Cedarville University Yellow Jackets

November 1, 2018

As I write this final blog, the words of Mother Gothel from Tangled, come to mind, "guess I always knew this day was coming." The inevitability of the end of my soccer career has always been in the back of my mind. I’m not sure any warning can ever prepare one for the feelings that come when it actually ends. Last Saturday night was the end. We lost 2-1 in a hard fought battle against Walsh.

I am twenty-two years old and have played soccer since I was four. Eighteen years of my life have been dedicated to the game I quickly learned I loved even at a young age. I’ve played soccer longer than I’ve been in school. In many ways, kicking a soccer ball is more natural to me than reading a book or solving a math problem. I have learned many things through the game of soccer and will carry those lessons with me in my future endeavors. My goal is to make sense of all these things going through my head and heart and communicate them with you. I realize there is nothing new under the sun and the words I say to you may have already been heard, but I hope they touch you, even if you have never touched a soccer ball in your life.

Soccer has been more than a sport for me. It has been a platform. Because of soccer, I have traveled to places far and wide meeting people, many of whom are different from me, but we share a bond in our mutual love for the beautiful game. Soccer has given me the opportunity to meet some of my very best friends, some of whom I hope to have lifetime relationships with. I have known the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat from a win/loss perspective, but also a personal perspective. I have seen unfair treatment from officials like a blatant hand ball going unnoticed, but I have also been given grace countless times by teammates and coaches who believed in me. I have seen hard work and persistence pay off, but I have also seen them come up empty handed.

Monday afternoon I finally decided it was time to unpack my duffel bag. As I cleaned out my bag, my cleats were the final item to remain. They were caked with mud, still fresh from the mud bath of a game Saturday night. I pulled them out and decided to rinse them off in the sink. I couldn’t help but feel a bit sad as I looked down at my light blue Nike Magistas. As clear water hit the cleats producing a trail of muddy liquid, I realized I will never wear these again in the context of competitive soccer. I am sure I will put them on again, maybe for a co-ed adult league game, but never again as a college athlete.

While all this was going through my mind, I thought back to Saturday night. After the game, I sat around a table at Chick-fil-A with my family. We enjoyed our waffle fries, chicken sandwiches and chicken tortilla soup while we laughed, joked, and told stories while the Notre Dame football game played in the background on my dad’s phone (Go Irish!). In that moment I was filled with two things. Peace and Gratitude. A little under two years ago, I was sitting in a different room with those same people laughing and joking, but the circumstances were drastically different. There were also tears and prayers. I sat on a hospital bed with my family gathered around as I awaited brain surgery the next morning. In that moment and the days, weeks, and months which followed, I can attest to the faithfulness of my God. Deuteronomy 31:6 says, "Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you."

Ralph Abernathy, a civil rights leader once said "I don’t know what the future may hold, but I know who holds the future." The God who made the universe and everything inside of it, including you and me, holds our lives in his hands. There is nothing more comforting than knowing an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present, sovereign God controls my life. Whether I was awaiting brain surgery or am currently reflecting on my soccer career just a few days after it ended, I know He is faithful and I can trust him. I am sure in the days to come, I will wonder what to do from 4-8 p.m. every night, for soccer once filled that time slot. I will long for bus talks on road trips or team game nights and movie watching. I will ache to be able to play the game just one more time. The future without soccer seems unclear and uncertain, but I know He will take care of me.

I am thankful for friends, teammates, coaches, physical therapists, even surgeons, but most importantly family members who have made my journey through soccer possible. I realize many of the things I experienced or learned from the game are the direct result of others sacrificing and investing time and energy into me. I am forever grateful for those people. It’s been a blast writing this blog and I’ve enjoyed it more than I ever thought I would. Thank you for following along with me through the 2018 season.

For the last time

xoxo,

Creslyn


October 23, 2018

Usually I am scramming around to find things to write about that would interest all my faithful blog readers (there is a potential that "all" could represent a very few # of people haha), but this week there is lots of material to work with. Hopefully I don’t "mess up" the pooch.

