Cedarville University Yellow Jackets

Nov. 16, 2015

Hi everyone! Before you realize that this is quite a lengthy post and close out of the window, I want to explain the format of this blog. Instead of writing out all that we’ve done and all of the times I’ve enjoyed, I decided to ask every senior to write about their favorite memory of the CUWS team. This is a very challenging task, but they have risen to the occasion. Due to everyone writing, the blog will be a bit…okay...a lot longer than usual. However, I promise that if you stick it out and read until the end, you will not be disappointed. My lovely teammates have written out what they want to say, and I’ll do my best to summarize the best four years of my life into a paragraph at the end. Please enjoy.

#2 Taylor Wilcox - My Cedarville soccer career has been marked by many long hours on the field and in the gym, bursts of laughter at coach’s antics, long nauseating bus rides, more hours spent in the training room than I would have preferred, building relationships with 25 amazing women, and even winning a pretty neat trophy. But the most fabulous moment of all - the one I longed for above all else - was most definitely when I was named "Prize Pig" at freshman initiation and my rank of superiority amongst the newbies was officially established.

#3 Jacoby Ziegler - When Carly asked each of us to write a about our favorite memory over these past four years, my first two thoughts were "oh great… I’m horrible at the English language and writing and conveying my thoughts and all that jazz and how in the world do you pick a favorite memory from these past four years of soccer with the best team in the world?" The answer to that is, you don’t. And that’s all I have to say…

These four years have been filled with blessing after blessing. As I stepped off the field for the very last time this past week, I was filled with a crazy sense of peace, which has yet to leave. I am sad but at peace. I am so grateful for so many things. I can’t help but think that God parked his blessing cloud over our team and has just let it rain. And I know that even as I move on in life the blessings from these four years will just keep raining because teammates and memories don’t end. I wish that everyone could have the chance to get to know each and every girl on our team because that’s the only way to understand how blessed I feel. Cedarville soccer has given me thirty some best friends who selflessly love me and show me Christ in so many ways. And because of this I am so blessed.

#6 Sara Rogers - After four years of ups and downs there are tons of memories that I will never forget and I will cherish for the rest of my life. My all-time favorite thing has to be my teammates. I have been pushed by my teammates to work harder than I have ever worked before. After many fails, I was able to pass all my fitness tests first time around! After three years I was jokingly awarded "The Peoples Captain". After a hard break up or a broken collar bone, I was surrounded with kind words, lots of hugs and many prayers. After winning the G-MAC championship, I was surrounded by girls that had given their all and all their hard work had finally paid off. After playing my last game I was comforted with hugs and shared many tears. Never have I been so lucky to be surrounded by an amazing group of girls who love the game, me, and the Lord.

#7 Kaleigh Rowlands - When I think about my favorite memory from my soccer career here at Cedarville, I can honestly say it is the way things came to an end. When you see all pain and tears you may not be able to understand why the end of my soccer career could be my greatest memory, but I will try and explain. A year ago our team had just finished by far the toughest season yet. We had multiple season-ending injuries that led to us not being able to perform how we wanted on the field. We had a lot of internal struggle as a team, and we were striving for something more. Following that season, my teammates and I began to pray for the next year. We prayed that we would be protected from injury and come back on fire this season. We made goals as a team at the beginning of the year. Some of these goals were to win G-MAC, make it to the NCAA tournament, play tenaciously, and to give all the glory to God along the way. We prayed over our goals and over our season, and it is with great joy that I show you how God answered:

- We won the G-MAC tournament

- We were the first Cedarville women’s Soccer team to make the NCAA tournament

- We had the opportunity to partner with a Cedarville custodian to make sleeping mats for the homeless

- We did not have one season-ending injury this year

- We had a team in our conference (Kentucky Wesleyan) ask us to join them for a meal and devotions

- While at the NCAA tournament many of our players were seen around town praying over homeless people

- We had a bus driver tell us he wanted to send his child to Cedarville based off the interactions he had with our team

- Players from a handful of different teams have responded to our notes, asking for prayer and seeking encouragement in their faith

God was so faithful to our team this year. I have never seen Him work so clearly through anything in my life. Yes, I am heartbroken at the fact that I am done with the best chapter of my life so far, but God made Himself known through us this season. I do not say this to brag on our team, but rather to brag on our Father. Over time I will forget about the individual games, but I will always remember the way God took the Cedarville women’s Soccer program and used it as His vessel all the way to the end of my career. Thankful would be an understatement.

#12 Kylie Faxon - It's crazy that I'm writing this right now, it doesn't seem like I'm actually a senior and my last season has come to a close. My four years have seemed to blend together into one. Whereas, each year has had its own special moments and memories that have stood out in my mind. Each year has brought new memories, friendships, hardships and goofy Coach Mac stories. It's so hard to sit here and try and pick just one thing that stood out above the rest. Our team these past four years has brought some amazing girls into my life. Although I have had to say goodbye to three different classes, they each have left something behind with me that has left an impression on my Cedarville soccer experience.

To state one memory would be a disservice to my journey. Instead, let me tell you about my favorite aspect of my four years on this team. To put it simply, it would be my teammates. Sitting with one teammate this morning before church - we talked on the great gift that we all can share in the fact that only we can truly understand each other in the "Cedarville Soccer Experience." Fast forward 10 years from now and I'm married and have a whole new set of friends. I can try and relive these stories of coach pulling over and jumping a highway fence to go to the bathroom. What it looks like when you turn around after scoring a goal in a game of 2v2 to target and your teammates are bouncing up and down like hyenas. I can try to put a picture of the incredible intensity in Carly Gregory's eyes in a game of 3v2v1, or the look of sheer disgust on Coach Bri's face when Sara Rogers wears leggings. These memories can only be truly known and understood by the girls who made them so dear in my heart. These are memories that only my teammates can take as much joy in as I do.

Each girl that has come through this team has built me into a tough competitor, humble opponent, and a true athlete for the One we claim each game. Without these girls I wouldn't have truly known what it means to play "For Him" or fully understood how to humbly accept the gift He has given each one of us. Cedarville women's soccer has lived out our Five Pillars: Christ Centered, Team Focused, Integrity, Work Ethic and Humility to their very core in my four years. Cheering for a teammate who gets put into the game over them, crying with one another through an injury, and picking each other up after mistakes. These girls are what have made my experience one I will never forget and are the ones who will hold all these memories just as dear as I will. Thank you CUWS - We Are One.

#16 Susanna Mathew - Coach often comments on how much he loves to sit back and watch the team simply be in each other’s company and how the love we have for each other is so clearly from the Lord. It brings tears to his eyes and frankly, it does the same for me. I cannot pick a single moment that stands out above the rest because every moment with this team has been an absolute joy. This may not make sense, but running onto the field when we won G-MAC this year gave me as much joy as when we walked back from dinner to our hotel, singing and dancing like a bunch of hooligans. Life is never anything less than spectacular with friends like that.

#17 Carissa Van Dyck - If you asked me for a specific, favorite moment of my four years as a women’s soccer player, I would say winning the G-MAC championship. All the hard work over the past years, the fitness tests, the early morning lifting, and the countless hours of practices seemed worth it. The best part of that moment was not that I felt my hard work had paid off for me, but that OUR hard work had paid off for all of us. The girls that had been with me every second of those workouts and practices were so happy with me.

What you can’t capture in that one moment, or any other one moment, is the bond that had formed between us. Girls who were once strangers to me had become my sisters in such a short period of time. We had laughed together, cried together, cheered together, and held our heads in disappointment together. We woke up early, went to bed late, ran until we were sick, ate meals, traveled on road trips, joked about everything, had serious talks, and prayed TOGETHER. I cannot tell you how many hours I have spent with these girls at practices, meals, team activities, games, road trips, Bible studies, and then the time spent texting them after we leave those things. My favorite thing about CUWS isn’t a thing. Its making family dinner in Chuck’s, watching movies together, getting encouraging notes from one another, having someone tell you they are praying for you, celebrating when we only have to do Fifa 11+ one time through, singing "Bind us Together", yelling at each other in the intensity of a competitive game and then laughing it off. The way we came together is a true definition of a team. That is what I love about Cedarville women’s soccer.

