The Binghamton University women’s soccer team has seen drastic improvement over the past few years, and one important team element has been there through it all: Amanda Casares. She has grown, too — as an athlete, a leader and a student. The senior midfielder and team captain garnered multiple conference awards and led the Bearcats to the America East championship game this year, where her career came to a close.

But the game began for Casares at age four in a muddy grass field in Rahway, N.J. From there she moved up to the club level and then to the high school level. During her four years, she was a first-team AP All-State selection, the leading scorer in her county and a four-time New Jersey Girls Soccer Coaches Association All-State selection for Rahway High School.

Her club squad was one that had another familiar Bearcat on it: sophomore back Dani Raske, last year’s leading scorer. Playing with Raske got Casares thinking about what her future in soccer would be and she began looking at schools all around the nation.

“At Binghamton, our previous coach, Jeff Leightman, put a good offer on the table,” Casares said. “Our school had a lot to offer as far as academics and facilities like our Events Center and with the new [Bearcats Sports Complex] coming, that was really exciting for me. I liked the whole package [and] decided on Binghamton.”

Casares’ abilities earned her an immediate role with the team, and she started 13 of 14 games as a freshman in central midfield. She netted the first goal of her career that year while being educated by the older players around her, discovering that the finer points of the game had changed quite a bit from her prior years.

“I learned from my seniors,” she said. “Our seniors played a different game; they played more about the physical, and I think that’s what my class has taught our young freshmen: that you’re quick, but you gotta be strong too. Just because you can get by someone, you’re not gonna be able to push them off the ball. I learned very quickly the college game and I’m really grateful for learning that then.”

The experience began to pay off for Casares, as she was selected as an America East second team All-Star in both her sophomore and junior seasons. Starting every game, she scored two goals in each of those years and tallied a team-high five assists in 2008.

That brought Casares to her senior season, the proverbial “last hurrah” for most college athletes. As a team captain, she watched her team open the season with four scoreless games. But she knew that the Bearcats could do better.

“We had a rough start,” she said in September. “We were playing at first as individuals, and we didn’t know how to combine. Now in practice we’re learning how to play with each other, we’re getting more mature.”

Following a 0-3-1 start, the Bearcats heated up and won nine of their last 12 games, a streak that fittingly began with Casares scoring the team’s first goal of the year. Their 6-2 conference record earned them a No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, giving Casares what would be her first and only home postseason game. The team then advanced to the conference championship at Boston University, where Casares would play her final collegiate soccer game.

The success of the 2009 Bearcats came from many different areas. The freshmen forwards began producing efficient offensive opportunities. A time-share in the net allowed both goalkeepers to stay fresh, and coupled with a strong back line, were able to produce eight shutouts.

But the play of Casares would not go unnoticed as a vital component of the team. She was chosen as the America East Women’s Soccer Fans’ Choice Player of the Year, and then was honored as a first-team conference All-Star. She finished with two goals and an assist on the year, but her impact was felt far beyond the game’s box scores.

“I think Mandy is a good leader,” said fellow senior Jen McEachron. “I think she’s a good player to use as an example because her work ethic is so strong. She does a good job being a leader for everyone and leading by example, and I think that she does a really good job as captain. She’s a good player, and she’s done a lot of good things for us this year.”

Bearcat head coach Sarah McClellan has seen Casares progress into a “true leader” both on and off the field. Along with the accolades that Casares has collected over the years, her growth as a team player has been the pinnacle of her development.

“She’s really matured as a player, but also as a teammate,” McClellan said. “She’s been captain for us as a junior and a senior, and that’s something that she’s grown into because of her day-in and day-out work ethic and because she’s matured as a team player. She’s not out there looking for recognition; she’s looking for the team to do well, and as a result of how talented she is … she’s getting the recognition. She’s really developed and grown as a player and a person and it’s been cool to see throughout her four years.”

So the game has changed quite a bit over the years for Casares. The game now encompasses not only playing soccer well, but achieving academic success and being a leader for her fellow Bearcats. Ultimately, she has proven herself to be a uniting factor as a successful team captain. She described the unit as a “family,” and has made the freshmen contributors feel comfortable, allowing them to flourish in McClellan’s system.

“More than any other girl on this team, I look up to Mandy,” said freshman star Jamie Holliday. “That is from the heart. She is an incredible leader and an amazing player and all-around great person. I can’t praise her enough, because she has been an amazing leader through the ups and downs of this season, and I can’t think of anyone else in the world that I’d want to be the captain of this team.”

From the muddy fields of Rahway, N.J., where the game was simpler, to the turf field of the Bearcats Sports Complex, so much indeed has changed for Casares. But playing to the best of her ability, excelling academically and being a leader … well, that’s always been a part of the game.