November 8, 2010
The cursor on my screen has been blinking at me for hours and I have been putting off writing this blog. I know to write this I have to face the many emotions that I have been trying (unsuccessfully) to lock far away. To write this, I have to face what’s made my heart so sore these last few days. And I know that upon the completion of this blog my responsibility to the Cedarville University women’s soccer team will be done and I will no longer be a part of its future.
Lyrics have been stuck in my head since Saturday’s loss against Mount Vernon - “Lay down, your sweet and weary head. Night has fallen. You’ve come to journey’s end. Sleep now and dream of the ones who came before they are calling from across a distant shore. Why do you weep? What are these tears upon your face? Soon you will see all of your fears will pass away. What can you see on the horizon? Across the sea a pale moon rises.”
For the first time in my life, in 16 years of playing soccer, there is no reason to get better. There are no practices to rush off to, no games to prepare for, no summer training program to dread - in a sense there is no tomorrow anymore. A close friend, someone who at times I wanted to give up on, someone for when I thought I had no purpose gave me one, someone who has been a constant figure whether good or bad in my life since I was six years old, is gone. This achiness in my chest feels like someone has died. Some of you out there might think that notion too dramatic but I won’t defend myself. For the first time this season my soul aches more than my body.
Memories have been flashing vividly though my mind, I know eventually I will welcome them but right now they just prod the black and blue over my body. Things I will never forget, our red-hot cheer, bus rides, the pre-seasons, inside jokes, all the things that made this life-style worth living. But the fact remains I have loved every minute of playing soccer, which isn’t true at all because we have had our lover’s quarrels but something I have learned recently is truth, can be truth and not be true. As I reflect on the teams I have been on, the moments I have experienced I count myself lucky because I have felt the pure adrenaline rapture of success, I have tasted the sweet taste of victory, I have carried other’s burdens on my back, other’s have carried mine, I know the sharp pangs of injustice and failure, the hole in the middle of your chest when you don’t think your going to make it and the tears of joy when you do, and as I took off the Cedarville jersey, the one with the number 16 on the back, for the last time I felt the arms of teammates… friends… sisters around my neck.
After 16 years of something you don’t finish without some help along the way…
To the girls on the soccer team, some of you I have known since that first mile and half run in August four years ago, remember the one I threw up all over myself? I guess some things never did change. Some of you I have only known this year - since we coined the phrase “Spri is law.” To all of you… I have complained about you, wanted to punch you in the face, and you have all driven me crazy but you have become some of my best friends, more like my family to be honest, and I love you. The hardest part about the season ending is not seeing your faces everyday and the understanding that there will be no first pre-season meeting for me next year, no moment where we will all embrace from our long summer absence. But know what we had while we had it meant everything to me and if I could leave you with one bit of advice always remember “Spri is law!”
I’d like to thank those of you who followed us this season. You will never know how much your support truly meant to us. Also those faithful readers thanks for enduring my rants and nicknames along the way. Personally I’d like to thank my mom and dad. You don’t get to play college ball without people driving you to practice everyday. Mom, thanks for being my biggest fan and my worst critic, I always knew whatever came out of your mouth was the truth. Dad, thanks for being my agent, manager, defender… I would never have gotten anywhere without you knowing in which direction to push me. My baby sister, Mary, thanks for always being willing to be my practice partner. You made me better because I never ever wanted to lose to you.
Now here it comes - the end. I have tied all loose ends, walked off the field with no regrets, and hung up my cleats for the last time - all that’s left to do is say “good-bye”. So in women’s soccer blog tradition, I will follow the marked path of the ones that came before. I nominate Kelsey “Kelso” Watkins to take over the blog for next season. I am lucky enough to call her friend. She has an innate ability to make everyone laugh and has a keen eye for literature. She would carry the responsibility well.
It’s been a winding road, the journey that I would never change for anything. You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.
