I will close the soccer chapter in my life by saying that I am so grateful for the ability and opportunity to play Division I college athletics, experience this awesome journey, and be a part of something that will forever be etched in history. I am grateful to my parents and the coaching staff (including our trainer Sheri) for supporting and believing in me, and for molding me into the best soccer player and person I could be. I guess I can officially call myself an alumni of the Western Kentucky Women’s Soccer Program, and what an incredible feeling that is! I will never forget all the great experiences that I have shared over the past four years…
It all started in December 2000, my senior year in high school. It was a rainy night when Jason (Coach Neidell) called my house to discuss my college plans. I thought to myself, “Who the heck is this coach? I didn’t even think Western Kentucky University had a women’s soccer team.” He flattered me with comments about my play, and by the time I accepted an invitation to visit campus, I finally knew all about WKU and Jason’s hopes and dreams for starting a new soccer program there in the fall of 2001. Those days of making a college decision were both nerve-racking and exciting. In the end, Western Kentucky just felt like home. After signing, I went back to campus in March for an orientation program. Here, for the first time, I met my teammates – the girls who would soon become the sisters I never had and my lifelong friends.
On August 8, 2001, I reported to campus for good. That first night we played pick-up games, and the next day preseason officially started! During preseason, I felt like I was just away at soccer camp, only with a lot more STUFF in my room! I was really nervous, but also excited and confident that I had made the correct choice about where to play and who I had to call my teammates. My dorm room was on the eighth floor of Pierce Ford Tower (a.k.a. PFT), a 27-story residential hall. Life in PFT was a great experience I will never forget nor would I ever trade. It was a blast meeting so many athletes and other students. Early in the first season, I soon realized that the players on my team were my friends first and teammates second. I got along great with my new friends, and we went everywhere together. We even had our own table in the cafeteria and would walk to class together in groups. This year was filled with so many “firsts” – my first preseason, first interview, first practice, first Tuesday morning practice (that was an early start!), first college friends, first cafeteria meal, first uniform, first game, first win, first road trip, etc. I can remember our first college party, all 20 freshmen walking in together and someone in the back yelling, “Here come the soccer girls!” As you can imagine, there were so many unique experiences beyond just our hard-earned success on the field. We overcame hurdles and shocked a lot of people in the process. Who would have imagined that we would be 14-5 in our first year! We were off and running and well on our way to developing this program in our own proud image. Most importantly, we jelled as a team like no other team I have ever been a part of. The season was great!
The next three years were filled with so many great memories and experiences. Matt Hawkey joined the coaching staff as a full time assistant. He took over responsibility of our small group training in the spring and helped mold us into the best technical soccer players we could be. Our athletic administration blessed us with an amazing new locker room in our second year. (It is definitely a special feeling to have your own personal locker marked by a marble plate with your name and number on it!) We also had tons of equipment that Jason spoiled us with in preseason to fill that locker, always reminding us never to take it for granted. Our team-building and bonding extended far beyond the soccer field. Camping, White Water Rafting in North Carolina, Paintball, a ropes course, the stupid shirt for foolish comments and acts (yeah, I wore it for going to the men’s bathroom and having a man walk in while I was in there!), a spring trip to Maryland, and playing in California and at the Golden Dome of Notre Dame were just some of the highlights of our athletic journey.
The biggest highlight of all was SPAIN – a 10-day overseas tour to experience different cultures, play soccer, and bond as a team. What more could a girl ask for? I had never left the country and was so eager and excited to get there. We stayed in an incredible resort just outside Malaga, and we all had an awesome time! We also won all three of our games against Spanish professional teams, though the soccer really seemed just a footnote to an unbelievable journey that taught us as much about ourselves as it did other cultures. What an unforgettable trip with memories that will last a lifetime!
Ironically, our college career would end in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Miami where just three years earlier, as twenty wide-eyed freshmen, we were making our boldest statement of that first season by taking highly favored North Texas into overtime in the semi-final game. (I will never forget the self-respect we felt when the North Texas fans gave us, their newest rivals, a standing ovation as we left the field that day.) This year we entered our game against the host team Florida International with our biggest crowd of supporters and a great hope for a championship. We scored an early goal, but we could not hang onto the lead. It was not meant to be our time.
In saying farewell on the field that day to the game that has meant so much to me, I felt sad but was also overcome with a great sense of satisfaction in our accomplishments of the past four years. My teammates and I had started a Division I soccer program and established a great winning tradition along the way! I also knew that we were turning the program over to a talented group of younger players who would continue our legacy and finish the dreams that we had started.