Fall Break could not have come at a better time. Wednesday evening we filed onto the Cedarville bus ready to begin our journey towards Nashville, Tennessee. The Wifi connection and movie playing was exceptional and we are so fortunate to have these luxuries available to us when we go on road trips. Thursday we played Trevecca and came up short in a 1-0 loss. We had arranged before the trip to eat dinner with Trevecca after the game. This might sound ludicrous, because often in the world today people hate the enemy. As tough of competitors as Trevecca may be, we are far from hating them. One of my favorite things about soccer at Cedarville has been the recognition, soccer is just a game. At the end of the day, we were able to sit down with girls who had just beaten us and enjoy a meal with them as we both cheered on our men’s team. That’s another funny thing to me about this meeting. Our conversations were occasionally interrupted by cheers we made supporting our respective teams. In the midst of "disagreement" we were still able to have fellowship with each other. It was a blessing to share those moments with a like-minded program and I am very thankful to Trevecca for giving us that opportunity.

Friday morning we got dressed and headed over to KWC for practice. Little did we know the intense competition we were about to walk into. After we did recovery, we split up into groups based off of our classes. We made our way over to the skills ladders. I am not sure I can adequately explain exactly, but it was a hard-fought battle with much confusion per usual and the freshmen landed on top after five rounds.

The final competition of the day was…the second annual speed walking relay race. We split up into groups based on the region of the country everyone is from. We had two east coast groups split into North and South. There was group from the Midwest, and of course an Ohio group. We had a few outliers with Rachel Norton (Japan), Kaley Jamison (Texas) and Olivia Hoffman (Tennessee), but they willingly joined a group. Defending ones territory tends to bring out a passionate side in many of us (especially those from Michigan, they "think" their state is the best…).

Special shout outs go to Aleah Martone, Makenna Anderson, and Coach Meade for their abilities in speed walking. I’ve been told Alyssa Maillefer was cheating again this year. The biggest recognition goes to Allison Garlock. I’m still not sure how that girl’s legs move so rapidly, but she is by far faster than anyone and if the NCAA allowed me to bet, I would bet on her. She carried Ohio to a victory. It has since been determined Ohio now contains not only two, but three great things. Sunsets, soccer, and speed walking (Shout out to Susanna Mathew for providing us with the idea on the first two items via Instagram). To top off the lovely morning, we were surprised with the wonderful treat of Olive Garden.

Chick-fil-A was on the menu Friday night and Hannah Sareyka was more than thrilled. A Chick-fil-A sandwich and a Diet Coke are her go to items, so if you want to make her day bring her some Chick-fil-A. Game night ensued after a satisfying dinner. Pitt, the animal game, and Egyptian writing were the favorites, but I have to admit, Aleah Martone stole the show. Aleah is a member of the US National Cup Stacking Team. Many desperately tried to beat her, but to no avail. She’s on the national team for a reason!

Saturday we defeated Kentucky Wesleyan 5-0. Taylor Noll and Hannah Atkinson scored two goals each and Rose Anthony had the final goal. We headed back to Cedarville fairly late that night. Bus driver Tammy rocked out to some music. We watched a scary movie and then many of us passed out. Fun was had by all!

This week we play Ohio Dominican Tuesday night at 7 p.m. Saturday is the first round of the G-MAC playoffs with time, location and opponent TBD.

Until next time

xoxo,

Creslyn


October 17, 2018

This week has been a busy week for all as Fall Break approaches. Nevertheless, the blog continues, so here is a little recap of the past week.

On Thursday, we played D&E (Davis & Elkins) here at home. We have entered into fall weather and after much consideration and some last minute changes, we did not wear our super sweet light blue long sleeves, but instead wore our good and faithful white jerseys (We’ve had those jerseys since my freshman year, and they’re getting new ones after I leave, but don’t ask me about that). HUGE shout to Bex Velloney for the sick goal off of a restart in the first half and to Atty for drawing a PK in the second half. We won 2-0.

Friday evening we made our way to wild and wonderful West Virginia. Wild for sure, wonderful is debatable (although I do have great memories of working on puzzles as a team in the hotel lobby of the Isaac Jackson and winning a G-MAC championship, both in West Virginia). Many of us were so thankful for our bus driver Tammy. She’s the coolest bus driver you’ll ever met #rockon, but she also maneuvered the bus gracefully through the winding hills of West Virginia, keeping most of our motion sickness at bay.