November 1, 2010
It was a big week of practice. It’s the end of the season and most of us have nagging bumps and bruises that we take with us on and off the soccer field. This is the time in the season where sheer determination is what keeps us going.
We live to see another day. We lost our last regular season game but we made it the play-offs. The “do or die” time of the season is when things get a little on the stressful side. We have put in over 400 hours into this team and into this program this season (yea, I did the math). We were here two weeks early; we have sacrificed weekends, nights, and friends all for the sake of this game and each other. We have too much invested right now to not give every last drop of steam in our tanks. From here on out we have to win to advance. If we don’t, we are done and our season is over.
I’m tired, hurt, and have a bruise the shape of Mickey Mouse on my foot that won’t go away but I’m not ready for this to be over. We have another full week of practice to get ready for Saturday’s game. We play Mount Vernon at their home - our arch rivals. We beat them last Tuesday at their home in double overtime. This Saturday they are going to be out for blood, we just have to be hungrier.
Keep us in your thoughts and prayers. If I said it’s going to be a tough game I’d be lying because this game is more than tough. In some ways this game will define our season and who we are as a team. So here we go onward to the beginning or the end.
October 25, 2010
Saturday was the last time for a lot of things. I was lucky enough to have my family come and share with me my last game on Yellow Jacket Field. We went to breakfast Saturday morning and there were teams of little girls still in their soccer jerseys. It doesn’t seem like this should be the end for me. I can remember so vividly growing up in this game that has become more than a sport to me. I wanted to tell the girls outside of Bob Evans while they were running and playing in the parking lot, to enjoy the time while they had it because time flows like water through the cracks of your hand - you can’t hold on to it. But I knew it would be wasted words, I remember when I was their age and time seemed to never run out. I wanted them to live in that world for as long they can.
Knowingly I walked into our locker room to get dressed for the last time. It’s hard to keep moving towards an inevitable good bye. Each step is treasured because they are each counting down to the last. For the last time I pulled my white jersey over my head - the material four years familiar to my skin. I tried to savor every moment of the perpetual chatter, Coach’s customary pre-game speech, and our red hot tradition but I know you can never fully appreciate a moment until its gone and so for the last time I walked out of the locker room to the good luck’s and high five’s of our supporters and walked toward the field.
Traditions that have come to be second nature are suddenly a thing of the past. The spit circle - the charge I put in myself “no regrets” and spat on the field along with my teammates. The defensive fist bump - “ooooooh oooooooh solid,” as well as my habitual restroom run right before the game starts.
Per tradition we got behind early in the game trailing 1-0 the rest of the first half. Early in the second half we rallied back to tie the game. We kept pressing because we weren’t satisfied with a tie and finally got one in the last two minutes of the game. It’s a really special experience when there is an energy that is hovering over the field and the feeling that the person next to you isn’t playing for herself but for her teammates. It was a perfect end to my last game on our home field. As the game ended we jogged over to thank our fans and the final step that I had been dreading all day was upon me. I stopped just short of the end line. I knew as soon as I crossed it I would never step foot on the field again in uniform.
The season isn’t over yet but I can’t stop time. My soccer career has reached its end and now throughout this next week I have to figure out how to say good-bye.
Keep us in your thoughts as we are still battling for a play off game. We are on the road against Mount Vernon on Tuesday and Walsh on Saturday.
October 18, 2010
Our team has five values we try to incorporate into our daily lives on and off the field. Christ-centered, team focus, humility, work ethic, and legacy are the five pillars we try to live by. All of them have a special place within our team infrastructure but right now I want to specifically want to talk about legacy.
Leaving a legacy is something we strive for day in and day out, whether it is within our teammates (upperclassmen mentoring underclassmen), with other teams (leaving encouragement notes in their locker room), or doing soccer clinics throughout the community.
