Maggie Nesselroade, Contributing Writer
Soccer started at a young age for Anna Canyis Cabuti. She was only five or six years old when she first began to play the game on the playground with her classmates in Sant Quirze del Vallès, Spain. But it wasn’t until she neared the end of high school that Canyis decided she wanted to play soccer and study at an American university.
“In Spain, everything is club teams,” said Canyis. “Once you get to college, you have to decide if you want to, basically, study or dedicate your life to soccer. In the States, the college athlete life allows you to combine both.”
So Canyis set out to get recruited in America. She worked through an online coaching network, in which she posted videos of herself playing soccer. She quickly began receiving offers to play for different universities in the United States.
One of the offers she received was from Asbury, but the timing and financial circumstances did not quite play out. “At that time, my family couldn’t afford me coming here, so I decided to take an offer that I got in Missouri at Central Methodist University,” said Canyis.
Canyis attended Central Methodist University for two years but eventually opted for a change. “At Central Methodist, I felt like I wasn’t learning much about my major — I was doing communications, but I was more interested in media communications, and I knew Asbury had a better offer for that,” Canyis said. She then decided to transfer to Asbury, and as a senior, Canyis looks to graduate with a media communications degree with an emphasis in television and video production.
Canyis has not only been successful in the classroom, but she has also proven herself on the soccer field for the Lady Eagles. She plays as a left outside defender and had a major role in winning back-to-back River States Conference Championship titles. Canyis scored the game-winning goal against Cincinnati Christian University in the 2018 season and has been an instrumental part of the team’s defensive line. Her efforts this season have warranted her a First Team All-Conference Award.
Keep an eye out for Canyis as the Lady Eagles finish out their season in their second consecutive appearance in the NAIA National Tournament Nov. 17 against No. 2 Spring Arbor University.
