Student-Athlete Journal

Editor's Note: Senior midfielder Amber Bradford of the women's soccer team provided online journal entries during the first three weeks of the 2002 season. Senior captain Kristey Lillis continued the journal for the remainder of the season. 

Final Entry: November 13

"It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end."

  Unfortunately, this will be the last soccer journal for the 2002 season.  We lost 1-0 last Saturday in the conference championship game against Mary Washington.  We played well and left everything on the field, but were unable to put the ball in the net.

  This season has been full of ups and downs, but through it all 23 girls became a family.  I walk away this season, as the whole team should, with my head held high.  We started the season with an 0-5 record and no one gave up.  We turned everything around and ended the year with a 12-7 record. 

To my girls…I will never forget the many memories and laughs from this season.  From the soccer games to the games on the bus to secret buddies to pasta parties…we always knew how to have a great time!

Maria and I were truly proud to be your captains and friends.  We wish all of you nothing but the best success in your future seasons…cherish every moment because your four years will be here and gone before you know it!

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In war there is no substitute for victory.

Well, it has been all about the conference tournament for the last week.  The idea that each game could be our last has driven this team through practice and the quarterfinal and semifinal games.  This hits home even more for Maria (Ciasca) and myself, two seniors, since each game could truly be our last as a Sea Gull.

On Saturday, we played Goucher in the quarterfinals.  We walked away with a 3-0 victory with goals by Kathleen Tiedemann, Dana Olsson, and Sammy Smiles.  We were happy with the win, but a little frustrated with the score.

On Tuesday, (Nov. 5) we faced a hard semifinal game against York.  The first twenty minutes we lacked the intensity when it came to stepping to the ball first and York took advantage of our lackadaisical play.  Fortunately, we were able to keep them out of the net until we stepped up our game.  Our defense played outstanding, holding York to a shutout. Kate Hendrickson, our keeper, had another impressive game with seven saves.

Dana Olsson led the team with the only goal of the game.  She played an excellent game and no one deserved the goal more.  She put the ball in the back of the net off a beautiful corner from Leanne Argue.

Now we are looking forward to Saturday to face Mary Washington at 1 pm in the conference finals.  We, as a team, will have to prepare both mentally and physically over the next few days.  We would appreciate any support for the game Saturday…it’s do or die time!! We hope we’ll have lots of fans come out and cheer on the SU Women’s Soccer team!! 

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This past week we faced three important games and walked away with three decisive victories.  We ended our regular season today (Tuesday) with a 10-6 overall record and 6-1 record in the conference.

Last Friday and Saturday, we defeated Marymount (CAC game) 7-3 and Immaculata 7-0.  We were all happy that we finished the ball as much as we did and everyone got the chance to contribute to the two wins.

Let’s just say we brought new meaning to playing in the rain today (Tuesday) when we faced Villa Julie.  When you go to kick the ball as hard as you can and it only dribbles into the next huge puddle, you know you’re in for a long game.  We got to see some of our teammates in some funny different positions (Kathleen and Leanne)!! Nevertheless, we knew we had to still play our best, no matter what the conditions were.  Thanks to Kathleen Tiedemann and Thea Zygmunt scoring the two goals, we walked away with a 2-1 victory.  Leanne Argue had the assist on Tiedemann’s goal.

A much deserving Kathleen Tiedemann was named CAC player of the week.  She is leading our team in many ways, but most importantly with her 12 goals, 5 of which are game winners.  She had two goals against Notre Dame, a hat trick (3 goals) against Marymount, and closed out the week with a goal in the Immaculata game.  Congrats Tieds and keep up the hard work!!

As our regular season has come to a close, we now wait to see what we will face in the tournament.  Our hard work and dedication has gotten us this far and we strongly believe that no matter whom we may face in the tournament we will come out ahead.

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This past weekend, we, the Sea Gulls, were put into a tense situation.  We had to venture to Fredericksburg, Va., which was an area that had been previously targeted by the sniper no more than two weeks ago.  Needless to say, the entire team and some parents were apprehensive about this trip.  Coach Nestor gave everyone on the team a choice to go to the game or stay home if they felt unsafe.  Luckily, everyone decided that they would take part in the trip.

The game was intense from the start, like all the battles are when Salisbury and Mary Washington face off.  Both teams knew this was a very important conference game and we needed to play our best.  Unfortunately, we were not consistent with our level of play, which allowed Mary Washington to build momentum.  With 22 minutes left in the game, Mary Washington scored and ended up winning the game 1-0.

All was not lost in the game.  Our keeper, Kate Hendrickson, had an unbelievable game with five incredible saves.  In addition, we walked off the field knowing we could get them when we see them in the conference tournament.

Unfortunately, the loss to Mary Washington created a three-way tie for first place in the conference, assuming all three teams win their last conference game.  With this tie, home field advantage throughout the post-season tournament might be left up to the flip of a coin.