For us, leaving a legacy is about being a servant to others not for vain motives like being remembered but so Christ is seen through us and He is remembered through our actions. A big part of this particular team pillar is sponsoring two little girls in the Dominican Republic. We have been sponsoring Kimberly (14) and Cherli (8) since my freshman year. Kelly “Bo Belly” Wise as well as Bethany “Bee” Wailes, Jaimie “Hawaii” Watkins, and I had the privilege of meeting both of them when we traveled to the Dominican on a mission’s trip. Kimberly was a little shy at first - I would be too if a bunch of older girls came up to me speaking an unfamiliar language. Lucky for me I was able to get to know her a bit through my broken Spanish. Cherli was a social butterfly. She loved all the attention! Anyway, throughout the last four years we have been able to watch Kimberly and Cherli grow up. Our team will continue to leave a legacy in their lives long after I am gone, which is the whole point of our pillar. Anyway that’s a little taste of the un-soccer related things we strive for on our team.
We have our last home game this weekend. Senior night is on Saturday. Come out and help the seniors say good-bye to their home field. Hope to see you there!
October 11, 2010
Ugh pure exhaustion! It was a long trip to say the least. It all started Thursday night. After cramming a week’s worth of homework into three days (we have to turn in assignments early when we are away at games), shoving a few articles of clothing in a duffle bag, and having a last minute practice we were finally on the road at 7:00 p.m. Thursday night.
We traveled with the guys’ team and let’s just say they take up a lot of room, not to mention their taste in movies leaves much to be desired but all in all it was a much smoother interaction than we have had in the past. We drove through the night until we reached our hotel at around 1:00 a.m. By this time tempers were getting a little testy because a game of Bible trivia had gone horribly wrong. Take 40 college athletes all of who have a competitive spirit, stuff them like sardines on a bus for five hours and then try to play a trivia game… things will start to get a little tense.
After getting our room assignments (personally I think I had a pretty solid room (Becky “The Tank” Burton, Anna “Dairy Farm” Schmid and Emily “Eminem” Niedemayer) it didn’t take long to settle in and hit the sack - well it didn’t take long for some of us to get to sleep. For me I was kept awake by Eminem’s incessant twitching and the lack of even cover distribution on the bed.
The next morning we ate a quick breakfast and we were on our way to Rochester for our game against Roberts Wesleyan. No soccer trip is complete without our ritual Subway stop and so we got our sandwiches (I had to change my order from buffalo chicken to a “healthier” alternative - so I succumbed to the sweet onion teriyaki chicken. It wasn’t as good) and continued our road trip to Rochester.
The Roberts Wesleyan game didn’t go according to plan. We came out flat. I would like to blame it on having bus legs but in the end we just weren’t prepared to play. We lost 2-0. After the game we got back on the bus and continued to our next hotel stop - are you getting a sense of how much time we spent on this bus? We checked into our hotel for the night and then walked across the street to Chili’s. We never get to eat at restaurants so eating at Chili’s was a BIG treat for us. It was a good time to be had by all and with our bellies full sleep came easy that night… until Eminem came to bed and started twitching again, the sheets were still distributed unevenly.
The next morning came too early and we were out the door by 8 a.m. Most of us slept on the way to Houghton taking advantage of the floor as a makeshift bed. When we finally got there we left the boys asleep on the bus and went to the Houghton cafeteria to grab breakfast. Whilst eating we had separate team meetings discussing the mistakes we made against Roberts. We were determined not to let history repeat itself with Houghton.
We had some time to kill after breakfast and by that time some of the guys had awakened and were exploring the campus. They meandered into the cafeteria where we were eating and Gruber started playing the piano. If you are a girl you know this automatically makes him very attractive and so all of us eating breakfast shuffled over to listen to his rendition of “Bella’s Lullaby.” The only way I can accurately describe what happened is compare it to when a cartoon character floats to the scent of freshly baked pie.