Saturday we rocked our light blue long sleeves and I’m going to brag a little on my team and say we looked awesome. We played Alderson Broaddus or AB for short. Many, many people have fallen into the trap of calling them A&B, but there is no &. Despite roughly 1/3 of our player’s hometowns being peppered along the east coast (myself included), Philippi, West Virginia is the farthest east we go. It was a joy to have the support of many of our East Coast friends and family. Special guest and former Cedarville Yellow Jacket women’s soccer player, Grace Miorelli, made an appearance with her fiancé Jon Eric Stiles (the lovely couple gets married in December #nevergoingoutofstiles). We ended the game with a 3-1 victory. The goals were scored by Atty (2) and @rachelwearsawig (Rachel Wiggins). After the game, we went to one of my all-time favorite restaurants…McDonald’s. You heard it right. I am not joking. I love me some McD’s and even if you don’t think it’s a healthy option, I’m sure you love it too ;) All in all, it was a quick, but smooth trip to wild and wonderful WV.

This week we travel down south to Nashville, TN and Owensboro, KY to take on Trevecca (Thursday) and Kentucky Wesleyan (Saturday).

Until next time

xoxo,

Creslyn


October 9, 2018

(Editor's Note: Senior defender Jocelyn Quirple is filling in as this week's Women's Soccer blogger.)

"Homecoming." The word has been broadcasted on banners, signs, posters, emails (by the dozens...thanks Cedarville), and social media posts galore. The campus of Cedarville has been buzzing this past week as we’ve welcomed parents, alumni, and two traveling high-ranked teams. The Homecoming week has had a theme of festivities for each day for students and staff to participate in pictures and fun. The following is a run down of the Cedarville Homecoming Week with a little bit of Cedarville soccer flair:

- Meme Monday: For Cedarville Women’s Soccer, a game day meme is a consistent tradition. We have a knack for finding the best of the "worst" pictures of teammates and adding the best captions. If you’re curious ask a team member. My vote for favorite meme goes to Olivia Hoffman’s backpack.

- Twin Tuesday: Between the matching wardrobes and similar hair styles our team has no problem twinning almost every day. While the rest of campus was outfit planning, we already had twin day covered to the max as all 30 of us walked out to practice in the best matching training gear in the athletic department. (And Hannah Whicker who really is a twin)

- World Record Wednesday: We didn’t set any "world records" today, but we sure did have a killer of an opportunity to play a nationally-ranked team. Wednesday we suited up for a match again the NCAA II #2 ranked team: Grand Valley State. We held them to a well fought 1-0 score at half time, but ended with a loss of 5-0. Games like these are learning opportunities and fuel for G-MAC games.

- Throwback Thursday: Through the course of this week, we started to welcome alumni and Cedarville women’s soccer sisters back to school. How precious and fun to catch up right where many of us left off at graduation or the last phone call. I have loved seeing sweet friends who have poured into my life and many others through their legacy at Cedarville and on this team. You encourage an eternal perspective! You are so valued!

- Fan Friday: Anyone can wear a blue and yellow t-shirt, but the appreciation of "Fan Friday" goes out to the fans who have worn jerseys, sun screen, and parkas for years. Parents, family, and friends, THANK YOU for your faithful support through many seasons, games, car rides, and so much more. We couldn’t do it without you.

Saturday was Senior Day at Yellow Jacket Field. Thankfully, this day was not the last home game for the seniors, but there were still ample emotions that filled the walk to the HOME field.

As a freshman, I promised myself that I would never call college, "home." (After all, my family was seven hours away.) The more that I read the word "Homecoming" across campus, the more I realize that "home" is more than just a place. Cedarville is a HOMEcoming for many because it is characterized by an extended family. For the seniors, HOME came to us as we walked across the field and thanked our parents for making college soccer a reality. We could look across the field at the extended Cedarville family and alumni who support us and make these corn fields an extended HOME. We could look behind us and appreciate the team family of players and coaches who make us better players and people.

