It’s the normal right-of-passage for an 18-year-old college freshman. You stuff your life into several suitcases and travel cross country (in this case, 1,800 miles or so) to begin “the rest of your life.” Once you arrive, you have to deal with new roommates, adjust to your 7 a.m. Discover New York course and adapt your stomach to the cafeteria food.

And if you’re Brittany Cavarra, you can add “have a good soccer season” to the list. On a Big East squad which includes eight seniors and a graduate student? No pressure.

St. John’s coach Ian Stone’s newest midfielder/forward hails from Littleton, Colo., where, as a 3-year-old, she started kicking the ball around with her father. The multi-sport athlete soon decided to pursue soccer, which turned out to be her ticket to Jamaica, Queens. “I absolutely loved the coach and I loved the team and I thought they worked really well together,” she said in reference to her official visit, after which she committed herself to wearing a St. John’s uniform.

Cavarra’s contributions to the team came early. On Sept. 23, her lone goal turned out to be the game-winner, a 1-0 defeat of Pittsburgh. This gave the Red Storm its first Big East win of the season. Though the win was a definite boost of confidence, Cavarra adds that she had proven herself to her team long before that first-half striek. While it had put her name to the lips of Red Storm fans, she adds “to the girls (teammates), I proved myself in the beginning.”

But in the meantime, Cavarra just hopes to “keep playing” and to “keep winning.” As St. John’s walked off the field after a 0-0 tie against Villanova Sunday, freshman goalkeeper Rebecca Capinera passed carrying a bag of balls over her shoulder.

“Freshmen got to get the balls,” said Cavarra with a laugh.