Game time came and we met it determined to deny Houghton another win (for as long as we have played Houghton the have always beaten us). The game went into sudden death double over time and we were able to preserve the tie therefore breaking our losing streak against Houghton. That game, although a huge uplifting and bonding moment, was not without its casualties. Rachel “Rach Face” Brownfield split her forehead open when she collided with another player. She had to be rushed to the emergency room where she got ten stitches! She as always is one tough cookie!
After we got cleaned off and grabbed our sub par pizza for dinner we watched the boys’ game and then we were on the road for our long trip home. The thing about long bus rides is you really can’t sleep because there is no way to get comfortable and when you are driving for nine hours topics of conversation run thin. They turn to obscure and well… let’s just say Erin “Ernest” Abbate, Jill “Oh Nooooo!” Davis, and myself got to know each other pretty well.
We pulled into Cedarville at approximately 4:00 a.m. on Sunday morning exhausted from our weekend endeavors but as always the past is in the past and we have yet another game to prepare for. This week we play at Urbana on Tuesday and then we play Notre Dame OH at 4:30 on Saturday. Come out and watch us play. We are hitting the final weeks in our season and could use all the support we can get!
October 4, 2010
We broke the curse! In my last three years here we have never been able to pull off a Homecoming win but last Saturday we won! And we won in a very convincing manner. Kelly “Bo Belly” Wise drew first blood. Despite outshooting Point Park severely in the first half we were up only by one at half time. We seemed to break down the barrier in the second half when Jaime “Hawaii” Watkins scored the second goal. Rachel “Rach Face” Brownfield scored third and Amanda “Bottomless Pit” Bunton finished them off with the fourth goal.
There is not much else to say about the game. We took care of business. So I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the unsung heroes of our team. Our athletic trainers are with us through thick and thin. They stand in the rain, sweat in the sun, and freeze in the icy tundra that is Ohio. Leyna “Mother Bear” Hebert and Erin “Ernest” Abbate are the two athletic trainers assigned to the women’s soccer team. We keep them busy because lets be honest our team is accident-prone. They constantly put us before themselves making sure we have plenty of water; ice and our bodies are working as best they can. They take time out of their busy schedule to drive us to doctor’s appointments, sometimes almost killing us on the way…there was an incident with a fire truck and the athletic training van but that’s beside the point. The point is Ernest and Mother Bear are always there for us so I would like to recognize them for their time and concern they give us everyday. Thanks Guys!
On a completely separate note being the blog writer has its perks therefore I would like to make a shout out to my Dad who traveled all the way from Miami, Florida to watch us play this weekend.
Please pray for us as we are on the road with the men’s team this weekend. It is going to be a long bus ride…
September 27, 2010
Saturday started with an early morning. Wake up call was at 7 a.m., which for a bunch of college students on a Saturday that’s equivalent to breaking one of the Ten Commandments. But we are dedicated to our sport and so we all have to make sacrifices. We played at Asbury University in Kentucky and were told to save some money we were going to take a smaller bus - as a result we had to leave our injured behind and only travel with eighteen players.
The thing is nobody told us this "bus" thought it was a van. It was a very tight four-hour trip (courtesy of the wrong turn in Lexington). The first couple of hours were spent trying to find a comfortable sleeping arrangement. My seat buddy Sarah "Brownie" Brownfield and I struggled - apparently my shoulder isn’t very comfortable so Brownie ended up napping on the floor. At this point we were all a bit on the cranky side… I mean who wouldn’t be?
So how do you cure the morning blues on a bus full of girls? Pop in a chick flick of course! We watched Letters To Juliet. All of us had a special interest in the male lead Charlie; he had a British accent, need I say more? There was only fifteen minutes left in the movie when we arrived at Asbury. Nicole "Stray Dawg" Strehle let out an audible "Nooooooooooooooo!" upon realizing that we would have to wait until after the game to find out what would happen to the star-crossed lovers in the movie. Our assistant coach Krista Mattern took advantage of our vulnerability and said we could only finish the movie if we won.
