Cedarville University Yellow Jackets

Dec. 18, 2019
Hello again Lady Jacket soccer fans! It’s been a while since you’ve heard from me, and sadly, this will be the last blog of the year. But our team and fans have a LOT to celebrate as this season comes to a close.

As I’m sure you know, our team is now NATIONAL CHAMPS!! Our week in Florida was an exhausting one, but also a one in a lifetime trip that left us with amazing memories that we will remember for the rest of our lives!

The journey began with a long bus trip from Cedarville to South Carolina and then from South Carolina to Florida. The team arrived late Saturday night and spent the rest of the night exploring our resort. The Grand Orlando Resort had two pools, two hot tubs, many confusing hallways, stairs that took you onto the roof, a large lobby for homework, and a water slide. As you can imagine, we had plenty of things to keep us distracted on our off days.

Sunday we were able to get some practice time. That day was used to loosen up our tight legs, acclimate us to the warmer weather, and fix any rusty touches on the ball. That night, we enjoyed a welcome banquet where each team was recognized, and scholar-athletes were announced (we had nine honorees - which is awesome!).

Monday was our first GAME DAY. We ended up winning the match 4-0, but if you ask anyone…it probably should have been more like 12-0…I think we broke a CUWS record for number of shots taken in a single game (seriously, I think we actually broke a record). Even though it wasn’t our best game, we got the win and were able to go back to the hotel happy that night. Monday afternoon and evening were spent hanging out around the pool and hot tub and starting the pile of make-up work we all had.

Tuesday was our first off day! We did some recovery in the parking lot that morning and then headed to Disney Springs to go see Frozen 2!! Shout-out to Rose Anthony for getting as much “bang-for-our-buck” as possible in popcorn. After the movie, the team headed back to the hotel for some more chill time and then we were back at Disney Springs in the evening for dinner. Highlights from dinner time in Disney Springs: lots and lots of shopping, eating too much food, getting lost, free chocolate, Christmas tree walk, and not being able to find the exit.

Wednesday was another GAME DAY! We walked away with another victory and another shut out under our belts. That night we celebrated being the #1 seed AGAIN even after reseeding the top four teams.

Thursday morning the final four teams headed to Cru headquarters to help with a seed packing project. We spent the morning filling small envelopes with a “pinch” of tomato seeds. The seeds we packed will be sent to countries in Africa to facilitate expansion and formation of gardens. The rest of the day, we hung out around the hotel doing homework, soaking up the sun, and trying to convince coach to let us have recovery in the pool. (Unfortunately, we did recovery that afternoon on dry land.) After recovery, the team cleaned up and got ready for ANOTHER banquet (that’s number three this year). But the best part of the night was after the banquet…that night we did our annual SSB reveal party. If you remember from my earlier blogs, at the beginning of each season we are all given a Secret Soccer Buddy (it’s like Secret Santa, but for the whole season). At the end of the semester, we have an SSB reveal party where each SSB reveals who they have by imitating them. The imitations are always hilarious and give everyone a
good laugh.

Friday, we prepared for our game with the typical breakfast and BTW. Our BTW ended with our second Speed Walking Race of the year. Tensions were high because the winners of our last race were accused of cheating. However, in the end the coaching staff won…again. That afternoon we headed over to the complex to play our semi-final match in the Austin-Tindall Stadium. Our game was against Roberts Wesleyan, a team that we knew would challenge us far more than the first two teams we played. After 44 minutes of hard fighting, Kenna Anderson put one in the back of the net with two seconds to go in the first half. We ended up winning the match 1-0 and we were moving on the FINAL!!!! When we got back to the hotel, a hand full of us decided to brave the unheated pool to help our muscles heal and get ready to take on Ottawa the next day.

Saturday, the FINAL!!!! Thankfully, coach let us sleep in Saturday morning. After a good night’s rest, we did a quick recovery in the morning and then tried to get as much rest and stretching in as we could the rest of the day. That night, at 7:30 p.m. we took the field against Ottawa. Pre-game was a little more emotional because we all knew it was the last game of the season and the last game ever for the seniors. Win or lose, the season ended tonight. The team had a lot of energy and was excited to play when we took the field. It was a crazy game and we ended up winning on a PK placed by Aleah Martone.