So here’s to a family that has made us who we are. Here’s to a soccer family at Cedarville who has encouraged the mission behind soccer and stretched on for years. Here’s to a family of support from professors, mentors, faculty, and staff. Here’s to a team family who makes it worth it to play on a HOME field.

It’s that family that I’m honored and privileged to continue with into the season.

So here’s to another week ahead (with better results.)

Here’s to family. Here’s to HOMEcoming.

Phil. 1:3


October 2, 2018

Hello…

It's me, I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet…

Okay all jokes aside (serious shout out to Adele) I’ve only been away for two weeks and it’s great to be back. I am very grateful for Kaitlyn Walters and Lo Lichty for stepping in on my behalf.

We are at the point in the semester when the going gets tough. Way off future due dates become present realities. Late nights wasted watching Netflix turn into late night study sessions or attempts to submit an assignment before the 12 a.m. deadline or maybe more likely instead of working on the 1,000 things we have due the next day, we lay on the ground eating junk food, listening to music, and hanging out with each other. Once bright eyes and bushy tails at 8 a.m. Biology have turned into sluggish zombies attempting to make it on time to class. I suppose every college student can relate, but this is a heightened reality for a student-athlete.

We did not have a Thursday game last week, but that did not mean we would have an easy week of practices. In fact, it was quite the opposite. We had a grueling couple days of practice, with lots of running involved. I hate running and often contemplate why I chose to play the game of soccer, specifically midfield, but I’ve yet to come to a conclusion. Please know I am only joking, well at least about the soccer part. After the long week, we geared up for our game Saturday under the lights at Ohio Dominican. It is my understanding that ODU has been a long-time rival and Saturday night was no exception.

In Coach Meade’s pre-game speech, he shared with us from Ephesians 3, "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of His glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith - that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

Family. You might have a very distinct picture in your mind of what family looks like, but as a social work major I have sat in a class where we attempted to define family and I promise it was not so easy. Of the 31 players and three coaches on our team, to my knowledge, none of us are related by blood or through a legal document, yet we can easily identify as a family. We share a bond through the countless hours we have spent together and the numerous experiences we have shared through the game of soccer, on and off the field. But we are also bonded through our sisterhood (brotherhood for Coach and Roper) in Christ. No one goes to war and fights ever so valiantly, as they do for their family.

With that in mind, we were off to our game against Ohio Dominican. It was a hard-fought battle between both opponents. ODU scored early into the second half proving to be the only goal of the game. As an athlete, one of the most deflating things that can happen is to give everything you have and it still not be enough. We walked off the field Saturday evening for the second straight game fighting hard, yet still coming up short. After we prayed with ODU, jogged, and stretched, Coach called us in. He shared with us the end of Ephesians 3, "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

It is easy to get caught up in measuring our identity in our ability as a soccer player. I will tell you from personal experience, wrapping your identity in wins and losses, or anything for that matter, fame, money, power, relationships, success - it will all leave you feeling empty. As I walked off the stadium field on Saturday, with chants from ODU’s homecoming crowd ringing in my ear, I was reminded of a simple truth. I am a daughter of the most high King. He has called me His, not because anything I could ever do, but because Jesus paid it all on a cross for me. The girls on this team, we are a family. I do not know if that means we will go on to be G-MAC champions or lose the rest of our games, but we are in this together. We have been called by Him to glorify Him through any circumstances He chooses.

As we look to this week, on Wednesday @ 3:30 p.m. we host Grand Valley State. This Saturday is Homecoming Weekend and our Senior Day! We host Ohio Valley @ 2 p.m. and would love to see you there!

Until next time

xoxo,

Creslyn


September 26, 2018

(Editor's Note: Junior goalkeeper Lauren Lichty is filling in as this week's Women's Soccer blogger.)

I trust you enjoyed Kaitlyn Walters’ guest appearance last week! It’s been a bit of a busy week for me, so Lo (Lauren Lichty) has kindly offered to help me out. Here she is…

"Probably the most dreaded phrase in all of athletics is, ‘Ok, everybody get on the line.’ Little did we know when Coach Meade uttered these words to us last Monday, it was not intended to ensue panic, but rather would begin for us a competition unlike anything any CUWS team had ever seen. With both Tiffin and Findlay on the horizon, we all knew we needed a level of preparedness for the physicality that would present itself in these games. In light of this, coach saw fit to prepare us through a series of epic battles and, as we lined up on the line, this is what he had in mind. We paired off into teams of two and each round one person was tasked with the goal to make it to the finish line about 20 yards away. The other person, however, was tasked with making sure that whatever teammate they were set to battle against did not make it anywhere near that finish line, by holding onto them with all their might and not allowing them to escape.