I have 26 girls who love and care for me in a Christ-like way. I have made memories with them that will last a lifetime. I cannot be more thankful than I am for each and every one of them.

#18 Katie Wormald - A huge thank you goes to Carly Gregory for giving us seniors the opportunity to contribute to the blog! My favorite memory from soccer at Cedarville is not what you would expect: the grand victories and cherished time with teammates were definitely things that I will never forget, but my heart leaps inside me every time I think back to the first "voluntary" practice in February 2015. We played pick up in the field house Sunday night at 11 p.m., and coach wasn’t even there. To everyone else, there was probably nothing special about this practice. To me though, this was the first time I was going to play soccer after getting healed from two years of Lymes disease. I remember timidly strapping on my shoes and wondering what it would be like to play soccer. What would it feel like to play with energy? Would I be able to enjoy it and not be frustrated? Could I play without getting confused on where I was running? Soccer is no fun when you are sick. So, when I stepped on the court to practice…I was astonished. My feet flew across the court; I mean…I swear I was flying! I could do moves to school people and I scored at least three goals. I started laughing for joy because I could play again! People watching might have mistaken I was drunk because I was laughing so hysterically at everything. I remember having a blast making fun of teammates on the field just because I could; I thought it was so funny that I could think and crack jokes! This senior season was the first time I could freely play soccer, and I am so incredibly thankful for it. Praise the Lord who healed my body, my mind, and my life for Him! After the season’s end, I sat on the bench looking over our practice field and just cried. Not despairing, but so amazed because it was all so incredible and all so good. I got to enjoy playing, relationships with teammates, and worshipping God on the field, and I didn’t take one bit of it for granted. Praise the Lord, I am so grateful!

#20 Kaitlyn Stiles - When Carly asked me to think of a favorite memory (as in one. Synonyms: single, sole, solitary, only, etc.) I was a little daunted. How do you pick one single favorite memory from the very full, best four years of your life? I honestly didn’t think I’d be able to do it; however, I decided to just pick one and go for it. One of my favorite memories was on a mission trip to Costa Rica in August 2014. To set the scene: it was a Sunday morning. It was a beautiful day; the sun was shining, the breeze was blowing, and we had pulled up to the field we were to play on that morning. The field was in the middle of the city, people were walking up and down the sidewalk all around us. Coach asked us if we wanted to sing as we normally would have been in church at that time (we were going that night instead). We all readily agreed and began our team favorite: In Christ Alone. The bus windows were open and all who were in the general vicinity of the bus could hear the CUWS acapella rendition of In Christ Alone. I was sitting in the back of the bus and could see the joy on so many of my teammates’ faces as we worshipped on that bus before going out to worship as we played on the field. Twenty-six girls of various singing and harmonizing (or lack there-of) capabilities, and one male coach (coming in strong), there’s just nothing like it. I get chills every time we sing it before a game in the locker room. To know that we mean it, and to have watched it proven in my own heart and life and the hearts and lives of my twenty-five best friends is the best part. We are one in Christ alone.

Carly Gregory #4 - My freshman year as I arrived on campus and met my new teammates, I watched as returning players would run, scream, and jump into flying hugs when they saw each other. I thought to myself "I know it’s been a while, but how are they that excited?" Now as a senior, I completely understand. The girls that I played with on the field (whoa…past tense) are more than teammates. They are my sisters. Though I am deeply saddened that my college soccer career is over, I take heart in the fact that just because our season or career ends, our friendships don’t. These girls are my forever friends. They are my forever family. Over the past four years we have all experienced the love of Jesus flowing from one another, and I have never felt so blessed in all my life. It has been an honor and a privilege to play alongside these girls and to take the name of Jesus to our competitors through the sport of soccer. This will be a blessing that I’ll never forget, and I will continue praising the Lord for it.

I have so loved writing and relaying the craziness of the CUWS team to you. As a team this year, we had SO MUCH FUN, we reached new levels of competitive success, and we achieved all of our goals. I know that I can speak for all of my teammates when I say that it was the work of the Lord, and only his work, that allowed us to do those things. It was all done in His name and for His glory, and we will forever cherish these memories in our hearts and praise Him for His blessings.

(Not) Until next time,
















Nov. 9, 2015

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am writing this blog with so much excitement in my heart. To say that our CUWS team was blessed this past week would be the understatement of the century. This past week overflowed with God’s mercy and blessings, and it knocked our socks off. We had what seemed like endless fun and fellowship as a team, and I am excited to relay the best of the week to you now.

West Virginia comes in clutch - We typically shudder at the idea of traveling to West Virginia….and for good reason. We have faced the worst soccer fields of our lives, changing in park bathrooms, stormed out victories that ended up not counting, traffic jams, kidnapped mascots, gastrointestinal disasters, attack by bees while trying to film the game, sketchy hotels decorated with a "cabin theme" complete with taxidermy, cold showers, scalding showers, and curvy roads that make everyone vomit. This time, however, our lovely assistant Coach Bri booked us three nights at the Isaac Jackson Hotel. The beds, comforters, and pillows were fluffy clouds that smelled fresh out of the wash, breakfast was delicious and hot each morning, and limitless jigsaw puzzles were laid out on the table for us to put together. The hotel was recently constructed, and it put all of our other West Virginia experiences to shame. The only drawback that we experience was the lack of cellular service and wireless internet. But let’s face it, that’s a first-world problem, and less time on our phones led to more time focusing on each other! This trip, dare I say it, West Virginia was a dream come true. The weather, lodgings, fellowship, and soccer all made it the most perfect road trip of the year.

Victory is Imminent - Before we even played in the first round of the conference tournament, we developed an attitude that we’ve never had before. We had an overwhelming sense of confidence. Not one person on the team even imagined that we would have the possibility of losing. This confidence did not come from cockiness in our abilities or efforts. We simply knew that if everyone was buying in and had just as much confidence as the next teammate, we could not lose.

We awoke on Thursday morning grateful for the blessing of another game, another road trip with the team, another opportunity to encourage teammates to push and give their all on the field for God’s glory alone. As we had done in our previous match-ups, we battled D&E for the full 90 minutes. At the end of regulation time, the score was still tied at 0-0, and we headed into overtime with the knowledge that this game could not end in a tie. There would be a winner and a loser. We had D&E under the gun for the entirety of overtime, and with two minutes left we found the back of the net. The golden goal ended the game and pushed us into the finals. We all gathered as a team and celebrated the victory and looked forward to our final match.

Saturday morning came, and we all headed down to eat breakfast. Time dragged on and on as we waited with so much excitement for when we would finally load the bus and drive down the road to the championship game. We would face Ursuline, a team we had tied twice in the regular season. We arrived, dressed, and were met with a very encouraging fact before we walked out to warm up. As Bri pointed out, our road to the finals was not an easy one. We first played Trevecca, the 2012 G-MAC champions. We then went on to play D&E, the 2013 G-MAC champions. We now were facing Ursuline, the 2014 G-MAC champions. When we heard these facts, it was awesome to see how God was working his plan out for us and our road to victory even four years ago. We were flooded with even more confidence when Coach Mac reminded us that we were all placed on this team and in this game for a reason. "For such a time as this…" We embraced these truths and we stepped out on the field to warm up. We battled scoreless with Ursuline until we were able to put a goal in with 20 seconds left in the half. We fought for the entire second half as Ursuline threw everything they could at us to get a goal. We held strong, and at the end of regulation time, we were declared the 2015 G-MAC Women’s Soccer Champions. This gained us an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II National Tournament, which we will play in this week. As we look on to the tournament, we are not taking on the attitude that we’re just happy to be here. We are continuing training and we are working hard because we are not done yet!