NATIONAL CHAMPS. I can’t quiet explain what it feels like to win the last game you ever play in and to be a National Champion. All I can say, it’s a feeling like nothing else.

That’s a wrap on the season everyone. Thank you for taking the time to read and follow what our team has been doing this season. One last shout-out to Emma and Olivia for being on the All-Tournament Team and Allison, Atty, Olivia and myself for being on the NCCAA All-America Team.

I’m so proud of this team and couldn’t have asked for a more perfect senior season.

Go Jackets!

Bex Velloney #4


Nov. 25, 2019
Hey Jacket Fans!

As I explained to you last week, our season is not yet over! We will be traveling to Florida as the #1 seed in the NCCAA National Tournament. Our team is excited for this chance to play and the chance to be the first-ever Cedarville soccer team to win a National Championship.

Last week was spent training and meeting to prepare for our departure to Kissimmee, FL on Friday, November 29th (Black Friday). The team will hop on a bus and make the long journey over two days to finally arrive in Florida. We are thankful we get to soak up some warmer weather!!

My next blog will be full of fun stories and crazy adventures, so I want to take this time to reflect on my time with this team. This is my last season as a Cedarville Women’s Soccer player. It came faster than I anticipated, and it is crazy to believe that I only have a few games left until my career is over. But at the beginning of this season, I had someone tell me that no matter what happens, this season will never satisfy me. Sounds like a no-brainer, right?

Well, as a team and as players, we often say to ourselves, “if we’d only made it one game further” or “if I’d only won that award” or “if I’d only gotten a little more playing time” then I would be happy and satisfied with the season. The truth is, all those statements are totally bogus. I can look back on every year I have ever played soccer and come up with an “if only.” At the end of every season, no matter how far we make it in the post-season, we will always have an “if only” because only one team can end the season winning. And I would bet, at the end of the day, even those players would tell you that something is missing.

I love Cedarville soccer because it has taught me that we play for something greater than the game. I have had upper classmen and the coaches pour that into me since day one on this team. We do not play for our own glory, or for accolades, but for the glory of our Heavenly Father. The Creator of the World sent his Son, Jesus, to pay the price for our sins. How can we not praise Him in everything we do? He created each of us with individual gifts and talents. How can we not use those to advance His kingdom? He has declared us free from sin. How can we not play in freedom that our worth is not in performance, but in the God who calls us HIS? That is why we cheer “For Him” before games. Our focus is to use soccer as a platform for worship and as an opportunity to share the gospel with other teams. If even one person comes to know Christ through my four years at Cedarville, every loss and every heart break was worth it.

However, even in all this teaching, we still fail to remind each other that soccer will never satisfy us. We use it for worship, and we use it for gospel presentation, but there are still wins and losses. We still expect to win, and we hope to advance in the post-season. We want to bring God glory, but we also want to accomplish our own goals. I learned to view this season as a gift because of what I was told going into this season. Whenever I was upset with the outcome of a game, I realized that I was searching for my satisfaction in the game rather than in God. Through the ups and the downs, I have learned to place my satisfaction in Christ alone. He is the only One I will never say “if only” to. He has already given me EVERYTHING. My prayer is that every player who plays on this team can walk away saying, I am fully satisfied in who Christ has created me to be, and I am fully satisfied with my college career because God has used it to draw me closer to Him. That is the peace that I have walking away.

Thank you to everyone who made my experience so incredible over the past four years. And thank you to those who left behind a legacy of Christ-centered, Team Focus, Work Ethic, and Humility.

“God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him.” - John Piper

Thanks for reading!

Bex Velloney #4


Nov. 19, 2019
Hello again everyone! This past week was full of excitement and anticipation for the banquet, and for our second game in the G-MAC tournament!