We will be quite busy this week since we have three home games.  We face Notre Dame (Md) on Wednesday (October 23), Marymount (CAC game) on Friday (October 25), and Immaculata on Saturday (October 26).  So if you’re looking for something to do…come cheer on the women’s soccer team this week!!  

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“Confidence is the hinge on the door to success."

Coming off of a week with two important conference wins, which makes us 5-0 in the CAC, our team’s confidence is soaring high.  We are proud to be standing #1 in our conference and as of now in complete control of home field advantage throughout the tournament.

The final scores of the last two games have no reflection on how we completely dominated the teams.  Last Tuesday, we defeated Gallaudet 3-0.  Thea Zygmunt led the team with an assist and a goal.  Also scoring her first collegiate goal was freshman Kerry Weber.

Yesterday (Monday), we traveled to Baltimore to challenge Goucher.  We went away happy with a victory, but not satisfied with the score.  We did not finish the ball nearly as much as we wanted to.  Luckily, Kathleen Tiedemann and Thea Zygmunt were able to find the back of the net.

Besides our two key conference victories, Salisbury Women’s Soccer has something else to be proud of.  Thea Zygmunt, a sophomore midfielder/forward, was named CAC women’s soccer player of the week.  She led us to our fifth straight win in the 3-0 CAC victory at Gallaudet.  Congratulations Thea!!

The team will be practicing hard this week as we come up to a pivotal point in the season.  We will face Mary Washington, who is usually our main competition for the conference championship.  

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  As we go deeper into the season, the team appears to be digging deeper into its character.  Everyone is giving 110% at practice and that work ethic is carrying over to the games. 

With our fourth straight victory, the team’s confidence is as high as ever.  Last Friday, we played Chowan, a non-conference team, and won 2-0.  We completely dominated the game with our 31 shots on goal, but we had some difficulty when it came to finding the back of the net. 

Luckily, Kathleen Tiedemann led the team by scoring both goals.  In the 38th minute, Kathleen volleyed a perfect cross by Heather Pallet from the outside to put us up 1-0.  The second goal by Kathleen was unassisted.  In addition to the win, our defense played well and held their team to a shut out.

Although we had a rocky beginning to the season, each member of this team is confident that we will continue to grow and succeed as the season progresses.  We fully expect to be in the hunt for another conference championship when November rolls around.

This week we play two conference games.  On Tuesday, we head to Washington, DC to face Galludet (4 pm), and then we play home on (Friday) October 11th at 3:30 pm.

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From the beginning of the season, our team has been faced with many challenges.  Unfortunately, over the last week and a half it has been no different.  Thankfully, each player had enough heart and determination to push each other to victory.

Since the 3-1 victory over Catholic University a week and a half ago, we were challenged, to say the least, in practice.  Coach pushed all of us each day to leave everything on the field.  With everyone eyeing a common goal, we agreed with coach’s philosophy that to play hard in a game we needed to practice even harder all week long.

Obviously, the intensity and determination needed to get through practices last week carried over into our 4-1 conference win over St. Mary’s on Saturday.  After an unsatisfying first half, we were tied 0-0.  Coach challenged us all to step it up and play our game in the second half, and we did just that.  

Within the first five minutes, I was lucky enough to put the first goal in.  A perfect crossed ball from Leanne Argue to Thea Zygmunt, who ran in on it, banking it upper 90 added another goal quickly.  Rachael Cerza tallied her first goal of the season with a rocket shot from 35-yards out to cushion our lead.  Rachel Tansey let St. Mary’s know we weren’t satisfied with a 3-1 victory, as she ended the scoring at 4-1.  Kate Hendrickson kept us rolling with 10 impressive saves.

All in all, I have never been so proud to be a part of a team before.  The other girls and I are truly becoming one, on and off the field, and I am fortunate to say I am one of their captains. 

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Finally, a week to remember and smile about.  After a rough first three weeks, the Salisbury Women’s soccer team has prevailed over the hardships of loss and fought to get the first win under our belt.  Although we ended the week 1-1, the feeling of playing hard-fought battles is sometimes just as good as a win.

Positive thoughts were the only things heard from coaches, players, and fans after our Richard Stockton game on September 11th.  “Tonight’s game was a valiant effort by everyone,” said Coach Nestor.  “After watching the team through preseason and practices, the team is finally playing up to its potential,” said Kevin, one of our athletic trainers.

Richard Stockton, ranked 21st in the nation this past week, came out on top with only six minutes left in the game to win 1-0.  Even though we ended up on the short end, I believe this was one of our best games to date. 

On Sunday, the team came out even more pumped to play, ready to win our first conference game versus York College.  Sunday can just be considered a “day of firsts” for SU Women’s soccer.  Not only did we earn our first win in our first home game, but we tallied our first win in our first conference game, and Kate Hendrickson and the rest of the team fought for our first shutout of the season.