Legends speak of the glorious battles fought by fierce warriors such as Gladiators, Vikings, and medieval knights, but may I be so bold as to say that all of these paled in comparison to the ferocity and resolve of this here Cedarville women’s soccer team. Battles were won and lost, casualties were taken, emotional tensions were high and with each passing round people were starting to realize there is no escape from the tight clutches of brave souls such as Emma Conway or Kaitlyn Walters and there was no holding back or containing the ferocity of Allison Garlock or Alyssa Maillefer. In the end, only one team could reign supreme. Bex Velloney and Alyssa Maillefer were crowned champions and history will always remember them for their valiantly fought battle to victory. Now, please enjoy a few brilliantly captured moments of combat by our one and only Dani-Joy Leonhardt."
 
Last Thursday we played Tiffin for the second time. @Rachelwearsawig (Rachel Wiggins) had a sick shot late in the first half and Atty finished one for us late in the second half giving us a 2-0 victory. Saturday we faced an undefeated Findlay team. It was a perfect fall day and we battled extremely hard, but came up short in overtime 1-0.

This Saturday we play at Ohio Dominican at 8pm.

Until next time

xoxo,

Creslyn


September 18, 2018

(Editor's Note: Junior defender Kaitlyn Walters is filling in as this week's Women's Soccer blogger.)

Hello friends and Cedarville family!

My name is Kaitlyn Walters and I am a senior Allied Health major on the women’s soccer team. I am delighted to write to you guys this week about the amazing mission trip we went on this summer to Costa Rica!! Right before our preseason we had the opportunity to use the sport we love to share about our first love: Jesus Christ. The Lord was so faithful to provide in small and big ways throughout our preparation for the trip and in the midst of our time there.

Costa Rica is a Spanish speaking country and we only have one girl on our team who went on the trip that is getting a Spanish minor (shout out to Rose). As you might guess, the language barrier was a concern heading into this trip because we all knew little to no Spanish. Thankfully, we were given four AMAZING translators who helped us communicate and many of us started to remember some Spanish we had learned in high school. Soccer is a huge sport in Costa Rica and many players view soccer as a way out of the country or a way to make money; it’s their hope. Soccer can become an idol in their lives at such a young age.

As a team, we all know what it is like to struggle with having soccer as an idol, since it is so important to us. Many of us have learned that although soccer is such a passion of ours, it can never be the most important thing to us because it will leave us feeling hopeless and defeated. We have learned that we have to place Jesus as our first love because He will never fail us and will fulfill our souls more than any other person or thing on this earth ever could. When we play for Jesus Christ we get to play with freedom and true joy. We wanted to share this truth and the freedom it brings us with the people we encountered.

Here is a quick synopsis of some of the experiences we had, and then I will delve into one of my favorite and many of my teammates’ favorite memories while we were there:

- Preparation at Cedarville for three days before the trip so that we could work out some kinks and build some chemistry as a team before we played some tough competition

- Smooth flight into San Jose, Costa Rica

- Visited the biggest Catholic church in Costa Rica and I think this was the first moment we realized the mission field we had in front of us

- Played against the University of Costa Rica and shared dinner with them afterwards

- Played against Moravia and shared pizza with them afterwards

- Played against a professional team from the Island of Venado and against some of the islanders

- Visited a girl’s orphanage and ate, played games, danced and shared the gospel with them! We did this on two occasions

- Visited a school to play with children from preschool to high school ages

- Had a traditional Argentinean Barbeque

- Painted and cleaned buildings on a church’s property

- Road on two ferries and a boat to get to the Island of Venado and stayed at a local pastor’s home

- Barely made our connecting flights on the way home, but sprinted to them in the Atlanta airport and we all made it! (This was a sight, I’m sure)

We were lead by Daniel Rojas who is affiliated with Churches in Missions. His family opened their home and lives to us and we couldn’t be more thankful for their servant hearts, hospitality, and leadership while we were there. We could not have done all of these things without you! We can never thank you all enough!