The theme of this season seems to be bad weather…The beginning of last week we had the worst weather we have had all year! Monday night it was just plain freezing! We practiced on the game field, under the lights, and practice revolved around staying as warm as possible. We didn’t think it could get any worse, until Tuesday happened. On Tuesday, we walked out to the field in the rain. About 20 minutes into practice, sleet started pouring down from the sky and immediately began to cover the field. We then proceeded to slip and slide around the field, until finally, Coach Meade called practice and let us all go inside to warm up. Wednesday, after a frantic change in practice time, we headed to Dayton to practice on our game field for the weekend. When we arrived, we found the field covered in snow and ice. We attempted to clear the field by playing on it but failed miserably, so we made some snowmen and snow angels instead. (see photo)

Wednesday night was Banquet time!! We rolled up to the G-MAC banquet with the men’s team (the banquet combined the top four men’s and women’s teams who made the tournament) and enjoyed a great meal of veggies and chicken. I was given the privilege of praying over the meal for the whole event. After the meal, All-Conference winners and Players of the Year were announced. Our team headed home with quite a few honorees!!

1st Team: Hannah Atkinson, Allison Garlock, Bex Velloney
2nd Team: Olivia Hoffman
Honorable Mention: Emma Conway
Defensive Player of the Year: Bex Velloney

It was great to be able to celebrate the accomplishments of our team and teammates! The banquet was as good as we could have imagined! #diditforthebanquet

Thursday morning, we rolled out of bed and headed to Cracker Barrel for some pre-game breakfast. After fueling up, we headed back to campus to grab our gear and head to the field. The game ended in a heartbreaking loss. We came back from a 1-0 deficit at halftime and took the game to overtime. In OT, Walsh capitalized on a corner kick and the game ended in a moment.

In years past, this would have meant the end to our season and a farewell address from me, but instead, we will be heading to Orlando, Florida to play in the NCCAA National Tournament! Our hope is to bring home a National Championship right before finals! Wish us luck!

Until next week,

Bex


Nov. 12, 2019
Hello again! The weeks just keep getting better and better! Last week we had a quick turn around and played at Ohio Dominican on Tuesday night. We ended up tying 1-1, with both goals in the last three minutes of regulation. Because we tied, we ended the regular season at #3! This was a great success and a huge step up from being #6 last year. Our placement at #3, meant that we would be taking on the Ursuline Arrows on Saturday for the first round of the G-MAC Tournament.

Now, I need to present some history for you to fully understand the weight of this game. First, 2016 was the first year that the G-MAC had a banquet for the Final Four teams in the conference tournament. Since that time, our team has had a desire to partake in this prestigious banquet. Second, for the past three years, we’ve lost in the first round of the tournament (aka: no banquet). As a result, this year our team has adopted the phrase “Do it for the banquet.” On top of that, each of those three years, we’ve lost in a heartbreaking way.

2016: We played Malone (their first year in the conference), we’d beaten them earlier in the season, went into overtime, lost on a free kick (I’m not convinced the ball actually crossed the goal line: the referee wasn’t standing on the end line).

2017: Ranked in the region, played Ursuline, Ursuline did not have a shot on goal, had to go to PK’s, lost in PK’s to a team who didn't have a shot on goal.

2018: Played Walsh, I’ve never played on such a bad field in my entire life…it was actually a mud pit (I’m not being dramatic), ended up losing because the referee called a PK in the last two minutes of the game (to this day, no one knows what the call was).

In case you didn’t catch on, we really, REALLY, REALLY wanted to win this game, and we were ready to break the curse of losing in the first round of the tournament.

Game time: Before the game, we headed down to the locker room to do our team cheer (Red Hot). This week, Emma Conway wrote a new song for us: “Ooh let’s go, time to break the arrows!” The team quickly erupted in chanting this song together! The best part was that Ursuline was still in the locker room and heard every cheer, shout, and scream. To say the least, we were 100% ready for this game. That was evidenced by Rachel Wiggins putting the ball in the back of the net in the first 30 seconds of the game!! We ended up winning 2-0, and all we could think was…WE MADE IT TO THE BANQUET!!!!

Our next game is on Thursday at 12 p.m. against #2 Walsh in Dayton, Ohio. This will be our toughest game of the year by far, but we are ready and willing to do whatever it takes to get to that final match.