I don’t think anyone was willing to go into overtime on Sunday, especially Kristey Lillis, who came through with six minutes left in the game to score the lone goal that put us on top.  Defensively, Rachel Cerza and Dana Verdi really came through, keeping great composure in the back and winning a good percentage of 50/50 balls.  Everyone who came on the field played with heart and helped us experience the feeling of our first win on our home turf and in front of our dedicated fans.

Winning wasn’t the only thing the SU Women’s soccer team had to be proud of on Sunday.  The AFLAC Insurance Company presented its 2002 Assistant Coach of the Year Award to our assistant coach and friend, Wayne Gorrow, aka Wayno.

Wayno has been the backbone of this team since the first couple of years this program came about at SU.  On behalf of the entire team and coaching staff we would like to thank Wayno from the bottom of our hearts for all his time, dedication, and especially for his unique sense of humor that has put a smile on everyone’s face at least once.  Wayno, you’re the best, thanks!!

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Starting off the season with five away games before our first home game can be a little tough.  This past week we traveled to Virginia Wesleyan and Christopher Newport, respectively, still unable to bring home the all-important first win of the season.  You know, the win that builds your first breath of confidence, the one that brings the team together, and mentally allows you to move on to the next step.

I guess you could say we’re a little stuck.  With only two shots on goal during the Virginia Wesleyan game and not many more at Christopher Newport, I have come to the conclusion that defense doesn’t win games.  The team has put so much effort into its defensive game; we’ve forgotten how much fun it is to play offense.  With only two goals in four games, Kristey Lillis is the only one who has had a glimpse of how it feels to score goals this season, after having our only two goals under her belt. 

Losing by only one goal to Virginia Wesleyan, I felt we had the better athletes of the two teams, but just didn’t produce the offense needed to come out on top.  A couple of days later at Christopher Newport we lost 4-0 after only being down 1-0 at the half.  The second half was key and we just didn’t come out to play with the intensity needed to win.

While the team as a whole is still trying to patch up some glitches, our freshman keeper Kate Hendrickson seems to be a step ahead in that aspect.  With 32 saves in our first four games, Kate has gained a great deal of confidence in the goal and has improved immensely. 

Many are probably thinking that after our disappointing week we probably just had a quiet ride home from Christopher Newport on Saturday.  Well, the prospected three hour ride home ended up being five hours, after our bus broke down in the middle of the town of  “nowhere” in Virginia.  After pulling over to the side of the road, pretty sure that there was something wrong with the fuel pump, a couple girls on the team, well maybe only one in particular, seemed to think she was a part-time mechanic.  She suggested that if the air conditioner were turned off then the bus would magically work again.  To everyone’s surprise - it didn’t work.  I won’t mention any names…Thea. 

So, for the next two hours the team had a very unique bonding experience.  Some of our time was spent playing charades on the railroad tracks in the field back from the road, while the other half of the time was spent singing songs on the bus because it got too dark to stay outside.  I’m pretty sure I heard (Assistant Coach) Wayno singing along with us a couple times, even though he’ll never admit it. 

This week we play away at Richard Stockton on September 11^th at 6 pm, and then our home opener and first conference game will be played on Sunday, September 15^th at 1 pm against York College.

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With only 10 veterans and 15 new players, this season can definitely be labeled a “rebuilding year”.  While many might think that a rebuilding year means less success, I believe with a little heart, desire, and determination we can be just as successful as any other season.

  On the 27^th of August we traveled to Washington College for our preseason scrimmage where we encountered some hardships before our official first game.  With two of our starting midfielders out due to injuries we were able to play well enough to go home with a 3-1 win, but not before Rachel Cerza, one of our defensive starters, was flown to Johns Hopkins due to severe eye trauma.  We are thankful that her eye is healing as hoped for and she should be able to resume play within the next week or two. 

Over the Labor Day weekend we traveled the 6 ½ hour trip down to Fayetteville, North Carolina, where we faced Messiah College (ranked 22^nd in the NSCAA 2002 preseason poll) and Nazareth College, both teams whom we have never faced before.

Our 8-0 loss on Friday to Messiah was a wake up call mentally and physically and I’ll just leave it at that.  After our poor showing on Friday, the coach of Nazareth didn’t even want to play us the following day because he didn’t feel it would be a challenge.

We came out Saturday determined to show Nazareth College and its coach that we are a team worth playing - and that we did!  Being down 1-0 in the first half, we were even more determined than ever to come out in the final 45 minutes and prove ourselves as a soccer team.  In the 81^st minute Kristey Lillis took a pass from Kathleen Tiedemann and planted one in the goal to tie it up 1-1.  To Nazareth’s surprise we went into overtime, but after six minutes of play Nazareth caught a break away and scored in sudden death.  Even though the loss was disheartening, we jogged off the field with our heads held high knowing that we overcame our first step to success this season.