If you checked out the game stats you probably noticed that Amanda "Bottomless Pit" Bunton scored both goals… yea… well… she was really into the movie (apparently she goes weak at the knees for English boys - Who knew?).
Anyway, after winning in overtime getting back on the bus cough van cough wasn’t so bad. We found out what happened to Charlie and ended the movie with a moving rendition of Taylor Swift’s Love Story - yes we all know every word to that song. We are a very vocally talented group of girls, if you don’t believe me you should ask us to do our original rendition of Happy Birthday.
After the movie we had a very educational conversation being on a small lets be honest van everyone was in everyone else’s business. I am unable to reveal the details of this conversation but lets just say we learned personal particulars about each other that we will mock for forever! I will say this Kelly "Bo Belly" Wise, who is currently attached to Kevin "Mr. Wonderful" Bender keeper on the men’s team, was subject to fair bit of teasing due to her lack of thought before speaking. Congratulations to both Kelly and Mr. Wonderful for celebrating their one-year anniversary Saturday night.
Teasing Kelly can only last for so long on the bus, and since we were stuck in traffic for two extra hours on our van (have I mentioned how small it was?) We broke out the Catch Phrase - a staple game for CU women’s soccer.
I would like to say my team - Team Two as we are affectionately called, DOMINATED! I mean maybe the teams were a little unfair… Team One had some hard clues. For example one of the clues was the season after winter to which Team One all answered in unison "FALL!" But let’s cut them some slack - that’s a really hard question for college students. Also if you happen to see Bethany "Bee" Wailes in passing make sure you let her know Yiddish is a language not a type of matchmaker. She is a little confused on the distinction. Anyway despite the close quarters we, as is our style, made it a lot of fun and we brought home the win for Cedarville! So all in all it was a good day and a good night for Kelly and Mr. Wonderful.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we are on the road on Wednesday. We have a lot of people on the mend that could use your support. Also come out and support us this Saturday for our homecoming game against Point Park.
As always we promise to entertain!
September 20, 2010
It was nice to be home this past week. Against the will of some of the members of the guys’ team we succeeded their five o’clock game to play under the lights on Tuesday night. They have this ridiculous notion that they lay claim to playing under the lights….well, hate to break it to you boys but there is a little thing called Affirmative Action.
Anyway some of you might be wondering what the big deal is about playing under the lights. Well, first of all it’s like the equivalent of prime time television, you’re not the appetizer you’re the main course! Time itself seems to stop and the only connection to life passing outside our stadium is the scoreboard ticking itself down to zero. Senses are heightened, the crack of shoelaces hitting the ball reverberates in our eardrums, the ball speeding across the field is burned into our retina, the gritty crunch of dirt between your teeth (if things go according to plan our opponents eat more dirt than we do…). You are suddenly aware of the dew forming droplets of sweat on your forehead. The conflict rises like steam from the grassy stage.
We are in the spotlight and Tuesday night the lights shone only for us. Kelly “Bo Belly” Wise, our team captain, broke the deadlock at the end of the first half by slotting the ball to the far post. Although we continued pressing it seemed all we had to do was hold on to the lead for the duration of the game. Alysia “Cheats” Bennett was credited with her third shut out of the season but she admitted she would be nothing without her back four. Our defensive unit is pretty solid but I might be a little biased. We left our lighted stage that night content in pulling off our first conference win.
The next few days at practice were consistent. Coach was cranky most of the week, striving for perfection lends itself to that particular mood. But it paid off because on Saturday in our second conference game we blew the doors wide open! Dresden “Voldemort” Mattson netted her first goal of the season! Its always a very special moment when you are able to witness a teammate and close friend finally succeed after being denied so many times before, after working so hard for so long. A sense of pride just catches in your chest, it stays there for a while. Jaime “Hawaii” Watkins, Anna “Dairy Farm” Schmid, and Morgan “Momo” Ziegler followed up Voldemort’s goal for the 5-0 win (Hawaii scored twice). It was truly a team effort and a team victory.