Until next time, hope to be addressing you as a Conference Champ next week,

Bex Velloney #4


Nov.4, 2019
Hello again Lady Jacket fans! This past week was another exciting and event filled time! Wednesday and Thursday the skies were open, and rain came down non-stop from early Wednesday morning to early Thursday afternoon. Because of all the rain, our field had standing water on it, and we had to move our game out to Wright State, again. The rain also did a nice job of dropping the temperature about 20 degrees from the afternoon to the evening… so, we took the field at a starting temp of 35 degrees with a wind chill that made it feel like 22. Thursday was also Halloween! However, the only scary thing about our game was the risk of getting frost-bite and going into overtime. Despite the cold temps and crazy wind, it was a fun and well fought game from both sides. We had a scoreless game until the 103rd minute - that’s when Olivia Hoffman crushed a shot from the top of the 18, and we screamed with joy and delight because we finally got to go inside!

Beating Trevecca was also one of our goals for the season because Olivia Hoffman’s older sister plays for them (congrats Liv on winning the sibling rivalry). After our game, we made plans to have dinner with their team. We met upstairs in Callan 219 (the classroom we meet in for literally everything) and enjoyed some Tropical Smoothie with the Trevecca team. Eating dinner with another team is a goal our team has had the past two years. The purpose of this goal is to connect with the girls on the other team on a deeper level. After each game, we give notes to the girls on the other team but eating dinner with them gives us a chance to get to know the girls, hear about their plans and dreams, and hopefully share a bit about what Christ has been doing in our lives, and what He can do for them. Although this experience is at times uncomfortable, it forces us out of our comfort zone to talk to others about Christ and live out our team pillar of “Christ-centered.”

Saturday was also an exciting day because it was SENIOR DAY! The team always does a wonderful job of showering the Seniors with decorations and gifts in the locker room. Family and friends filled the stands, and we celebrated our four seniors (Hannah Atkinson, Emma Conway, Allison Garlock, and me - Bex Velloney). Fun fact about our class: in the fall of 2016 when our class moved in at Cedarville for the first time, we had 11 members of our class! Over the years, we slowly lost loved teammates and classmates. We will never forget the seven players that are no longer part of our class, and we thank them for the way that they helped shape us and grow us into the players that we are today. Our Senior Game was a success, and we walked away with a 3-0 victory over KWC.

On Tuesday (Nov. 5), we play in our last regular season game for the year. We play at Ohio Dominican and are fighting to keep our second-place spot in the G-MAC. Tune in to the live stream at 7:30 p.m. to see us take on the Panthers!


Oct. 29, 2019

Hello again CUWS fans! We left off last week getting the first 2-0 weekend we’ve had all year! It was a tough weekend, but we headed into this week on a high! We also knew we had two home games coming up this weekend, which we haven’t had all season. So, it was an exciting week to come to say the least.

Unfortunately (for some), the weather took a colder turn this week, and many of us had to bundle up a bit more for practice. Practices this week were fast paced and focused on improving our game. We wanted this weekend to be about how WE play on the field, not about what the other team would be doing. We prepared well and laced up on Thursday after a long day of class to play Malone.

We did not play our best soccer, but we walked away with a 4-1 victory. Highlight of the game was Kenna Anderson scoring her first collegiate goal! Friday was a good day of rockin’ recovery followed by pumpkin carving and other fall activities.

Saturday the weather forecast said RAIN. It was fitting because it seems like every time our team plays Walsh, it’s raining outside. To protect the fields, we moved our game over to Wright State to play on turf. Our win on Thursday made our game against Walsh became a battle for second place in the G-MAC!! After a very motivational speech from Aleah Martone, we got on the bus and headed to the game. In the 41st minute, Anna Carrico calmly put the ball in the back of the net for her first collegiate goal!! We held a strong defense for the rest of the game, and suddenly realized that we’d taken second in the conference!! It was a game to remember, and we are headed into our last week of games ready to take on Trevecca, Kentucky Wesleyan, and Ohio Dominican.

See ya’ next time,

Go Jackets!


