Men’s Soccer Head Coach Mike Babst was still filling out his first recruiting class in December of 2019. His first season at the helm was a disappointment for the Wildcats, whose campaign ended in the first round of the Atlantic 10 (A-10) tournament, capping off a 4-11-2 record. Babst received a tip from a friend, a Division III soccer coach in Richmond, Virginia, about a youth club team for Babst to scout potential recruits. The Richmond Strikers usually fall below Davidson’s recruiting radar, but Babst took his friend’s advice. At the showcase, Babst found two defenders he instantly fell in love with: Nico Cavallo ‘24 and Trey Gardiner ‘24. Until then, neither Cavallo nor Gardiner had received a Division I offer, and Cavallo wasn’t planning on playing soccer in college. Up against the recruitment deadline, Babst and his staff began aggressively pursuing the pair of defenders. Within a day of each other, Cavallo and Gardiner committed to be Davidson Wildcats.
At the beginning of a new season in the fall of 2020, Babst watched from the sidelines as his team practiced for the first time. It was the beginning of year two for Babst at Davidson, and delays from the COVID-19 pandemic left him figuring out his team later than expected. As Babst prowled the sidelines, one player in particular stood out: first-year Nico Cavallo. Babst was amazed by Cavallo’s ability to get up and down the field. Turning to his assistant, Babst claimed, “I think Nico can be a pro.”
Despite their promising start, COVID-19 would put a pause on their success: the NCAA soccer season was postponed from the fall to the spring. On Feb. 10, Cavallo finally made his collegiate debut at home against Liberty University. Despite an 0-1 loss, Cavallo played all 90 minutes of the match. The next game on the schedule featured a daunting opponent: No. 3 ranked Wake Forest. Leading up to the contest, however, Cavallo was exposed to the coronavirus and entered COVID-19 protocols. There was still hope that Cavallo would be ready by March 1 for a chance to compete against the Demon Deacons. He was cleared to play, but would face a minutes restriction to avoid overexertion. Limited to 55 minutes of action, Cavallo substituted into a 0-0 game in the 29th minute. The ‘Cats gave up a goal in the 75th minute, but Babst was extremely pleased with the play of his freshman defender. “He’s approaching 55 minutes,” the athletic trainer informed Babst near the end of the match. “Well, he looks fine to me,” Babst remarked.
The eventual 0-1 loss was disappointing but represented Cavallo and Davidson’s ability to compete with the best of the best. Days later, Davidson beat Wofford College 3-2 for their first win of the season. Cavallo played all 90 minutes against the Terriers. In the remaining six matches of the season, Cavallo did not come out of a match once.
Cavallo’s sophomore season went similarly to his first. He started all 17 of his appearances and played a pivotal role in Davidson’s 9-7-2 record, racking up a team high five assists. A standout season made one thing clear for Cavallo: he could make a career out of soccer. After his sophomore year, Babst and Cavallo agreed that the next step for Cavallo’s growth would be to play semi-professionally in the summer. One of Davidson’s assistant coaches connected Cavallo to the Long Island Rough Riders, one of the top teams in the United Soccer League (USL) and a pre-professional developmental soccer league. The team was composed of top players around the country from major conferences, including the Big Ten and the Atlantic Coast Conference. It quickly became clear, though, that Cavallo was up to the challenge, starting every match of the season and performing well. The summer season confirmed to Cavallo that he belonged among the premier players nationwide.
The following fall, Cavallo, a preseason all-conference selection, turned in another phenomenal season for the ‘Cats. His durability and consistency once again proved indispensable, starting every match of the season and logging 90 minutes of action 13 times. By the end of his junior year, it was time for Cavallo to think about a future after Davidson. “We got together before his senior year and recognized that he was going to get his Davidson degree, and that then the best thing for him would be to go to another program, get a scholarship and play in a different environment,” Babst said. Before that, though, Cavallo still had a senior season to play. In 2023, Davidson had its best season with Cavallo yet, winning 10 of 16 matches and five of nine in conference. Cavallo was named a captain and led a back line that, for much of the season, was ranked top ten nationally in goals against average and second in the A-10 in total goals allowed. Cavallo even scored his first collegiate goal, coming in a 3-1 win over Furman. By the end of his career at Davidson, Cavallo tallied 58 appearances, 56 starts and 4,744 minutes played, cementing his legacy among the great defenders in Wildcat history.
Throughout the year, Babst and Cavallo worked to find the right fit for the start of Cavallo’s post-Davidson career and, after some searching, a list of three lead candidates surfaced: University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), University of Notre Dame and Georgetown University. Babst felt that those programs in particular would put Cavallo in the best position to showcase his abilities and improve in certain areas, especially as an attacker.
It was no surprise that Cavallo stood out to UCLA Men’s Soccer Head Coach Ryan Jorden, who viewed him as a player with professional potential. “He has a very good athletic skill set and good technical qualities,” Jorden said. “We identified those pretty quickly and felt like he would be a player that could thrive in an environment like UCLA.” Jorden also praised Cavallo’s character. “He’s an incredible human being. He’s everything you’d look for in a guy who has a really positive attitude on a daily basis and comes in looking to learn and grow.” By the summer of 2024, Cavallo was a Bruin.
That fall, Cavallo started all 19 matches for UCLA, playing the full 90 minutes in 15 of those appearances and totalling more minutes on the season than any other Bruin in 2024. Cavallo was named All-Big Ten Second Team—one of three Bruins to receive Big Ten postseason honors. UCLA finished the season 7-6-6 overall and 3-4-3 in the Big Ten conference. UCLA fell to the University of Michigan in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament in a penalty shootout and suffered a first-round loss in the NCAA tournament to the University of California Santa Barbara. Although it was a disappointing end to his career, the time spent at UCLA paid dividends for Cavallo. “We spent a lot of time working really hard on aspects of his game to try to refine some things so that he could help us be successful, but secondarily to showcase the qualities that he has,” Jorden noted. At the season’s end, it became evident that Cavallo would play professionally the following season.
On Dec. 19, 2024, Cavallo was selected 88th out of 90 draftees by the New York City Football Club in the third round of the 2025 Major League Soccer (MLS) SuperDraft. Cavallo was the last of five players selected by the club, meaning it would be an uphill battle to make the first team that competes in the MLS season. A short preseason would likely determine who would make the final cut. When Cavallo was one of two drafted players to be signed to the first team in February, Babst wasn’t surprised. “I watched all his preseason games and he looked very good,” Babst said. “He just did what he’s always done. He stepped in and more than belonged.”
Just one day after signing Cavallo to his first MLS contract, New York City FC played Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, also known as Inter Miami, for their first regular season match of 2025. Inter Miami has achieved international recognition since Lionel Messi joined the club in 2023. Back in Davidson, Babst and his team got together hoping to see their former teammate make his MLS debut. “We knew that there was a good chance he was going to get on,” Babst remarked. In the 69th minute, they got their wish. Cavallo substituted into the match and played the remaining 21 minutes, marking his first appearance as a professional player and competing against one the sport’s legends. “It was kind of amazing to see him on the field with Messi,” Babst said. Cavallo has appeared in three of New York City FC’s five matches so far this season, starting one of those appearances and totalling 51 minutes of play time. “I think every program talks about producing pros, but I really believe that something we all take such pride in is that he’s the type of pro that comes from Davidson,” Babst said.