God’s Grace and Blessings - We took time to reflect on the field after the game, and we recalled all that we had been praying for in years past and in this season. We prayed that the Lord would allow us a chance to minister to the teams in our conference. We prayed that God would then allow us to minster to teams outside our conference in the national tournament. We prayed that we would be united as a team and that we would grow together and toward Christ over the season. We were overwhelmingly blessed as we saw just how much God had worked all of those things out in our season, and how he had exceeded all of our expectations with his blessings and grace. One manifestation of God’s grace and love on our team was the encouragement that we received from each other. As we played D&E and Ursuline, we could hardly hear ourselves think as our sideline was constantly screaming out encouragement. Teammates were cheering, dancing, and shouting out instruction as we continued through the game. This is not always the case as many teams that we face begin to be critical and tear each other down in games. The constant encouragement and excitement that was coming from our entire team, regardless of role, is a testament to the grace and love of Jesus. Just like in the body of Christ, we all have a unique role on our team. Each teammate has been able to embrace their role and work in it to the best of their ability throughout this season, and we have been united together through that. Our common cheer, "WE ARE ONE," is more than just a chant. We truly mean it when we say it. We are all part of one family and team, and we are all chasing after the same goal - to glorify God in whatever role he has placed us in.

As we face the excitement of the upcoming week, we are still blown away by the opportunity we now have. On behalf of the entire team, I ask that you would be praying for us as we take the name of Jesus to the national tournament and new teams that we’ll face. We are incredibly humbled and in awe of the way that God has been working through this season, and we look forward to what he will do within the next week!

Until next time.


Nov. 4, 2015

Hello Everyone! I have much to report this week as we faced our buddies from the north, Ursuline, as well as competed in our first G-MAC tournament game! We experienced hurricane conditions, overtime, and sweet victory this week. I am pleased to announce that this is by no means even close to the last blog. I plan to document our success and victories for many more weeks, so get excited, people.

The billionth tie of the year - Unfortunately for us, we are no stranger to ties this year. We have completed four games…440 minutes…that ended in ties. As we geared up to play Ursuline on Tuesday, we had already figured out every possible standing that could’ve come from any result of our game. The stakes were high, because if everything perfectly fell into place, we could’ve been the second seed in the tournament. As always when we play Ursuline, the atmosphere was charged. As Katie put it, "It’s always as epic as a movie and more dramatic than high school girls!" She was right. The rain fell in sheets and the wind blew ferociously as we stepped onto the field. With the slippery conditions, it was well known that anything could happen. Shortly into the game, we had a wonderful ball played across the box to Kaitlyn, who netted it easily. We all celebrated with gusto, and ran back to our half. Then, just like Coach Mac had warned us (countless times, might I add) Ursuline played a short corner that we didn’t recognize in time, and quickly equalized. The score was tied at 1-1, and it would stay that way until the final whistle blew. While ties are frustrating, I have come to view them in a new way this year. Firstly, they have continued to develop the grit and relentlessness that our team fights with. I am proud to say of all of my teammates, we have valiantly fought for all 440 minutes of our ties. The weather can be downright terrible, we can be tired, we can be frustrated with our own play, but each time we have fought to the finish. Many people say, "It would’ve been easy to quit in those circumstances." But the truth is, it isn’t. Quitting, giving up, and throwing in the towel…these things are not an option when we are playing as an act of worship. The Lord Jesus Christ gave himself completely on our behalf. How can we not use the gifts and abilities that he has given us in their full measure as an act of worship and thanksgiving to him!? When we truly search ourselves and analyze the real reasons we play, we find boundless motivation in doing all things heartily, as unto the Lord. Secondly, the ties have allowed our season to be extended. When totaled up, we’ve almost played an entire extra game! Many times as we are headed into overtime, I look at my teammates and we look haggard, run down, and quite frankly out of gas. It is truly a conscious decision every time to sprint after each ball and give it our all. Overtime can be viewed as a torture session. Each touch on the ball could lead to a goal for either your team or the opposition, and the game can end there. Although it might not have seemed so at the time, the Lord has graciously blessed us by allowing all of us 80 extra minutes of doing what we love. 80 extra minutes to encourage teammates. 80 extra minutes to develop and utilize the gifts and talents he has blessed us with. 80 extra minutes to minister to other teams on the field. 80 extra minutes to joyfully worship him through playing soccer. All of the ties, though they aren’t the result we desire and though they take all of our effort and energy, have been one of the biggest blessings that we’ve encountered this year.

A TOURNAMENT VICTORY - With our tie on Tuesday, we found ourselves seeded fourth in the tournament, which allowed us a home game on Saturday! We were to play Trevecca, a team that we tied 1-1 in both games of regular season play. We were confident in our ability to beat them, to finally put them away after drawing with them twice. We began the game, and within the first five minutes, Trevecca scored off of a corner kick. We were down 1-0, and we had a decision to make….to allow their quick goal to tear down our confidence and momentum, or to fight back and leave all that we had on the field. We chose the latter. Just before half, we were able to put in the equalizing goal. We spent our 15 minute half time recuperating from playing into the wind, and we remembered the quote that Hannah Velloney used to encourage us before the game. She told us that Winston Churchill once said, "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." If that quote doesn’t get you going, you’re probably dead. This quote helped us to remember our team goals, to remember that we desire to play every game, whether it is our first or last, for the glory of God. We came out in the second half, and Grace quickly placed a perfect ball inside the back post to put us up 2-1. We then continued to fight for the rest of the game and we held on to our lead. As the whistle blew, we all celebrated the victory that God allowed us on that day. We were able to put away a very good team. We were able to come together as a team and come back from being down one goal. The seniors were able to finish our last game on our home field in victory. Grace and Kaleigh we able to play in the game, which we didn’t expect. As we continued to reflect, the blessings just piled up, as they have all season.

With this victory, we now find ourselves headed into the semifinal game on Thursday at 11 a.m. versus Davis & Elkins. This may be the only time that we are all psyched to go to West Virginia. When we win on Thursday (confidence is key, folks) we will play in the finals on Saturday. We hope to see you all at our games!

Until next time.


Oct. 26, 2015

Hi everyone!

We’ve had a bit of an interesting week here at Cedarville. We were finally back home after a long bout of away trips. We played Salem International and Ohio Valley, and Saturday was Senior Day! The past week didn’t just hold games, but also fitness test, hurricane conditions, and a hilarious name mix up.

Fitness: We started off the year with running our mile and a half fitness assessment every other Monday. This may seem like a small thing to most people, but as I mentioned in a previous blog, it is in fact a big deal. For some reason, these fitness tests really rain on our parade. We thought (again) that we were finished with them after one particularly nasty mile and a half day when around half the team couldn’t finish practice. However, we were shocked again when they made a comeback and we ran cones this week. To save whatever face I have left, I will no longer, ever, under any circumstance claim that I have run my last fitness test….but a girl can hope.

Liz!!!: That very next day, we found out that we had a new teammate! For an entire practice, Coach mistakenly called Liv (Olivia) by the name of Liz. This has some hilarious irony involved, so bear with me as I explain. As all former and current soccer players know, Coach has an impeccable memory. Before practice started on that day, we had a former player come and visit. We all listened as Coach Mac recalled her playing days and even remembered two very specific goals that she had scored in her career. Promptly after remembering these obscure facts that the player didn’t even remember herself, Coach went on to call Olivia by the wrong name all practice. We all laughed and enjoyed it each time that he said it, and we now bring it up at every opportunity. However, we are also cutting Coach some slack as he has coached for over 40 years and he’s allowed to make one mistake per year.