It was a particularly hot day on Saturday and in obedience to our Athletic Trainer’s words we needed to ice our muscles, which usually means climbing into the tubs behind the Athletic Center. We decided to be more creative with our method of icing and traveled to a rope swing, where we celebrated our victory by dunking each other in the icy water. I officially need nothing more out of life than a tree, a rope, and a body of water. We had a great week and are currently undefeated in the American Mideast Conference!
On Tuesday we are facing Indiana Wesleyan, currently ranked #4 in the NAIA, and need all the support we can get! Come out and help us bring another “W” home for Cedarville!
September 14, 2010
Well…I really don’t have much to say this week. It was another tough week for us. We were on the road for both our games. Our game on Tuesday against Taylor was a blow out. We did not put forth our best effort and we were punished for it. After that game we decided to never be out played because of our effort level again.
Saturday’s game was better - we went to double overtime and unfortunately lost in sudden death at Wilmington. We played hard but once again came up short.
We are home this week and we could use all the help we can get. Come out and support us as we play our first conference games of the season on Tuesday and Saturday!
September 7, 2010
The first home game of the season always brings with it the rising feeling that we can do anything. The sun setting behind our bench warming the back of our necks, the crisp breeze of fall playing along our cheeks, and that smell… the smell of freshly cut grass, worn out leather, and seamed-together rubber (not to mention the salty smell of sweat-stained and soaked shin guards that add a special aroma of their own, if you’re curious just take a whiff in our locker room) all these things create a heroic tension over our field and the imminent sense that something epic is about to happen.
Our first game of the Cedarville Classic was against Rio Grande, which apparently I have pronounced wrong my whole four years here at Cedarville. For those of you fellow Spanish speakers who are like me and pronounce it REE-oh GRAHN-day and not Rye-o Grand, I applaud you for pronouncing it, in my opinion, the right way! Anyway rant over… after coming off a week of practice and an embarrassing loss we were ready to redeem ourselves.
Rio didn’t get a shot on Alysia “Cheats” Bennett (a Cedarville keeper hasn’t been that bored since 1997). Amanda “Bottomless Pit” Bunton drew first blood half way through the first half. This was an especially emotional moment because it was her first goal since an ACL tear in the previous season - a recovery that takes 6 to 12 months of more failures than successes. Any athlete knows it takes guts to come back from an injury and as a team, her triumph is our elation just as her loss was our bereavement. Rachel “Rach-Face” Brownfield solidified our lead in the second half.
There is just something about first games, when those Friday night lights illuminate our shadows across the pitch, those are the moments I will never forget. The feeling that when we step on the field we are apart of something bigger than ourselves and that we are all fighting for a common cause. We are on the road this week at Taylor on Tuesday and at Wilmington on Saturday. Keep us in your thoughts as we keep battling to bring a win home for CU!
Aug. 30, 2010
Well, after a week of practice and scrimmages, we finally made it to our first game… where we discovered that there are definitely more kinks to work out. After a tough loss to Marian I think we now have a better idea of the standard we need to set for ourselves on the field. Although we got our butts kicked (hopefully from now on we will be doing the kicking) that didn’t stop us from having some fun on the road.
For all the seniors on the team, including myself, this was our last "first" road trip of the season. For the freshmen (affectionately and in all future instances to be know as freshies) it was the first of many "firsts" to be had this year. It always makes me smile when we make our first food stop. You can see the freshies scrambling in their bags, looking feverishly for money. Some manage to find a few dollars, however some others are less fortunate. They get this sad/concerned look on their face and I imagine this inner dialogue. "Oh no, I’m going to have to beg an upperclassmen for money. I’m going to look like a fool, but if I don’t eat, Coach won’t play me. They never said anything about needing money for food!" Thankfully for them, once they step inside the restaurant, most of them realize they don’t have to pay for their meals.