Oct. 22, 2019
Before heading into this past weekend, Coach Meade set the goal for us to go 2-0 for the weekend.  We knew it would be a hard weekend because both Lake Erie and Ursuline were rising in the standings and had beaten Trevecca the week before. Despite the tough week ahead, we took Monday off and spent Tuesday and Wednesday just training hard without worrying about what the other teams were going to do.

This past weekend was also Fall Break! Although we did not get to spend that time fully off, we were able to have an away weekend without having to catch up on school work. Thursday, we headed out to take on Lake Erie. We were not sure what to expect, but we knew that the field was going to be VERY narrow. Nevertheless, by 15 minutes in we had two goals!!! (Shout out to Emma Conway for being a Rockstar!) Both were incredible placements into the upper 90, and we were ready to sail through the rest of the game. The game ended in a 3-1 victory that got us very excited for our next game against Ursuline on Saturday.

Friday, we had a recovery session in the early afternoon and then got to hang out the rest of the day. Friday night was spent watching the men’s game, catching up on homework, and those of us who are brave took on Horror Acres that night! (This was a tribute to Grace Stiles (Miorelli) - who taught us freshman year to get our adrenaline going the night before a game because you will play better - this is not backed by science, but I believe it.) The team was full of laughter and excited chatter about it the next morning, and I would say it was a night to remember.

Early Saturday we headed out to play Ursuline. Cedarville’s history with Ursuline has been a shaky one. We often struggle to beat them when we need to, whether in conference or during the tournament. We wanted to change that. After 82 minutes of hard play, Taylor Noll put the ball in the back of the net, and we celebrated like crazy! We held out for the last seven minutes and went home happy. #breakthearrows Coach promised us milkshakes if we won, so after the game we headed to the closest Chick-fil-A and gorged ourselves on some tasty treats! (Food always seems to be a great motivation for us.)

It was a quick and fun weekend, and we were pumped to get the 2-0 goal we set for ourselves! Hopefully we can get the same result this week at home against Malone (Thurs/5 pm) and Walsh (Sat/5 pm).

Thanks for reading. Hope to see you out at the field this week!

Bex


Oct. 15, 2019
I need to start this BLOG by saying CONGRATULATIONS!! Last week, right outside back, Bethany Alecusan got engaged!!! It was an exciting day for everyone when she gave us the news! Now, our team has three engaged ladies on it! Allison Garlock, Allie Davidson, and now Bethany Alecusan. We love our couples and our CUWS weddings!

This past weekend we advanced our G-MAC record to 4-2. We ended our Thursday game in an upsetting 1-0 loss at Findlay. Findlay is undefeated this season, and we were hoping to be the first ones to take them down. It was a well fought and even game, but our team is still learning how to defend on free-kicks… (I say this in jest and nothing more!) However, the Findlay game did have some memorable moments!

First, the one and only Brianne Barnes was announced as Assistant Coach Brian during our walk out. The announcement made everyone burst into laughter, and the team now endearingly calls her “Brian” just to get under her skin. Second, we almost had a fight break out on the field! After a squabble in the box, Allison saved a ball, and a Findlay player began to outright bully our defenseless keeper. In response, one of our players ran over and shoved the Findlay player, and then was told to “HIT ME AGAIN.” Thankfully, both players were only awarded yellow cards, and no more damage took place.  It was one of the more exciting moments to ever take place during a Cedarville women’s soccer game. (I will keep this player’s identity a secret for her own reputation…@bexvelloney). On the way home, we stopped for Wendy’s and our whole team was given FREE Frosty coupons!! (It was a small token, but a big morale booster).

Saturday, we loaded up the bus early in the morning and headed to Tiffin. The drama started early on this trip when three players discovered that they did not bring their cleats! You might assume that three poor freshmen forgot their gear…NOPE! Two seniors (Hannah Atkinson and myself) and only one freshman (I won’t embarrass her by calling her out) forgot their gear. Thankfully, the Alecusan’s came to the rescue and brought enough cleats for almost the whole team! Fortunately, the cleat dilemma did not stop us from getting a win that day! We went home with four goals and another shut out! Shout out to Emma Conway for getting her second collegiate goal!