Weather: The weather this year has been absolutely impeccable. In years past, by this point in the season, we’ve usually had at least two games with 40 degree weather and potential snow. The fall has seemed to last forever. We’ve had many beautiful practices and games in 70 degree weather. Combine the mild temperatures, the combining of the corn field right next to our practice field, the scent of manure all over campus, and you have the quintessential fall Ohio day. Unfortunately for us, and all of the lovely people that attended our game Saturday, the weather took a turn for the worse. We experienced gale force winds and rain that lashed at our faces. To borrow words from Forrest Gump, "We been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stinging rain... and big ol' fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath." This was too true on Saturday, and many of our fans were soaked to the bone after our game. Thank you to all of our not so fair weather fans for sticking it out!

Posters: To honor the seniors, the underclassmen divided themselves up and made each senior a special poster that was hung on the wall outside our locker room in Callan. These posters were and still are on display for all to see. Of special mention is the poster made for Sara Rogers. This poster points out some of the best facts that many of you folks don’t know about her. First, she is addicted to Diet Coke. She once tried to quit, and then quickly relapsed into a delicious aspartame induced coma. Second, she is the people’s captain. This is a special title she has dubbed herself, and believe me, she’s earned it. She freely voices the opinions that the majority of the players hold, but are reluctant to say themselves. This could be likened to a secret union within the team body, of which she is the president. Lastly, while Sara is a total babe in real life, there was once caught on film, a very unfortunate picture of her playing in a soccer game. This picture was placed behind flap on her poster for all to see. Due to the sensitivity of the picture, the flap has now been duct-taped down. Don’t even think about trying to get that picture….but you could bribe any of the other 25 players on the team with food, and we would gladly give it to you.
 

Senior Day: This past Saturday was made incredibly special not only by our teammates who took the time to decorate and tell us how much they love us, but also by all of the parents that came to support us. On behalf of all of the seniors, I would like to thank our parents for all of the love and the support that you’ve shown us over the years. You’ve driven us to countless soccer games and practices, you’ve tied our cleats and helped us tuck in our shirts when we were just starting out, you’ve dried our tears when we suffered defeat, and you’ve celebrated with us in our team successes. You are our biggest fans, and without your investment in our lives, we wouldn’t be the soccer players, and more importantly, the young women that we are today. Thank you parents, we truly love you.

We begin this week with our last regular season game on Tuesday. We will play Ursuline at 5:30 p.m. on our home field. The outcome of this game will determine where we are seeded and when we will play in the tournament, so check on our site to see all of the tournament information! We would love to have your support, but if not, please watch on the live stream!

Until next time.



Oct. 19, 2015

Hi everyone! I am writing this blog as I am recovering from a wonderful Thursday to Saturday Fall Break soccer road trip. As we’ve pulled into the Callan Athletic Center circle after the past couple of road trips I’ve found myself saying, "I’ve had all the fun one human being can stand." We returned home in the wee hours of Sunday morning, and my common phrase couldn’t have been truer. One fact that I’ve been avoiding like the plague is that regular season play is winding down. This past trip was our last regular season road trip, and there was so much packed into those three days. To spare you reading for hours, I’ll just hit on our usual topics.

The Soccer: We first traveled to Kentucky Wesleyan to face off with the Panthers in a game under the lights. We weren’t playing on their lovely Bermuda grass field…instead we were playing on their turf field that was balder than Mr. Clean’s head. The ratio of turf beads to fake grass was 10:1. We also spent about 15 minutes trying to actually get into the stadium to watch the men’s game. When we finally got in, the boys immediately scored twice. Then, after going to the locker room, dressing, and coming back out, the boys immediately scored twice more. We credited ourselves with four assists. We warmed up and began our own game. We stayed scoreless until half and then the Panthers found the back of the net shortly after play resumed. Try as we might, we could not put in the equalizer, and KWC sealed the deal with a PK to end the game 2-0.

Our fight with Trevecca was a bit of a déjà vu moment as we did exactly what we did the last time we played them. Trevecca scored about half way through the first half to which we had a fantastic answer. Steph played an awesome cross to Jacoby who managed to head the ball past the keeper to bring the score to 1-1. We finished the first half…and then finished the second half….and then finished the first overtime….and then finished the second overtime….without a score. Though we controlled overtime and peppered them with many good shots, we were unable to put one in the back of the net and finished the 110 minutes in a tie.

The Food: As you know, we all LOVE our food. We had some delicious food moments on this trip. One teammate even claimed that we had the best meal we’d ever eaten. This best meal was eaten at Moonlite Barbecue, which is apparently THE place to go in Owensboro, Kentucky. We found out why. There was barbecue pork, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, fried shrimp and fish, salad, soup, corn bread and rolls! Then there was also dessert…cherry cobbler, peach cobbler, vanilla ice cream, and bread pudding! We ate potentially unlawful amounts. You might think that after eating all of that for lunch, we would be good for the rest of the day. Apparently you’ve never read a previous blog….you are wrong. We spent the afternoon shopping and getting our appetites back. We all sat down for a wonderful Tex Mex meal at Chili’s in which we ate steaks, fajitas, grilled chicken, queso, and as much guacamole as we could handle. We rounded out the wonderful food stops with Cracker Barrel for a pre-game breakfast to beat all previous pre-game breakfasts. Hot cakes, eggs, bacon, grits, biscuits, jams, hash brown casserole, and stewed apples! Per usual we feasted for the entire weekend and then later speculated that we all gained about 30 pounds on the trip. If we did in fact gain weight, it was definitely worth it.

The Travel Fiascos: Last year on our trip to Kentucky and Tennessee, we made the unfortunate mistake of using the bathroom on the bus….and leaving the door open overnight. To spare you many gory details, I shall only say this - the bus smelled like a litter box used by 10,000 cats and cleaned only once a year. This year, after staying the night on Friday, we boarded the bus to go to our game at Trevecca Saturday morning. As we stepped foot on the first stair, a violent assault on our nasal passages ensued. Breakfasts threatened to make reappearances. It smelled like a dead animal had been decomposing in one of the overhead compartments for years. We checked the usual suspects. The bathroom smelled fine. The trash bag in the front smelled fine. We could not determine where the deathly smell was coming from, we just knew it was awful. As we all sat imagining death by asphyxiation, our very own Taylor Wilcox came to the rescue. She produced from her bag a bottle of essential oil that she dabbed on each of our shirt necks. Our noses were then filled with the wonderful scent of Christmas spices. We were able to breathe again, and the stench was dulled enough to survive the rest of the trip. As we arrived home on Sunday morning, Chandra and I made a shocking discovery. As Jacoby grabbed our laundry bag containing our uniforms from Thursday night from under the bus and wheeled it past, we almost fainted from the green cloud that surrounded us. The stench was not unlike the one that filled the entire bus the day before. It was then that we realized that we were choking on the fumes from our own sweaty laundry. Disgusting, but hilariously true. We send our condolences to the person that has to wash our clothing. You’re the real MVP.
 

The Fellowship: One of our main excitements from this trip was an opportunity to spend time with Kentucky Wesleyan! As I mentioned in a previous blog, when they traveled to play us at Cedarville, one girl on their team took the time to write us an encouraging and heartfelt note. This note led to the planning of a co-team lunch and devotional time together. We spent Friday afternoon bonding over something that all soccer girls love - food. We also got a chance to just get to know the girls that we are constantly battling on the soccer field. Sometimes in competition we can start to see our opponents as enemies that need to be vanquished. Our time together was a break from the competition and typical setting. We were able to reflect on the common love of soccer that we share, and even deeper, the common love of Jesus. It was a wonderful time of fellowship. We were able to share how God was working on our teams and campuses, and even in the G-MAC. I know I can speak for our entire team when I say that it was such an encouragement to see the way that God has been working through both of our teams. Even though we don’t always immediately see what He is doing, He is faithful and uses our efforts to bring glory to His name, and for that we are so grateful! Shout out to the Panthers for being so generous in taking us out to lunch. We truly appreciate your willingness to reach out and deepen the connections between our teams, and we look forward to more times together in the future.

