She’s giving high school football a kick in the pants.
New Jersey teen Claire Gaston started her senior year at Mater Dei Prep in Middletown, New Jersey, in an unexpected way: as the kicker on the varsity football team.
“When I was a little girl, I thought about doing lots of things,” Gaston, 17, told The Post. “I never thought I’d play football.”
That is until last winter, when an assistant football coach approached Gaston — who is a goalkeeper for the Cedar Stars Academy soccer team in her free time — with a dilemma.
Mater Dei’s kicker was graduating, and the coach wanted to know if she would fill the vacancy for the next season. It’s a big role, considering the Seraphs have been to the state championship the last three years.
Gaston signed on because “I wanted to have fun my senior year and try new things.”
Last spring, she worked with the departing kicker to hone her technique. It paid off. She made five of six extra-point attempts at the Seraphs’ Sept. 14 game against Jackson Memorial.
“We are glad we got her,” said head coach Dino Mangiero.
Gaston’s debut three weeks ago coincided with a viral video that challenges the notion that a woman can’t hack it in the NFL.
In the clip, US women’s soccer captain Carli Lloyd — Gaston’s idol — boots a perfect, 55-yard field goal at an Eagles-Ravens joint practice, leaving the football world slack-jawed.
Lloyd said two NFL teams reached out to her about suiting up for preseason games, but she was busy with soccer.
“I would be foolish to maybe not entertain the idea of potentially doing it,” Lloyd told ABC. The Jersey native’s trainer has said she plans on giving it a serious shot for the 2020 season.
“When that video came out, I was like, ‘Coach, I can do that,’ ” said Gaston. “It helped me so much seeing her do it.”
It’s a mutual-admiration society.
“I’m happy that Claire is making an impact on the boys’ football team,” Lloyd told The Post. “I am positive that she is inspiring all the girls, not only in her school, but in competing schools, [to] achieve your goals.”
Gaston, who is 5-foot-10, said her only worry was getting hit.
“My linemen were like, ‘Trust me, it won’t happen.’ It made me feel better knowing they have my back,” said the Point Pleasant, New Jersey, resident.
She also believes someone else is watching out for her. Gaston’s 27-year-old sister, Katherine, passed away on July 3. Before each game, the teen clutches her sibling’s ring, which she wears on a chain.
“I hold the necklace and ring and pray to God that she is watching down on me and being my angel,” said Gaston, who also wears the number 17 — Katherine’s favorite.
Gaston has committed to Misericordia College in Dallas, Pennsylvania, where she will play soccer and study for veterinary school.
And, she said, “If the NFL came calling, that would be so cool.”
For now, she’s working on improving her distance, which has stretched to almost 30 yards — and, hopefully, changing minds.
“This is a good opportunity to show girls that you can do anything,” Gaston said. “You can even make an impact in a boys’ game.”