It was a fun weekend, even with the disappointing loss, but we are ready to take on Lake Erie and Ursuline this week!

Hoping to add two more wins to the record! Thanks for reading!

Bex #4


Oct. 8, 2019 Homecoming Week started with a nice break. We did not have practice on Monday night, and everyone celebrated the day off with a different event. Some went out to eat, others caught up on homework, and some just took long naps. Tuesday, after Coach Meade forced Delight to take a picture with him because they were matching (it was #TwinDay), we had our first practice of the week. As always, our first practice of the week is hard and usually involves more running than touching a ball. But we got through it!

The rest of the week was full of more practice, discipleship groups, supporting the men’s team, and shooting games (which always make practice more fun). Fortunately, and unfortunately, we did not have a game Thursday night. Ohio Valley, a team who has dominated the conference the past two years, could not field a team this year (fishy, isn’t it). So, we focused our attention on playing AB (Alderson-Broaddus).

Saturday…GAME DAY!!! That morning, some of us ventured out to the practice field to watch our alums play a small-sided game. Many of the seniors from the 2018 class were present, and it was great to catch up with old friends. We also had two sister combos present! Classmates Hannah Shay (Velloney) and Rachel Wile (Hoober) were present! They are the older siblings to your center backs: Marisa Hoober and me!

Despite the chilly morning temps, the weather cleared, and we had a beautiful sunny afternoon to play some soccer. In the first 11 minutes, we already had two goals! It was an awesome way to start the game, and we have not scored more than one goal in the first half all season! In the 44th minute, MK, our freshman, southern belle, scored her FIRST COLLEGIATE GOAL!!! If you watch the archive of our games, I recommend rewinding after a goal to re-watch what happened…our bench has the greatest celebrations (@ Lo Lichty). In the second half, our team continued to dominate, and the result was a 5-0 victory (which almost doubled our goals for the season)!

This week, we take on undefeated Findlay and Tiffin - both on the road. These games will be tough matches, but we are excited and ready to make our mark on the conference.

Thanks for reading!

Bex

P.S. For those who wanted to see the picture of Coach and Delight…


Sept. 30, 2019 Where to begin!? The Tennessee/Kentucky trip is always one of the best for team bonding and fun!

Wednesday, September 25th, after a long day of classes, we got onto our bus (driven by Brian - thanks for all you do) and headed to Tennessee! On the drive we watched Catching Fire (sequel to The Hunger Games), which was a crowd pleaser. The bus was full of cheers and jeers as we traveled along the bumpy road. We pulled in to our hotel late that night and jumped into bed to get ready for GAME DAY on Thursday.

The nice thing about traveling is that you don’t have to go to class on game days, but the hard part is that the day always seems really, really long. The day started with a wonderful breakfast followed by our BTW (brisk team walk) and the Third Annual Speed Walking Race. This year, Coach Meade put higher stakes on the competition by offering ice cream to the winners. You better believe that started the smack talk. To the dismay of many, Coach’s team got the victory (video footage still under review). We had a team meeting after our walk and then headed to Panera for lunch. After lunch we headed to our next hotel, and the afternoon consisted of naps, homework, and getting ready for the game that night.

Trevecca has been a fun game the past two years because Olivia Hoffman’s older sister is on their team. We enjoy the sibling rivalry and seeing Mrs. Hoffman’s famous “Cedarvecca” t-shirt. Unfortunately, the game ended in a heartbreaking loss from a goal that was scored in the first minute.

Friday, we got to explore Nashville! The team put down the cleats and strapped on the sandals to walk downtown! A large group went to “The Legendairy Milkshake Bar” and had the world's most expensive and tastiest milkshakes! After gorging ourselves, we headed down Broadway and then back to Demo’s for lunch. After lunch we got back on the bus (shocker) and had another bus ride to another hotel. The evening was spent doing homework, hanging out, and watching (you guessed it) Mockingjay Part 1 (the third movie in The Hunger Games series).

Saturday, we had another BTW followed by lunch at Panera and then we headed to our game at KWC. I must say, it was not our best performance, but “a win is a win is a win.” We are now 2-1 in the G-MAC and take on Alderson Broaddus for Homecoming on Saturday.   

