Where Are They Now?: Bonney Lake's Ashleigh Cade - From Panther to D1 Record Holder

She never played to chase records. She played because she loved it. But when you love something the way Ashleigh Cade loves soccer, the records tend to find you.

Cade graduated from Bonney Lake High School in 2014 and went on to play Division I soccer at the University of Louisiana Lafayette, where she left four years later as the program's all-time leader in assists. She led the Sun Belt Conference in assists in 2016 and finished third in the nation that same season. Not bad for a kid from Bonney Lake who just wanted to play.

Today she's back in the Pacific Northwest, coaching CrossFit, building a business alongside her husband, and chasing the next chapter. But the journey from Bonney Lake to Louisiana and back again is a story worth telling.

The Panther Years

Cade's path to D1 almost never happened. Before she ever suited up for the Panthers, she tore her ACL the summer before her freshman year, forcing her to miss the entire 2010 season before it even started.

"Soccer was all I knew," she said. "Not being able to play was such a hard experience for me, more mentally than physically."

That same year, her Bonney Lake teammates made a run to the state finals for the first time. She watched from the sideline.

"It was incredibly hard to sit and watch during that moment," she said. "But it made me excited knowing I could be on that team next year."

She came back, and she came back ready. Over her high school career she recorded 24 goals and 24 assists for the Panthers, helping the team reach the round of eight in 2012 and round of 16 in 2013.

But what she remembers most about those years isn't the games. It's everything around them.

"The bus rides, team dinners, soccer parties, sleepovers, those are what I remember most," she said. "Nothing else mattered in those moments except the bonds we shared. Those are also the moments that helped build our team chemistry which translated onto the field very well."

As for when she first realized she had a shot at playing in college? She traces it back to a youth game when she was 10 years old. A referee shook her hand after the match and told her flat out: he'd see her at the college level someday.

"At that age, I hadn't even thought about college," she said. "I was always just looking forward to the next game. Something that was 7 days away, not 8 years!"

Louisiana Bound

When Cade signed with the University of Louisiana Lafayette, she traded the rain of western Washington for the permanent humidity of the Deep South. The culture shock was immediate.

"It felt like a culture shock just slapped me in the face if we're being real," she said. "From Washington to Louisiana, from club level to college level soccer, to higher level education, from rainy weather to always being humid, I'm honestly not sure how I dealt with it all."

What helped was the team. Nearly every girl on the roster was from out of state too, including players from California, Florida, Colorado, Michigan, and Germany. Nobody had a home court advantage socially. They were all figuring it out together.

"You really just take it one day at a time," she said. "Routines and friendships just naturally started to form and by the time semester came, I found myself not wanting to leave."

The Record No One Saw Coming

Ashleigh Cade finished her career at UL Lafayette as the program's all-time leader in assists, accumulating 23 over four seasons and 75 matches. She was never chasing it.

"When you think of stats most people think of goals scored," she said. "Please don't look at mine, I'm pretty sure I scored like 5 goals my entire college career. I was never the one that was going to win us the game on some crazy bit of magic. However, I was the one who would typically set up the game winner."

She never felt more at home than with a ball at her feet. That was the language she spoke. Assists were just the byproduct.

"I never played with the intention of setting records," she said. "At the end of the day if we got the win, that's all that mattered. So yeah, it was quite the surprise come Senior Night when I heard I had done something pretty cool for the program."

2016 - The Season That Meant Everything

Her junior season in 2016 was her best statistically, leading the entire Sun Belt Conference in assists and finishing third nationally. But the numbers don't tell the full story of what that season meant.

Her father passed away in February of that year.

"I didn't know if I wanted to keep playing," she said. "I was completely lost and I used soccer as an escape. I didn't have to face reality when I had a ball at my feet. I felt free when I stepped on the field. But the moment I stepped off, everything felt pretty dark and lonely."

She eventually had no choice but to confront it. And when she did, she came back to soccer with a different perspective. Her dad had always told her three letters growing up: PMA. Positive mental attitude.

"I didn't understand it much growing up other than the fact it was just something he would say to me," she said. "But when I left home in 2014, his saying resonated with me through all the good times and all the bad times."

Heading into preseason that July, something had shifted. The team finished 4th in the Sun Belt, beat rivals South Alabama on the road for the first time in program history, and Cade contributed in ways that went beyond the stat sheet.

She also had a weapon nobody could game plan for: a 40-50 yard throw-in that could reach nearly half a field away. Coaches across the league spent time trying to figure out how to defend it. They usually couldn't.

"The entire season was a complete team effort," she said. "From every win to every loss. Every goal to every assist, it wouldn't have happened without each of the girls I played with. So by the end of the year when I saw I was nationally ranked for number of assists throughout the season, it was truly surreal. I never played to rack up stats. But if I have to say anything about that season specifically, it's thanks dad. PMA."

Life After the Game

After her playing days ended at UL, Cade wasn't ready to walk away from the sport entirely. She played with Chattanooga FC Women's club team and spent a season coaching at Missouri Southern State University.

"My identity was in soccer," she said. "I also loved being around people who had a similar mindset. Most of us were pretty competitive and we loved trying to get the best out of each other."

Coaching, she learned quickly, is a different beast entirely.

"Coaching isn't as fun as some people make it out to be," she said. "When you realize that coaching is essentially a hired-to-get-fired position, perspective changes very quickly. The world moves on with or without you."

While at Missouri Southern, tragedy struck the program when a teammate passed away. CrossFit became the outlet she didn't know she needed.

"In the past I used soccer to escape," she said. "When tragedy struck the team at Missouri Southern, I couldn't view soccer in the same light. Enter CrossFit. What is typically considered 'the best hour of their day' truly lived up to its name for me at this time."

The competitive element hooked her immediately. Walk in, see names on a whiteboard, find someone near your fitness level, and try to beat them.

"Coming from a sports background this was nothing new to me, but it was incredibly enticing knowing I had an opportunity to scratch that competitive itch off the field," she said.

There was also a near-miss with professional soccer. In 2019 she had a deal in place to play professionally in Sweden. It fell through on the team's end before she could sign.

"I still get to live out my dream as a washed up Sunday league baller," she said with a laugh. "But all is well, because I am a believer that everything happens for a reason and I am exactly where I am supposed to be in my life."

What's Next

Today Cade is a CrossFit coach at The Claw CrossFit and handles bookkeeping for Generation One Inc., a business her husband launched earlier this year. She does the in-house programming for the gym, trains individual clients, and manages the gym's Instagram.

Next on the list is her Level 2 CrossFit Certification. Long term, she and her husband have goals of moving the business out to Enumclaw, where she's put down roots after a journey that took her to Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, and almost Sweden.

But when asked what she'd tell a current Panther athlete dreaming about playing at the next level, she keeps it simple.

"You just truly need to believe in yourself and your abilities because all you need is just one opportunity," she said. "One person to see your talents, one school to believe they have found a diamond in the rough. Take every opportunity you can to pursue your passion. Live, eat, breathe your sport, but also don't forget to have fun while doing it. Nothing is ever THAT serious anyway."

She never played to chase records. But when you play the way Ashleigh Cade played, with everything you have, for the right reasons, sometimes the records are just what happens along the way.

PMA.