Binkley, ex-Burlington star, captains Rutgers to College Cup
There are two words that completely characterize Nicole Binkley’s soccer career at Rutgers: resilience and leadership.
The former Burlington Township High star is a captain on the Scarlet Knights and preparing for a Friday appearance in the NCAA Division I College Cup.
“There is no better way to go out senior year than to go through this whole journey with the team we have this year,’’ said Binkley. “The girls on the team, the coaching staff, the support staff everyone has made it all so special and we all work so well together.’’
No. 5 Rutgers (19-3-2) will meet No.1 Florida State (20-1-2) at 7 p.m. EST on the pitch at Stevens Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
The other matchup has Santa Clara (15-5-2) taking on Brigham Young (17-4-1) at 9:30 p.m. Both games are being televised live on ESPNU.
Binkley’s minutes have been limited this season, and despite not being on the field she has been the consummate team player and leader.
“Everyone always wants to be on the field and you have to respect the coaches decisions,’’ said Binkley. “You do what is best for the team. I do what is best for the team and when I get on the field I make the absolute the most of it. The minutes I did get were really special.’’
Binkley has been a special teammate and she is a true leader of the Scarlet Knights.
“It’s such an honor, to be a part of the leadership group because of who it is that we are leading,’’ said Binkley. ”Working with the other captains it’s such an honor to be able to say I’m on the leadership group of this team. Being a senior captain and the fact we are at the Final Four is so super special.’’
It has been a special four years.
Besides being a captain, Binkley has been a two-time Academic AllBig Ten and a 2019-20 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.
“I have grown so much since my high school days,’’ said Binkley. “I have made so many great relationships and I have matured in a lot of ways. Not only in athletics, but in the academic setting as well.’’
Binkley could see from the first meeting in July that this team was capable of some very incredible things, and she was going to be one of those making it become reality.
“When we came in July is when this really started,’’ recalled Binkley. “We started speaking it into existence even before we started preseason. We said this is our year we want to win the conference and we want to go to the Final Four. By speaking it into existence every day we knew we had to train to be the champions that we could be. So, from day one getting here has been our mindset.’’
There is one game that brought Binkley a few extra memories, and that was when the Scarlet Knights clinched the Big Ten regular season title.
The team has a magnet that simply says ‘be great,’ and every game a different player is asked to carry the magnet. Well, the team chose Binkley prior to the Indiana game and the match was one of the highlights of the season.
“I am through the roof so excited for Friday and everything that goes along with it,’’ said Binkley. “It has been a dream, we have accomplished so much and it doesn’t feel real half the time. We have to look back and realize where we are and stay humble with it.’’
A resilient team leader and being so humble with it all is what Binkley is all about.