for the NCAA Division III Gulls. Her name is splattered throughout the school record book for career totals: first in assists, second in game-winning goals, second in assists per game, fourth in goals, fourth in points, fourth in points per game and fifth in goals per game.
During her time at Endicott, the Gulls made four NCAA Tournament appearances (among them a program-best Sweet 16 appearance in 2006) and went 69-18-5 (46-4-1 in conference play).
“Caitlin is arguably one of the most graceful and unselfish players that the women’s soccer program has ever had,” Wylie said in a press release from the school. “She had the unique ability to make some of the most difficult plays look simple and seem effortless. As a quiet leader, she made every teammate on the field better because of her unselfishness, athleticism, and her unique and dynamic ability to be involved in almost every critical play on the field.”
Flynn graduated with a bachelor’s degree in interior design. She lives in Marblehead, Mass., and is a co-owner of North Fork Design Co.
Flynn called her entry into the hall of fame an “incredible honor” and said her time at Endicott was “one of the most cherished phases of my life.”
Photo caption: Caitlin Flynn registered 48 goals and 31 assists in 89 games for Endicott College. (Credit: Endicott College Athletic Department)