After the long stint of away trips, we are finally back home this week! We play Salem International on Thursday and then Ohio Valley on Saturday for Senior Day! Both games will be played at 4:30 p.m. at Cedarville. Live stream and stats will be available on our website, but as always, we hope to see you there!

Until next time.


Oct. 14, 2015

Hello everybody! I am very pleased to inform you that your CUWS team has made it back from West Virginia in one piece! With three games in one week, we didn’t quite know if we’d make it home…but we did…with a host of fun memories coming with us.

"CHILL OUT DANIELLE!"

We took our final trip in the vans on Tuesday (PTL) when we traveled to West Virginia to face off with Salem International. We knew that Salem was going to have a small roster made up of many girls who didn’t actually play soccer. We came into the game with the mind set that we would focus on our style of play and play quickly regardless of the pressure we were under. We were able to find the back of the net early in the game. A few exciting things happened while we played. First, Jacoby scored twice which pushed her ahead to be the all-time leader in goals scored in CUWS history. Next, our beloved Puth (Susanna) Matthew was able to step onto the field again for the first time since preseason. I know I can speak for all of the team when I say that we are so excited to have her back in action! Lastly, after Dani put a great goal into the back of the net late in the game, a disgruntled Salem fan called out from the bleachers, "CHILL OUT DANIELLE," which will now forever be a catchphrase for our team. We left Salem with a 13-0 victory, and traveled back to Cedarville.

"My husband thinks so, too."

We traveled BACK to West Virginia on Thursday to play Davis & Elkins. After a very frustrating loss the last time, we were eager to give our best in this match up. We played on their absolutely gorgeous turf soccer field that sits amongst the tree covered hills. This picturesque fall background and sunny day provided the scenery for our competition. Unfortunately for us, the game did not match the beauty of the surroundings. We had a lot of unforced turnovers, and just before the half D&E scored to go up 1-0. We regrouped at halftime and refocused on how we wanted to play our game. Try as we might, we were unable to answer D&E’s goal and fell to a 1-0 loss. We walked back up the hill to shower and grab our ice bags. Just when we thought nothing could help our poor moods from the loss, a moment of glory occurred. A direct quote from Grace follows. "Becca was putting ice on my ankle while carrying on a conversation with these boys. And these boys were, you know, they…they had an eye on her. You could tell, definitely. So they finished the conversation and the one kid goes, ‘Wow, you have a really beautiful smile.’ And then Becca said, ‘My husband thinks so, too.’ And that was the end of that." Becca is our lovely athletic trainer, and in this poor guy’s defense, she does have a gorgeous smile. However, our sympathy only goes so far because she also has a giant, gorgeous rock on her left hand…do your homework kid. This moment was shared with the whole team over the charter bus microphone, and it was enough to raise our spirits considerably.

"THE BALL NEVER LIES!"

After a night in our hotel, we traveled to Alderson Broaddus to play in potentially the best weather ever. It was a lovely, cool, breezy day with plenty of sunshine. We spent some time outside before our game because we arrived so early, and we were grateful for the time off of the charter bus to relax and stretch our legs. We have always had tough games against the Battlers, and we expected no less from this match up. We began our game and played a gritty first half. Though we had some good opportunities, we were unable to finish and therefore our game remained scoreless at the half. We started the second half with renewed vigor. We then got the ball inside the box and Jacoby and a defender got into quite a squabble in which the defender laid on the ground with the ball between her legs. This is obviously illegal, and should’ve been called for dangerous play against the defense…but it wasn’t. Jacoby gave her best effort to get the ball out, and the ball was finally cleared from the tangle of legs to our player. The ball was then played across the box to Olivia Moore who fired a shot right past the keeper into the far post. If you haven’t watched this goal yet, please do yourself a favor and go view it now. It was truly something amazing. At this point in time, I and other teammates proceeded to scream at the top of our lungs, "THE BALL NEVER LIES!" This is a lovely phrase that means whatever malicious scheme the defense employs, whatever obvious call the ref fails to make, the ball will tell the truth. We found the back of the net again later in the game to go up 2-0, and we ended the game and our road trip on a high note.

"The comradery, the fellowship, the sisterhood."

While we had many fun soccer moments on this road trip, we also had many opportunities to deepen our friendships with one another. We spent time in the pool swimming, trying the dirty dancing fancy lift, and distracting our other responsible teammates from doing homework. We watched UFC and ate buffalo chicken dip until it came out of our eyes. We had many sing-alongs in the back of the bus that complemented the already carsick feelings we experienced driving on the hills. We snuggled and piled more teammates than suggested into our hotel beds to cuddle and talk. We spent one evening worshiping and thanking God for the blessing it is to be a part of not just a soccer team, but a sisterhood in which we are constantly loved and encouraged. We experienced rooftop adventures that may or may not have been authorized. As a former, older, wiser teammate told me at the beginning of the year, when I look back on my college career, I won’t remember the scores of the games that I played. Instead, I will remember these little moments that I got to spend with my 25 best friends. She is right, and I cherish each teammate and each second I get to spend with them.

We have another road trip to look forward to this week as we travel to Owensboro, Kentucky and Nashville, Tennessee to play Kentucky Wesleyan (Thursday) and Trevecca (Saturday). Check out the live stats and/or video from our Yellow Jacket website and make sure to check back next week to hear about many more fun memories and adventures.

Until next time.


Oct. 6, 2015

Hi everybody! Your CUWS team has made it through another week of soccer, and I am excited to report to you all of the crazy and typical events that happened. While many things happened to us this past week, I believe they can be split into two groups: the unanticipated, and the classic.

We all met in front of our three twelve passenger vans on Thursday morning at 10:00 AM. We loaded up our things, prayed for safety, and piled in the vans to travel to Pepper Pike, Ohio to face off with Ursuline. At this point in time, everything was going to plan. We left early enough that if our van were to break down, our team could literally come together, build a new one, and still get to Ursuline on time. Classic. As I sat in the front seat of coach’s van we discussed the best route to get to our destination. We debated the pros and cons of getting on 70 and connecting with 71 verses just getting on 71 right away. Coach decided the former and we pulled onto 70. The first few minutes of the trip were great. In our van, Coach joined in and sang along to The Beach Boys, Bri’s van was filled with the beautiful sound of T-Swift, and Becca’s van was bringing up the rear. About ten minutes later, our excitement was destroyed. We hit a 5-7 mile long line of traffic. This is an important time to mention that about 50% of our soccer team gets carsick in the best of circumstances. We then spent the next hour stop-starting and crawling toward our destination. Unanticipated. Teammates were threatening to vomit, bladders were close to bursting, and we seemed to be going nowhere. After about the 83rd minute of sitting in the traffic jam, we had to pull over on the shoulder for coach to hop the barbed wire fence because….nature called. We saw his head disappear down into the ravine, and when he returned, it was no longer coach, but Jeff Gordon. At this point in time, any law enforcement officials should quit reading. Parents, maybe you should too. I won’t say how exactly, but Jeff Gordon led the charge and we proceed to pass all lines of traffic and jump to the front of the jam. We waved at all the people as we blew by to our exit and freedom. We flew down the exit and rushed to Steak ‘n Shake because the rest of us also drank coffee and were hydrating for the upcoming game. After a short bathroom break, we traveled to BP to reconvene and formulate some sort of a plan. We had lost about an hour and a half while sitting in traffic, we still hadn’t eaten lunch, and the game couldn’t be moved too far back because Ursuline doesn’t have lights. We finally pulled out with the Mahek residence as our destination. We arrived there, ate some of the most delicious pregame meal ever, and ran back to our vans. We unfortunately could not stay and visit due to all the time lost in the traffic jam. On behalf of the CUWS team, I would like to thank the Maheks for the wonderful hospitality and impeccable cooking skills. Our hearts and our bellies were full. We drove for about another hour and pulled into Ursuline on two wheels…literally. We dressed and warmed up at top speed and then began playing.