One of my favorite experiences from this trip was the day we spent with the University of Costa Rica. We had the opportunity to play this team on their home field and they were a competitive, tough team. After the game we got to share a meal with them at the Rojas home. One of our senior captains, Jocelyn Quirple, shared with the team about how God loves us so much that even when we do wrong or sinful things, His love for us never wavers. She talked about how as women we are strong, beautiful, and wonderfully created by our Heavenly Father. After this, Lo Lichty got out her guitar and led us all in worship. People were singing these songs in both Spanish and English. This was a beautiful picture of what heaven will be like one day: different languages and ethnicities coming together to sing praises to our God and King. Lo then had the opportunity to share her testimony with the team. She shared about how at one point soccer was her everything in life. When soccer started to fail her after she got injured, she felt so lost and defeated. Lo realized that God fulfilled her heart and she could always lean on Him because His ways are perfect. This led the University of Costa Rica’s head coach to share his testimony. It was a beautiful night full of beautiful truths that spoke to everyone in the room. Later in the week we found out that eight girls had accepted Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of their lives that night. PRAISE THE LORD!!! We were humbled to be a part of the story the Lord had written for those women. This was my favorite memory because my team exemplified the body of Christ as we each had a role to play, testimonies were shared, hearts were encouraged, and we have eight new sisters in Christ who we will see in heaven one day!!

We want to give a HUGE thank you to those that supported us both prayerfully and financially for this trip. We could not have done this without your prayers and support. Our prayer is that we can continue this boldness in our ministry as we are in the midst of our fall season. While soccer is important to us, it is not the MOST important, God is. We want to continually grow in knowing WHO God is and making Him KNOWN in everything we do each and every day.

Thanks friends for reading the blog this week! We have two big games at Tiffin (Thursday) and at Findlay (Saturday) and I gotta get to practice, so we will see you next week, with hopefully two more wins under our belt :)

Only by grace,

Kait

P.S. Liv Hoffman, CLOSE YOUR BAG!!!!


September 11, 2018

If you’ve kept up with our schedule, or maybe even watched the live stream, you would know that Thursday night was a tough game for us. We lost to a very good Walsh team 3-0. If you know me at all, you probably know I’ve been engrossed in the sports world for many years.

Whether it’s watching Stephen A. Smith rage about anything and everything on ESPN’s First Take or failing miserably at producing a fantasy football team above .500 (this past week my opponent more than quadrupled my score), I thoroughly enjoy athletics and they have provided me with so many opportunities that transcend any field or court. Don’t worry, I am not about to bore you with any essay about how involvement in athletics has greatly impacted my life, although I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment. I believe athletics provide a unique environment where desire and passion collide with life lessons, sometimes brutal ones.

Thursday night we got rocked. That’s the simple truth. There really is no way to dress it up and save some face. Getting back around 2:30 in morning, half asleep, with campus as dark and quiet as you’ll ever experience it, is never super exciting, but it is especially difficult when you return home from a tough loss. However, we all lived and the sun rose on Friday morning despite blood shot eyes and the overhearing of NARPS (Non-athletic regular people) complaining about going to bed "late" at 11:00 p.m. the night before. Friday at practice we watched some film and had a recovery session, but we also had a real talk. Thursday was not good. It was not acceptable.

Sometimes you don’t play up to your standard or you play "below the line." It happens to everyone at some point and the valuable lesson we were taught is to own up to your mistakes and take responsibility for things you did or the things you failed to do. So we took responsibility and prepared to come out hard on Saturday.

As I previously mentioned, the weather in Ohio changes rapidly. We swung from humidity in the high 80’s, to a consistent rainfall in the 60’s. Despite the rain, we came out strong and beat Malone 4-0 with goals from Atty (Hannah Atkinson), Lyndsey Smith (the track star), Olivia Hoffman (the girl with the legs), and an own goal.