The bus ride back home was full of Shia Labeouf movies and people attempting to do homework. We had a blast this past weekend and are grateful for our day off on Monday.

See you at Homecoming!

Bex


Sept. 24, 2019
WHAT A WIN?! Saturday night, under the lights, our team took on Ohio Dominican University. ODU has been a thorn in our side since...well, always! Cedarville women’ soccer has not beaten ODU since 2004!! The least you could say is that we were very, very excited for this win!!! The win came in OT (sadly we were in overtime again…that's 4 of 5 OT games), and Aleah Martone scored her first collegiate goal!!! Shout out to Aleah for being pumped for this game! She was a huge motivation to all of us because of her fire and excitement (BOOM).

ODU is also Coach Meade’s old stomping grounds. We were finally able to pull off the win he has been wanting since my sophomore year! We all received an excited text from Coach Meade at 2:30 a.m. saying that he watched the game film simply because he was so excited about our win.

Leading up to Saturday, we had a long and needed week of recovery. We did not have a game on Thursday, and our team was able to relax early in the week and let our bodies take a break. By Wednesday, we were training hard again! Those of us in the infamous “modified group” took on the challenge of doing all of Coach’s drills non-contact. Props to the “modified group” for sticking with it and doing everything it could to get better…even with all the restrictions. Thursday and Friday, we came ready to work hard and get our energy up to take on the weekend.

This week, we are on the road to take on Trevecca (Thursday) and Kentucky Wesleyan (Saturday)! Our Nashville trip is always one of my favorites, and I am excited to tell you more about it when we get back!! We hope to come back with two victories from the weekend, and we will be working hard over the next two days to get ready for the trip!

Still happy dancing from our win on Saturday,

Bex


Sept. 16, 2019
We had a quick turn around from our long weekend in Michigan! After one training session on Monday, we had our home opener on Tuesday night!! As tradition, our home opener is usually themed “Beach Night” (a personal favorite of mine since I live so close to the ocean), and we invite fans to wear their best beach attire (Cedarville appropriate of course)! Our home opener was also a special day because our team hype video was played in chapel!! (Big thanks to @maskproductions) With all the excitement and preparation we were ready for game day!! Unfortunately, that night ended with another loss on our record, but by Wednesday we had picked ourselves back up and were ready for another training session.

Wednesday was recovery and Bible study. At Bible study, former CUWS player Kaleigh Gruenberg (Rowlands) led us in a time where we could share our burdens with one another. It was an emotional night for everyone, but it opened our eyes to the struggles of our teammates and showed us just how much we need each other’s support.

We had really tough practices on Thursday and Friday. Coach wanted us in the zone and ready to go against West Virginia Wesleyan. Everyone had to bond together and encourage each other to keep going and play hard.

Saturday was GAME DAY!!!! Even though we knew it would be a tough match, we refused to lose. After battling for 90 minutes with no goals for either team, we headed to overtime ready to redeem ourselves of two OT losses. Sure enough, after just a few minutes, Olivia Hoffman put in a nice ball off a corner to “Atty” Atkinson who touched it in nicely. VICTORY!!! We may have had one of the slowest rushes of the field in history...but at least it wasn’t led by Coach Meade this time (throwback to 2016 when coach was the first one to rush the field after his first win with our team). The win came at the perfect time to boost our confidence going into G-MAC play this week.

Thankfully we will have a full week to recover, and then take on Ohio Dominican at 7 p.m. Saturday! Hope to see some of your faces there!! Can’t wait to share more next week!

Bex

**if you want to watch the hype video, check out this link


Sept. 9, 2019
Wow! What an emotionally charged weekend!! As some of you may know, our team spent the weekend in Allendale, Michigan. Grand Valley State University (GVSU) invited us to an opening weekend round robin with #6 Lee University and Rollins College. Although we would not be taking on the Lakers themselves, we would be matched up against two other nationally recognized squads. But I’m getting ahead of myself…

Wednesday, September 4th, we loaded the bus and headed up to Michigan. After a few hours on the road, the main topic of discussion was what movie we were going to watch. A battle between The Greatest Showman and The Hunger Games quickly arose. We ended up watching The Hunger Games, and I think Coach Meade was really inspired by Katniss (you will see why later).  When the movie was over, we all tried to get some sleep and arrived at our hotel just before midnight.