We fought tooth and nail the first half and came out scoreless. Then, in the second half, Grace put in a lovely goal off of a free kick to put us up 1-0. Unfortunately for us, with about 12 minutes left in the second half, Ursuline answered with a clearance/deflection/barely trickled into the back post goal. We completed regulation and then began overtime where we had opportunities but could not put them away. We played all 110 minutes and ended in a tie. We then showered and loaded in the vans for the ride home. All was going well until we got back on 70 and hit yet ANOTHER traffic jam. At this point, we all laughed because in these situations, that’s just what you have to do. We made it through the traffic and arrived back at school two hours later than we expected. All in all, it was an eventful trip full of unanticipated excitements.

We completed a light recovery practice on Friday and got psyched up for our game against Rio on Saturday. This was a special weekend at Cedarville because it was Homecoming! Many alumni come back to campus to remember their glory days and see how the campus they love has changed. Classically, Cedarville weather pulled out all the stops and gave us a mid-50’s, drizzling rain, howling wind kind of day. I truly believe that this weather was brought about just to remind all alumni of their days at school….to remind them what they are missing 9/12 months of the year. I cannot complain one bit about the weather this week because it brought about my favorite time of the year - puffy coat season. We received our puffy coats on Wednesday night and we are totally jazzed to participate in puffy coat hugs for the rest of the year. We donned our rain gear and Under Armour and prepared for a cold, wet, and slippery game. We fought through the inclement conditions and played to a 5-0 victory.

We move into a busy week with games on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Fortunately for us, all of these games are in our favorite state…West Virginia! We are sure that with two separate trips to that fabulous state and one overnight bout, there will be nothing crazy to report next week, as West Virginia is always a predictable place where nothing eventful happens. We play Salem, Davis & Elkins, and Alderson Broaddus. Check back next week to see how those games turned out.

Until next time.


Sept. 30, 2015

Hey everyone! I am prepared to report another exciting week for the CUWS team. Plenty of interesting things happened to us this week. Unfortunately, most of these things are not quite related. So, to save you from reading many sad transitions that don’t really fit, I will simply list all of these things and then give you the play by play.

1. The flu - Ask anyone on our team and they will surely tell you that this person is of the utmost importance. If this person is unable to attend practice or a game, it is likely that fiasco of epic proportions will ensue. This person is none other than Bri Barnes, our beloved assistant coach. While we know that we are in very capable hands with Coach Mac, it has been said by the man himself that Bri has saved his life. Sadly for us, and even sadder for her, Bri fell to the flu this past week. While Bri was at home, sick in bed, we all despaired as we walked to practice on Wednesday evening. We felt a surge of hope when we found out she was coming to our game, but poor Bri was too weak to even yell. This could potentially be the reason for our 1-1 double overtime draw against Trevecca. Flu symptoms lingered on through Friday and Bri was found sitting in the bleachers on the sideline, sipping Pedialyte through a bendy straw. Finally, on Saturday, Bri was back to her normal strength and the entire team rejoiced as she came out to our game ready to cheer us on and instruct us as usual.

2. Hannah Velloney strikes again - A lovelier or more even tempered girl one cannot find. Our Hannah Velloney is a gal with unmatched class. She leads our pump-up routine before every game, and she does a flawless job. This Thursday, she shocked the team when she added a little bit of flare. As we began to pound on the lockers, Hannah picked up the team laundry bin and slammed it down on the floor as if she was throwing down the gauntlet. This little act surprised even herself (much like the most glorious moment of the spring Lip Sync Battle 2015). Her shocked face at her own audacity caused the whole team to laugh and pound the lockers even harder. When Hannah Velloney gets crazy, the rest of the team can’t help but follow suit.

3. The "Scoring Jamboree" - Our wonderful athletic department dubbed the first half of our match up with the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers an onslaught. We scored six goals within less than 13 minutes, and eventually put another in the net in the second half for a 7-0 victory. This marvelous win caused us to take time to reflect on our individual and team goal celebrations. These will be listed in the order of increasing intensity. We have a few girls who aren’t new to scoring goals. Jacoby prefers the more relaxed celebration including but not limited to a nonchalant jog back to the center circle with high fives to teammates because, let’s face it, she’s done it before, she’ll do it again, and we love that fact. Grace gets a little more excited with her spin-around and scream combo in which she flexes her arm and neck muscles and practically rips out of her jersey. Moving up the scale, we come to Olivia who actually fires shots into the crowd with her "handguns" after her laser beam shots. Shortly after her we find Alyssa who does a tuck jump and brings her feet amazingly around five feet off the ground. Next, we find Kaleigh, who after scoring her first CUWS goal, proceeded to complete an imaginary double-dutch jump rope routine that had all of us laughing for the next ten minutes. It was truly quite impressive. Finally, on the enthusiasm scale we find our very own Katie Wormald at the top. Katie’s enthusiasm is unmatched on our team. When anyone does anything that is good, Katie can be seen fist-pumping and screaming her head off because she is that excited for her teammates. We love the excitement she finds in moments others would commonly overlook or find insignificant. We can always count on her to be totally jazzed.

4. The unexpected encouragement - Because we view soccer as our ministry, we write notes to players on the teams we face to encourage and share our passion for Jesus with them. We don’t always see immediate results or know how our notes are working, but we trust that the Lord is using our notes to bring himself glory. This week, we were surprised when a player from Kentucky Wesleyan wrote us a note! After the game we gathered around as the note was read aloud. Our hearts were encouraged and excited as the player relayed how much the notes we write mean to her and her team. We rejoiced as we saw God’s hand at work through us, and we are looking forward to opportunities to connect and worship the Lord together with our sisters in Christ on other teams!

This week we travel to Pepper Pike to play Ursuline on Thursday in a continuation of G-MAC action. We look forward to the stiff competition that we always find with this fierce competitor. Then, we DO in fact have a game this Saturday against Rio Grande. Contrary to popular belief, we won’t be skipping our game to attend the tailgate and satiate our perpetual ravenous bellies. We’ll play and then eat. After this weekend, we go on a five-game away streak, so be sure to come and see us for Homecoming on Saturday! If you’re unable to be here, check out the live stream and live stats!

Until next time.


Sept. 22, 2015

Hello Everyone!

It’s hard to believe, but we have wrapped up another full week of practices and games and are headed into the next. We faced off with Alderson Broaddus and Davis & Elkins and this could be wrapped up into a phrase, or perhaps a title - A Tale of Two Games.

Alderson Broaddus: After a challenging Monday practice followed by a "we’re beat up" Tuesday practice followed by a "we’re finally getting our legs back" Wednesday practice, we were quite excited for our game on Thursday. When we warmed up, it seemed as if "we were stallions." (Stallion descriptor provided by Jacoby) Not only did we feel awesome, we were playing on our impeccable field under the lights. We came into the game knowing that it was probably going to be a dog fight. Beating the Battlers is always a challenge, and we’ve commonly come away with only a one or two goal victory. This game was different. We scored in the first five minutes of BOTH halves. Our midfield ran a passing clinic, and we absolutely imposed our will upon them. We scored four smashing goals, and ended the goals with a PK. If a person was watching the game from the stands, it might have looked like we all had a gold glow to us. Everything just seemed to go right. We played sharp, and we got the results.