I am now drastically going to change the path of the blog to a much more serious topic, Zoe Zoe…

Emma Conway is a junior midfielder, who is a pre-veterinary major. One of her favorite things this world has to offer comes in the shape of a wiener, specifically a wiener dog named Zoey. Zoey is Emma’s pride and joy and also one of Cedarville Women's Soccer’s biggest fans. Tears still stream down Emma’s face when someone brings up the fact that Zoey is no longer allowed to attend our home games (hyperbole, but still #bringbackzoezoe). Below are two videos of two of our great freshmen, Makenna Anderson (yellow shirt) and Hannah Sareyka (gray shirt) poking fun and stirring up some drama, all with Emma’s permission and very much in a joking manner. Makenna and Hannah pose as two reporters, who explore the rumor that Emma has sold her dog, which would explain the tragic absence of Zoey from our home games.





Hopefully you’ve gotten to know Makenna and Hannah a little better through this short clip of the "& that’s the tea, sis." To see more videos from them, go follow them on Instagram @crusty_tea. Also, if you felt extremely awkward watching Emma then I promise, you’ve gotten to know her better too. I assure you Zoey is still a thriving member of the Conway family and attends many of our away games.
 

Looking forward to this week, we play at home on Thursday versus Lake Erie (6 PM) and Saturday against Ursuline (6 PM).

Until next time

xoxo,

Creslyn


September 5, 2018

Game dayyyyy! (spoken in a super jazzed voice)

Of course we are students before athletes, so the morning of our first game we attended classes and sat in the front row, like every good student athletes does :) We swarmed campus with all 30+ of us sporting our navy Cedarville Soccer shirts. You can usually spot the women’s soccer team from a far distance, due to the fact that we travel in large packs, often matching each other or looking like we just stepped off the field even if we haven’t been playing soccer at all. In the winter months, or quite possibly September since we are talking about Ohio, we are distinguished by our puffy coats, but I digress…

We got out of classes a little early that afternoon to prepare for our first true test of the 2018 season. We made our way over to the Callan Athletic Center, picked up our jerseys, and headed to the locker room. The vibrations of the bass buzzed off of our metal lockers as we got dressed for the game. Some girls sat in somber solitude, radiating ruthless determination (@HannahAtkinson and @LoLichty), but most of us were much lighter and were found jammin’ out to the music and attempting cool dance moves despite being big dweebs. After singing "In Christ Alone" as a team, a pre-game speech with the coaches, and our "red hot" cheer, we formed two lines and began our trek down the sidewalk, across Africa (the parking lot by the cage fields), down the road, and up to our game field. Hundreds of cleat spikes tapped the pavement like a subtle stampede in sweet harmony. As we approached the field, talking diminished into a silence of eager anticipation. Warm-up music, a spit circle, invocation, starting lineups, and a slow clap into a team cheer brought us to the peak of the start of our first game.

I realize I have yet to mention our opponents. The dragons of Tiffin University wore dark green, and we sported our white jerseys. All our preparation from early morning spring lifting and conditioning sessions, stifling hot summer workouts, and preseason practices were put to the test. 17:52 into the game, Alyssa Maillefer slotted a cross on the ground in between Tiffin’s goalie and outside back. In the defender’s attempt to clear the ball, she nailed it into the back of the net resulting in an own goal. At 54:07, Hannah Atkinson played a ball to Taylor Noll making a diagonal run. With momentum T Noll took a touch into the box and shot it over the goalie’s head and into the goal. At 76:59 we got scored on off a nice left-footed shot into the side netting. The remaining 13 minutes of the game were tight, but we came through victorious.

Friday we departed for Romeoville, IL to take on Lewis University. With thunderstorms predicted and a brisk team walk cut short due to a sudden downpour, the weather did not look promising Saturday morning, however it cleared up just in time for the start of our game. Though the sun made its presence known, a steady wind still remained. Lewis was a strong competitor and the game went back and forth. We struck first with a header from T Noll off of a corner about 20 minutes into the game. Shortly after, Lewis too scored a header off of a corner kick. A few minutes later, we struck again with a high lofted shot from Mackenzie Northcutt. We headed into halftime with a 2-1 lead. About 24 minutes into the second half Lewis scored off of a free kick. With ten minutes left, Aleah Martone crossed a ball to the middle of the box and Mackenzie crush it into the back of the net. We rode out the last 10 minutes of the game securing a 3-2 victory.

