Star soccer player bounces back from injury to break scoring record

HVRHS senior Ava Segalla broke the Housatonic girl’s soccer career goal record on Wednesday, Oct. 15, officially scoring her 122nd goal, surpassing the previous record held by her older sister.

Earlier in the season, on Sept. 5, Segalla became the newest member of the 100 varsity point club for girls’ soccer. This is a notable achievement for high school students, but she wasn’t stopping there. She became the all-time leading scorer in the history of girls’ soccer as HVRHS.

“I started playing soccer when I was probably four years old,” Segalla said. “Coming from a soccer family, it was sort of something I was just thrown into, but from a young age I’ve always really enjoyed playing.”

Segalla’s journey has taken her from fooling around with her siblings, to competing at the elite level with Connecticut Football Club. On that team, she began catching the attention of college scouts. “Having scouts for the first time was definitely a very rewarding experience,” Segalla said. “It was exciting to see my hard work paying off.” In the fall of her junior year, Segalla committed to play Division I soccer at Sacred Heart University.

Segalla participates in multiple sports throughout the school year, including fall soccer, winter club soccer, and track in the spring. These overlapping commitments result in a consistently full schedule.

Segalla faced a huge setback to her athletic career last fall, breaking her ankle days before the Class S state tournament, which the Housatonic girls had a fair shot at winning. “It was really difficult,” she said. “I knew it would alter the team’s chemistry, not just physically but more in a mental aspect.” The consequences of this injury concluded the entire team’s season, not just her own.

Following months of healing, Segalla returned to her CFC team in February of 2025. “Something didn’t feel right again,” she said. Further hospital visits made it clear Segalla had torn multiple ligaments in her ankle at the same time as the original injury. She then had surgery.

“That was probably the hardest thing with my injury, working so hard to come back and then having to do it all over again,” said Segalla. “Having a positive attitude made the whole process ten times easier.”

After ten total months away from the field, Segalla returned with a new appreciation for the sport. “I was so excited to be able to do the thing that I love again and be physically active,” she said. “Coming back was hard. I was hard on myself but I knew that I just had to put in the work to get back to my previous state.”

With her senior season in full swing and college soccer approaching in the near future, Segalla is focusing on finishing her season strong, helping lead Housatonic toward a successful post-season.

“Playing at Sacred Heart, I’m most excited to play with a bunch of other women at such a high level.” But for now, her efforts remain at Housatonic, where by passing her sister’s scoring record, she’s already had a lasting impact.