Davis & Elkins: After a light recovery practice on Friday, we awakened on Saturday to the threat of rain and thunderstorms. This turned out to be more ominous than realized at the time. We walked out to the game in a chilly breeze and mist. Warm up went well, and the weather actually cleared up to blue skies and sunshine before the beginning whistle blew! We almost met our goal of scoring in the first five minutes with a goal off a Kaleigh Rowlands corner kick seven minutes into the game. We led 1-0 and we were pumped. However, not long after this, after many warnings that they play ‘direct’, we fell to a long ball combination goal. This style of offense is the type to make a defense want to conduct their own root canals. When a defense hears the word ‘direct’ it is something like a death sentence. You immediately know that you will be doing a lot of dropping in, and if you don’t drop fast enough, you better have a nos tank hidden on your person so you can have the extra burst of speed to run the opposing forward down. After the tying goal, we put two shots off the cross bar in a frustrating first half. In the second half, D&E got a Christmas Miracle PK call off of a "hand ball" that MAY or may not have been fraudulent. After putting the shot away, the Senators wittingly decided to "pack it in the back" and managed to fit all but two players inside the 18. This, unfortunately, put a damper on our possession and through-ball game. We were unable to score, and to add insult to injury we out shot them 9-2 in the second half. Time eventually ran out and we lost 2-1. Though this is an irritating loss, we look forward to our trip to West Virginia…(Did I actually just say that? Please take me to the hospital. I fear I am deathly ill.)…where we will face off with them again in what I imagine will be the showdown of the century.

Perhaps due to fear from my last blog, we received no treats this week. One teammate alleges that it is due to this treatlessness that we lost on Saturday. I’m not saying this theory is 100% verifiably true, but if it is….do you really want that one on your shoulders? All kidding aside, while this week didn’t turn out in exactly the way we wanted it, I was encouraged to see my teammates giving full effort for every second of each game. We know that while we strive for victory, our ultimate goal is to play for the Lord, to use the talents he has blessed us with to their full potential, and to trust him with the results of our games.

We continue G-MAC action this week with home games against Trevecca and Kentucky Wesleyan on Thursday and Saturday. We look forward to the stiff competition that this week will bring, and we’re eager to get back on the field and to continue our pursuit of glorifying God as a team.

Until next time.


Sept. 15, 2015

Hello everyone! In case you haven’t heard, your Lady Jacket soccer team has been traveling this past week. We were on the road from Thursday to Saturday, and these were road trips to remember.

Trip 1- Ohio Valley: We left for West Virginia on Thursday morning at 7 a.m. We loaded into three separate vehicles and pulled out with a special guest in tow. Dr. Geist, our Cedarville University Athletic Director, was along for the trip. This is a unique circumstance because not many athletic directors take the time to travel with each team during their season. Dr. Geist takes a road trip with each team to spend time getting to know his athletes and their coaches. The last time he traveled with us, we won in the last seconds of double overtime against Findlay. However, we were hopeful for a better win this time. Luckily for him, Dr. Geist took his seat in the party van, in which 10 of our players sang and danced for the entire trip. A party van member told me that it all started with the ceiling being high…there was plenty of room to throw your arms around and dance wildly. We stopped off for our pre-game breakfast at Bob Evan’s where Coach Mac ("I don’t need powdered sugar on my pancakes, I’m sweet enough already." *wink*) led the charge and scarfed down three of the biggest pancakes I’ve ever seen. Our delicious breakfast powered us through our game against Ohio Valley and we came out on top 8-1. Shout out to Steph’s parents for being our one and only fans at the game! We love the dedication! After the game Dr. Geist generously took our team to Logan’s Roadhouse for what was potentially the best post-game meal in CUWS history. As we got off the bus, everyone was required (by me) to strut down the sidewalk to earn their steak. It looked like an episode of America’s Next Top Model, sweat pants edition. Struts were so good we not only earned steak but unlimited rolls, baby back ribs, and any cut of meat desired. We replaced all of the calories we burned (plus about 500 extra) and rode with happy bellies all the way home. On behalf of CUWS, I would like to thank Dr. Geist for supporting us on our road trip, taking the time to get to know us as a team, and lavishly blessing us with a fantastic dinner. For this road trip, you’re the real MVP.

Trip 2 - Roberts Wesleyan: After a quick practice and dinner on Friday, we departed for Erie, Pennsylvania around 6:30 p.m. We had a four hour ride ahead of us, and we had plenty of activities to choose from. For the vocally inclined, there was a T Swift sing along/ dance party in the back. For those poor unfortunate souls that had to do homework, there was Wi-Fi to tap into. For the hyper competitive type, there was a euchre tournament. Our trip literally started off with a bang as one disgruntled teammate tried to bludgeon me in the head with my own cell phone after losing a game of euchre (video evidence upon request). Thankfully, I was able to fend off the attack, and Bri and I continued on to win the tournament. Our activities carried us all the way to our destination, and the rain lashed at the windows as we pulled into our lovely hotel and disembarked from the bus. Once inside, we got our room assignments and tucked ourselves in to sleep for the night. On Saturday morning we reloaded onto the bus and left at 7:15 a.m. for the second half of our trip. Once again, we breakfasted at Bob Evans and enjoyed a delectable meal. We arrived at Roberts Wesleyan and stepped out onto the field for what turned out to be my favorite game thus far in my college career. At this point in time, I am speaking to the parents. So far, this season could be likened to a young girl (maybe your daughter) growing up. I can personally attest to the fact that when a young lady grows, body control can go out the window. What is left is an awkward girl-woman whose athletic ability has yet to grow into its adult stages. Athletically, it’s a disaster, and can be hard to watch. Some moments are fantastic, and sometimes she trips herself running down the field. Then, one day, everything clicks. This gangly girl that would trip over the ball now looks like a gazelle out on the field. She is an athlete, and she is fast and strong. In this season so far, we have had our moments of beautiful soccer coupled with moments of…not so beautiful soccer. Then, on Saturday, everything clicked. We possessed the ball, we finished shots, we defended collectively, and we won as a team. It was an incredible game to be a part of, and we came out on top 4-1 against a fantastic opponent. Looking back after the game, it is so easy to see how God’s hand orchestrated the whole thing. After about 24 solid hours of rain, we had warm up and the entire game rain free which allowed two of our defenders to be able to play. Praise Jesus! The field condition was also fantastic for having been rained on for so long, and it didn’t hinder our ability to play. Praise Jesus! We truly celebrated with each other when we succeeded and attitudes were joyful. Praise Jesus! Our excitement and energy levels were through the roof, which isn’t easy after a long bus trip. Praise Jesus! We were able to play a non-conference team and share our faith. Praise Jesus! These are just a few examples of how much God worked through this weekend trip on our team, and we are excited to give all the glory to Him. He provided and He deserves all of the praise!

Now people, I realize that I devote about 79% of each blog to writing about the food we consume. You may now have the idea that we don’t even play soccer, but we are actually a traveling group of competitive eaters. Freshmen parents might even be scheduling appointments with dietitians for their daughters over Christmas break. Rest assured, we do play soccer, and we do run enough to burn off those delicious calories. Please bear with me as I attempt to convey our after-game smorgasbord. After a smashing victory, it seems that it can’t really get any better. Let me tell you folks, it can. It started with the announcement that we were no longer going to Subway for post-game meal…we were now going to Panera. It continued as we showered and boarded the bus to find the mother lode of sweets. I am not exaggerating when I say that we probably consumed around 400 calories each before we even entered the Panera parking lot. We had so much food we didn’t even have room to sit! There was concern for the entirety of our team developing diabetes on the eight-hour ride home. It is a miracle that our pancreases didn’t shut down and fall out after the copious amounts of insulin secreted. Your daughter may even have false teeth the next time you see her due to the 32 cavities that dissolved her teeth down to the roots. Red velvet whoopee pies, chocolate chip cookie dough brownies, s’more bites, apple cider donuts, cheesecake filled cupcakes, apples (from the big apple), Hershey’s candy bars, Oreos, Nutter Butters, Take 5’s, Scooby Snacks, granola bars, I COULD GO ON. As if the snacks weren’t enough, we spent the bus ride watching the Princess Diaries 1 and 2, and wrapped the trip up with Ever After. We arrived back at Cedarville, praised God for his abundant provision, and departed for bed. It was truly a road trip for the CUWS history books.