If you are a new follower of Cedarville Women’s Soccer, you must know we are fueled by many generous friends and family members who provide us with lots of food, but also those who open their homes to us. This past weekend was no different as the Maillefer’s so generously let us spend a day and night with them. They live in a beautiful farmhouse built 140 years ago, which contains hidden staircases and high ceilings, and sits on 12 acres in the middle of farmland about an hour outside of Chicago. Raising chickens, maintaining a fresh garden, and harvesting honey are just a few of the things the Maillefer’s dabble in. They blessed us with multiple meals, a pool and hot tub, a time of praise and worship, a place to sleep, and loving company. We left their house Sunday afternoon with full hearts.

This week we play two G-MAC competitors. On Thursday, Sept. 6th we play at Walsh (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday, Sept. 8th we play Malone (5:00 p.m.) at home.


August 28, 2018

Let me begin this by saying the task of writing the Cedarville Women’s Soccer blog is daunting considering the many wonderful women who have come before me. Fun fact, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, our assistant coach, the one and only Brianne M. Barnes, was the author of the blog her senior year (I have provided the link if you feel like taking a stroll down memory lane or one might say if you are just a "punk" and would like a little extra ammunition to fire at her):

CLICK HERE TO READ BRIANNE BARNES 2009 WOMEN'S SOCCER BLOG

I had hoped I could write this blog in anonymity with a potential grand reveal at the end (xoxo), but apparently that’s not how this blog works. I’ve never been one for rules, but alas I am telling you my name is Creslyn Van Dyck and I am a senior Social Work major. I invite you to join us as we journey through this 2018 fall season. Hopefully this blog will give you a peek into our lives, much more than a win/loss schedule could ever show. As the great Maria von Trapp aka Julie Andrews once sang, "Let’s start at the very beginning, A very good place to start" (well technically our trip to the beautiful country of Costa Rica, was the very beginning, but I’m afraid there isn’t time for that, so I shall begin with the glorious days which make up preseason).

Preseason is marked with many things: Physicals, compliance meetings, a team cookout at Coach’s house, the "sting", two-a-days, team meetings, lots of Gatorade, sun burn for those of us with pale freckled skin, forced (for some) ice baths, naps on the floor, because you can’t get in your bed all sweaty, salty water running in your eyes when you do decide to shower (hopefully every day), the Third Annual Honeycomb Cup (in the end, good triumphed over evil), a senior pasta dinner, a crazy scavenger hunt, but best of all field dedication. Along with the list above, fall Bible conference featuring Sam Allberry, and the first day of classes, we also played in three scrimmages. We started with a victory against Georgetown College and ended with two tough losses against Ashland University and the University of Indianapolis.

At this time I would like to acknowledge all of our new players in hopes that you will learn more about them as the season goes on. They are: Olivia Hoffman, Aleah Martone, Grace Cain, Mackenzie Northcutt, Marisa Hoober, Makenna Anderson, Anna Carrico, Hannah Sareyka, Rachel Norton, Sara Olivarez, Alexis Hickey, and Bethany Alecusan. There are many new faces from all over the country (plus Japan @RachelNorton), and we are beyond thrilled to have 12 new sisters. Coach Meade has three beautiful blonde biological daughters, known as the crazies, but if you count all of us he basically has 30+ daughters, so please pray for him.

This week, we look to officially kick off our season @5pm Thursday, August 30th against our new G-MAC competitors Tiffin. It’s beach night, so dress up, be loud, be proud, and make some noise!

Saturday, September 1st, we travel to Romeoville, IL to take on Lewis for the second year in a row.

Until next time
xoxo,

Creslyn :)

P.S. If you absolutely hated reading this I beg you not to quit on me so soon. I make no promises, but in the near future it is possible that we could hear from a queen, a track star, a Swiss miss, Crawfordsville’s finest and maybe even a ninja.
 

Creslyn Van Dyck is a senior midfielder from Harrisburg, Pa. She is in her final year with the Lady Jackets and is a Dean's List student majoring in social work.