Thursday morning, we got up and headed to GVSU for a quick training session. At the end of the session, Coach reminded us that Lee “Cedarville who?” University had posted in multiple articles that they were more concerned with their “difficult” match on Saturday (against GVSU) than their game against us. We left the field fired up and ready to prove ourselves. Just before the game, Coach Meade gave us another motivational speech. This time he used Katniss Everdeen as our inspiration to get Lee’s attention and “shoot the apple in the pig’s mouth.” It was unconventional for sure, but it put smiles on our faces and helped shake off some of the pressure. The game was well fought, and we ended up taking Lee to overtime before losing 1-0 on a golden-goal. It was a disappointing end, but also a fantastic result for playing the #6 team in the nation. After dinner, we had the rest of the night to ourselves to rest up and hang out.

Friday was an off day! We were able to do some “rockin’ recovery” at our very own Rose Anthony’s high school and then headed to Tunnel Park for lunch and to check out Lake Michigan! At this point, I need to extend a HUGE thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Anthony for providing a delicious lunch for us! The chicken was just as amazing (again), and the array of food was incredible! Also, a big thank you to all the other parents that came that day and helped! We are so thankful for all of you! After lunch, a few brave souls dove into the frigid waters of Lake Michigan and splashed around for some fun. When it was about time to leave, we recruited a search party to retrieve some lost glasses and then headed back to the hotel for some rest. Dinner was a delicious meal at Olive Garden to prepare us for our match early the next day against Rollins.

Saturday we were up early to get to the field! Rollins was another tough match that also ended in a 4-3 loss in double overtime. It was another disappointing result, but also encouraging to know that we could compete with yet another great team. After the game we showered up and started the drive home. We kept ourselves busy by cheering on the men’s team as they took on the University of California PA and had a great 4-0 victory.

This week we have a quick turn around and will take on Bellarmine University on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. for our Home Opener! Hope y’all can come support!

Go Jackets!
Bex

P.S. Lake Michigan still isn’t a beach.


Sept. 5, 2019
Fans and followers welcome to the 2019 CUWS blog! We are excited for another year to work hard, push ourselves, grow the program, and share the gospel with teams we play. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Bex Velloney, a senior nursing major from the 757 (Chesapeake, VA). I play center back and I’m the little sister to former CUWS center back Hannah Velloney (Shay). But enough about me, y’all are reading this to see what the team is up to!  

Preseason this year was short, quick, and to the point. Our team didn’t move in until August 15, a whole week later than the past few years. August 16 was the first day of “Getting Started” weekend which meant that when our team was not on the field, we were bobbing and weaving through 1,000 excited new freshmen and their emotional parents. It was much more crowded than usual, to say the least. Friday-Sunday we exhausted ourselves with two-a-days and spent our free time napping or forcing the freshmen to spend at least 20 minutes at different events (Shout out to Jocelyn Gross and Ava Dotlich for starting a timer).

The real fun started Monday. Monday-Wednesday Bible conference was two times a day (10 a.m. and 7 p.m.). We had even less free time as we ran back and forth from practice to Bible conference to meetings to practice and to Bible conference again. Fortunately, we only missed dinner once (for the parents that are concerned, don’t worry, they fed us Chipotle). Wednesday, class started! School came much faster than usual and threw us into another tailspin. By the weekend, we were ready for things to slow down, but instead we filled our nights with scavenger hunts, field dedication, and senior dinner.

The following week we had our two scrimmages. Unfortunately, we lost both, but through those losses we learned a lot and are now ready for our opening weekend in Allendale, Michigan at Grand Valley State where we will play NCAA II #6 Lee and Rollins. You will hear from me soon regarding fun times and memories from the weekend.

Until next time,
Bex


Bex Velloney is a senior defender from Chesapeake, Va. She is in her final year with the Lady Jackets and is a Dean's Honor List student majoring in nursing.