We continue our season this week at home with G-MAC action against Alderson Broaddus and Davis & Elkins on Thursday and Saturday respectively. We greatly appreciate all of the support, snacks, and love you have shown us this past week, and we hope to see you all at our games! If you can’t make it, check out the live feed and live stats provided by our SID department.

Until next time.


Sept. 8, 2015

Hi everybody! It has been an exciting and eventful week for CUWS. This week held our home opener, a double overtime game, the camp out, and many things in between. Immediately after submitting last week’s blog on Monday, in the greatest moment of irony, the entire team received an email from Coach Mac stating that we would be running our mile and a half fitness test at the start of practice. (Please see the last blog if you don’t understand why this is ironic.) As always, we were assured that this was in no way intended to punish us, but to assess whether practice was intense enough to keep our fitness levels up. After much hydrating, self-pep talks, prayers for the rapture or at least a thunder storm, and even a few tears, we found ourselves down on the track at the start of practice…wearing our running shoes and not our cleats. We passed the fitness assessment with flying colors and then proceeded up the hill to lace up the boots and play. Unfortunately for us, the prayers for a thunder storm worked, albeit a little late, and they were also a little too powerful and effective for our liking. We were stormed out of practice Monday night and then again on Tuesday night, leaving us with only one complete practice on Wednesday night to prepare for our home opener against Urbana.

Pregame jitters abounded on Thursday as we had an entire day of classes to complete before our 7 pm game. ("How am I supposed to focus in class when I’m so excited!?….I am stoked out of my mind!….I’ve drank so much water today that I’m peeing every twenty minutes.") The hours dragged by until we finally found ourselves walking out on the field to our bangin’ warm up CD made by our very own Kylie Faxon. We easy handled the Blue Knights of Urbana and ended the game with a 5-0 victory. Everyone shined on the field as we put what we’ve been practicing into action. A big congratulations goes to Hanna Harris for becoming Cedarville’s all-time leader in shutouts with 17 career shutouts. We expect that number to go through the roof this year.

On Saturday we faced off with West Virginia Wesleyan at 2 pm. I mention this time because I would like everyone to understand that after a week of storms and rain, we had the sun beating down from above for the hottest game on record. The wind that typically threatens to blow students into the lake seemed to have taken the day off. The air was stagnant and thick with humidity. We had a good idea of what WVW would be like after our trip to their field last year. (After battling through lightning delays we were 7 minutes short of a NCAA regulation victory, and we went home with no result score-wise.) We psyched up for a physical game and stepped out onto the pitch. We fought fiercely for 90 minutes with no score and proceeded into overtime. Unfortunately, in double overtime WVW scored and ended the game, beating us 1-0. Because we are competitors, this loss cuts deeply and we do not accept it; we will continually strive to improve. However, after our game Sara Rogers reminded us that before we are competitors we are Christ followers. Because we are Christ followers, we still have hope and something greater to find our satisfaction in no matter what losses we face in our lives.
 

Our week wrapped up with the annual camp out. We all traveled to my house wearing our stretchy pants in preparation for my mother’s delicious cooking. I must say that she truly knocked our socks off with the spread of food. Thoughts of dieting were obliterated and calorie allotments were destroyed. We feasted on brats, mac and cheese, cheesy potatoes, cookies, brownies, and s’mores. (If your mouth isn’t watering, you’re dead.) After eating we played our annual adverb game and were blessed by Sus, Katie, and Alyssa as they led us in worship and even shared songs they had written themselves. We eventually retired to our tent and succumbed to the sleepiness that a good meal and plenty of fun can induce.

All in all we had a fantastic week doing what we love, with the people we love, for the God we love. We look forward with eager anticipation as we continue our season this week on the road. We open up conference action against Ohio Valley on Thursday in West Virginia and we also play on Saturday in Rochester, New York against Roberts Wesleyan. We hope to see you there, and if not, check out the live stats and (hopefully) live stream link on our website.

Until next time.


Sept. 1, 2015

Hi everyone! My name is Carly Gregory and I am a senior athletic training major from Springfield, Ohio. It is my pleasure to be writing the blog this year and attempting to convey what it is really like to be a part of the Cedarville University women’s soccer team.

We all arrived on campus and started the fun off with our annual cookout at Coach Mac and Bonnie’s house on August 12. The food was delicious and team bonding began as the freshmean strutted down the runway (Coach’s sunroom), talked into a microphone (a TV remote), and told us about themselves. We celebrated summer victories (#hannagotabae) and caught each other up on all of the life events that happened in the forever-long three months we were apart.

The very next day we had CUWS Christmas - an exciting time when we get to check out and try on all of our new gear. Bri really brought the house down this year and our reservations about switching to Under Armour were blown away as soon as we pulled on our new sweat pants and hoodie combination. I would like to take a second to give her a personal thank you on behalf of all of the tall people on the team (myself and Chandra)…everything fits in the length department; it is a miracle.

For the following week we knew little but soccer practice, sleeping, and eating. We completed all of our fitness testing and the seniors got together for a group cry sesh because we were distraught to be done with them. (HA.) On Sunday we surprised Coach Mac and Roper at church and sat together as a big family before returning to Cedarville to rally the troops and depart for a clinic. After we pulled out, we quickly discovered that something was wrong with our beloved athletic bus. Although Coach Mac "had the pedal on the floor" we were unfortunately only going 60 mph. Thankfully, this did not hold us back, and Coach valiantly continued to stomp on the accelerator until we arrived safely. We had an absolute blast while we ran the camp with the men’s team and wrapped the evening up with a fantastic skit and interview to convey the Gospel to the children.

Finally, we reached our first GAMEDAY. We have since competed in scrimmages against Findlay, Ashland, and Ohio Dominican. Although we have not had the outcomes we desired, we have found many positive take aways from our play. We have enjoyed the stiff competition greatly, as it will only propel us to higher levels of play as we rise to the challenge of our opponents. On an even brighter, chocolatey side, our rides home have not been disappointing. In an absolutely smashing show of love and devotion to CUWS, we have already had Mahek cupcakes TWICE. We have also been showered with Oreo balls and cookies to satiate our raging sweet tooths… sweet teeth? Whatever. The point is we adore dessert and we would love for our beloved fans to keep it coming.

This upcoming week offers many excitements as we will face off with Urbana University in our home opener on Thursday at 7 pm. We will also play West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday at 2 pm. If two games weren’t enough to freak out about, the annual camp out will be taking place sometime this weekend. It would be unwise for me to disclose the date due to the fact that our men’s team has previously attempted to crash this event. When I say attempted, I mean all plans of scaring 20 sleeping girls in a tent were demolished when one of our very own tackled (with impeccable form unmatched even in the NFL) and de-masked (quite viciously, I might add) an imposing gorilla. Men, you are warned.

Ultimately, we were able to spend much time focusing on our team pillars: Christ-centered, team focus, work ethic, humility, and legacy this preseason. It is amazing to see how God is already clearly working in the hearts of the girls on our team, and we look forward with eager anticipation to see how he will use us this season to bring glory to His name.

We hope that you will be able to come and support us at our upcoming games, and if not, please enjoy the live video stream that our wonderful SID department produces for our far-away fans.

Until next week.


Carly Gregory is a senior at Cedarville University from Springfield, Ohio and a Dean's List student majoring in athletic training.