Not gonna lie that was probably the highlight of my freshman year. Free food all season long…are you kidding me!? This day we stopped at a Cedarville University women’s soccer team-food staple, Subway, for a pre-game meal halfway through our trip. Personally I am a fan of the buffalo chicken with shredded monterey jack cheese, ranch dressing, cucumbers and green peppers on white bread. The big team favorite though is the chicken teriyaki with an assortment of toppings.
Some may be wondering, why all the talk of food? I’m glad you asked. As athletes we have to fuel our bodies with carbs and protein if we want to compete at an optimal level. This is where Leyna Hebert our athletic trainer comes in. Besides the usual ankle taping, after-game ice bag making, and concussion testing, Leyna always makes sure we are not ordering fried or greasy food before a game. Leyna is like one of those drug dogs, sniffing out unhealthy food as we walk by with our orders. Somehow this trip she missed Amanda Bunton (who has a stomach like a bottomless pit) walk out with a cup of ice cream. PS - Subway serves ice cream now! Who knew?
Anyway after eating our delicatessen creations we got back on the bus and continued on our way. Usually, we properly utilize our lengthy bus rides for studying, but it was Friday, and let’s be honest - who studies on Friday?
So after a little persuading of Coach and a team vote between "Anastasia" and "Holes" (this is always a very tense time on the bus) we popped in "Holes" to watch Shia LaBeouf and his D-tent buddies.
After the game and after we were all clean, we enjoyed Papa John’s pizza (gotta love the garlic sauce) and headed back to campus. Most of us slept, some watched Sherlock Holmes, and the studious ones among us (Bethany "B-Wailes" and Jill Davis) studied. For those of you who do not know me or haven’t checked out my biography on the soccer website - I am a whopping 5’3". Sometimes being this height has its advantages, especially on the bus. I am among the lucky few small enough to curl up in the seat to go to sleep. Others like "Mafia" (Ashlee Wilson) and "Mexico" (Deanne Bradshaw) had to cuddle because freshies have to share seats. Other people on the team who exceed the 5’3" mark have to find more creative ways of sleeping. Anyway, after a long ride we arrived home safe and sound in the wee hours of Saturday morning.
We have a good, long week of practice ahead of us before our first home game this Friday in the Cedarville Classic! Come check us out and as always we will definitely keep it interesting!
Aug. 25, 2010
It’s hard to believe it’s already been four years since first stepping foot on our fields. I’m not sure the finality of my last season has set in yet...but I mean let’s be honest - its kinda hard to feel nostalgic when you’re puking your guts out on the track thanks to our beloved mile and a half run.
On behalf of the women’s soccer team I would like to apologize to the track team...some of us didn’t make it to the grass.
Anyway, moving on. We just finished our preseason training camp and even though I know down the road...a very long way down the road...I will miss it, I am sure we are all glad to be done with three-a-days.
A big part of preseason is the team bonding together to form one cohesive unit. As a result, we have certain traditions that have been performed long before I got here.
One of those is the ceremonial giving of nicknames to the freshmen. I am sorry to report I cannot give the details of this sacred tradition, but I can tell you the new rookie names.
Ashlee Wilson is now known as The Mafia...silent but deadly. Deanne Bradshaw is now Mexico (make sure you ask about her fiesta). Alexis Mickle is now Froggy. You have probably seen her hopping around campus, and last but certainly not least is Emily Niedermayer who shall now be known solely as Eminem. If you know what happens when a tornado meets a volcano then you know Emily. Keep a look out for these girls on campus and remember to call them by their new names!
These last two weeks included tears, laughs, sleep deprivation, and a lot of vomit but as always it’s worth it to play the game we have sacrificed so much for. I am not gonna lie, we are looking good (especially in our new dry-fit practice shirts) so come out and support us this season! We promise to put on a good show!
Megan Spring is a senior defender from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. with a major in technical and professional communication. She is a four-year member of the Lady Jacket program and started all 17 matches in the back as a junior.
