Overall, I think that our team is pleased with our success this past season. We had a winning record and ended up with third place in conference. I felt that we drastically improved from last season. We grew and evolved a lot this season.
It was unfortunate that the quarterfinal game against Butler didn’t go our way. Losing in penalty kicks was a disappointing way to be disqualified. However, on the positive side of things, we scored two goals in that game and put on a pretty good performance. I learned a lot from this season and am very excited to grow and continue to learn in the off-season in preparation for next year.

- Brooke Henderson

Hope to see you all at the game.

Brooke

Today was a very eventful day, after the team won there was about an hour to eat at our lovely tailgate, clean up after the game and try to attend the men’s soccer game against IUPUI. All of this rushing around was definitely worth it! After an amazing game against Green Bay we got to watch a great game between VUMSO and IUPUI. The men won 1 to 0 and my friend Eric Nieto scored the only goal!

P.S. Kudos to the parents who put the tailgate together at our home games. We all love it so much!!!

- Rachel Sheehan

- Brooke Henderson

Hoo-Hah!
-Trisha Wladecki

My immediate family at Valpo is the team – There are 21 of us sisters (or wives – which might be hard for people that aren’t on the team to understand), and we have 1 trainer, 2 coaches, and 3 volunteers that would do anything for us. (They care about us sooo much that they give out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and chocolate milk after EVERY game!) We’re just like any other family… we fight and argue, and get pretty mad at each other sometimes. But in the end, there’s no other group of people we want to be with.

Occasionally, we’re lucky enough that we get to see our real families during season. Sometimes our parents / siblings have the chance to come out and support us, even when the games are far away. What’s amazing is that these families always open their arms to any of the girls whose families weren’t able to come out that day and love them like their own. Even Coach John’s wife, Susie, has been there after games to give me a hug and tell me that she’ll be my family that day since my parent’s couldn’t make it.

These families don’t just support us at the games… since I’ve been here, countless people have opened their homes to us when we’ve been on the road to let us relax and give us a home-cooked meal. Traveling during season can be rough… just because we have games doesn’t mean we can put homework or any other stressors on hold while we’re away. These families make us feel loved and at home even when we’re hundreds of miles away.

Four years ago, I had no idea that leaving my family actually meant that I was gaining family. We look out for each other and care about one another (one of my teammates parent’s even told me that I could live with them if I decided to move out to Colorado when I graduated!), and when girls graduate and move away they are still as much a part of our family as the girls who are currently on the team. Of course, the team’s success is important and means a lot to us… but when it comes down to it, it’s the relationships that we make over the years that means the most.

(Dana McGlone – sorry for taking so long to blog, but maybe if you told me about the weather more often, I would have written it sooner)

Sammy

College soccer has certainly been a journey thus far.  It is unreal to think that it has already been a month and a half since I first arrived on campus for preseason.  As time has passed, relationships have grown and our team skills have progressed.  What was once a group of strangers to me, is now my team, my family and my best friends.  I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to play soccer at the college level and I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.  At this point in the season, I feel that we are a true team.

However, getting to the point of true team-unity isn’t an easy process.  It took a series of games to get us to the point we are at now.  One dramatic leap in the direction towards unity came from a game we played against Eastern Michigan University.  The first half, we were not playing up to our full potential, and we were losing the game by two goals at half time.  At that point, we had a decision to make.  It was in our hands alone to decide whether or not we wanted to be successful in that game.  Coach Marovich told us what we needed to do in the second half, and after our halftime talk, we were ready to go back onto the field and show everyone what we were truly made of.  We scored two well-earned goals that were the result of pure determination and heart.  At the end of regulation play, we were tied two to two and had to go into overtime.

This game taught us a lot about ourselves.  It showed that even when we were in a position where giving up seemed like a logical answer, we did not want to accept defeat and we fought until we couldn’t fight anymore.  From the field to the sidelines, EVERY SINGLE member of our team had an energy.  Whether it was making a 70-yard sprint to secure the ball in the offensive third, or screaming encouraging words to motivate a teammate, everyone was on the same page and truly wanted to win.  This is what our team is about; sacrificing the betterment of your self for the good of the team.  Mia Hamm once said, “I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team.  I defer to it and sacrifice for it.  Because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.”  Hamm says it perfectly.  A team will only find success when every single member is committed to sacrificing and living for the team.  It is easy to let your mind stray from this point of view, and start to think in the terms of “I”. But, as that corny old saying goes, “There’s no ‘I’ in TEAM”.  Individual success is important.  But selfish success is dangerous.  You could take the eleven best soccer players in the world and throw them on a field.  Unless they are all willing to sacrifice and fight as a team, they will find no triumph.

As we head to Tennessee this weekend, I am excited for us to progress even more.  I am proud of this group and all that we are capable of.

Sincerely,

Kristen Manski

This past summer produced a great number of changes in the Valpo Athletic Department. One of most significance was the women’s locker room project. I could not help but think of the hit TV show Extreme Home Makeover and Ty’s special room as I spent most of the summer working and thinking of ways to make sure the space was just perfect for the team when they returned for pre-season camp. My hope was that it was going to show them how important they are to me, the athletic department and the University. As the players returned for pre-season they got to experience the shock and enjoyment of the phrase “Bus Driver, Move That Bus.”

Check out all of the pictures from the entrance hallway to the wood lockers on our facebook page. The best part was the looks on their faces and how quickly they were taking pictures and sending them to family and friends. Truly one of the best moments, I have had coaching at Valpo.

All programs are built over time and the pillars of success come from all of the former players who have given time, passion, sacrifice, sweat, pain and even a little blood to elevate the soccer program to a new level. Those first alums may not have even had a space, others remember the first locker room of orange metal lockers in a small space, yet others remember the up grade to our most recent locker room which was exciting to have carpet, pictures and messaging as the program grew with greater success. Today, the women’s soccer team has their own locker room with a 42″ HD TV, sofa, wood lockers, new University brand and most important tradition and history.

When a current player walks into the locker room the first thing they see is the old name plates of former players around our bulletin board. The current team needs to see the Alumni who have been so critically important to the growth of the team. Next, the concrete pillar in the space has been painted white and has special meaning. Our alumni have paved the way to this new space, so when a player graduates they will be asked to leave a 1 to 2 sentence massage and sign their name on the pillar as they have left their mark on the program. As alumni come back to campus for any reason, please come to the locker room and leave your message and name because YOU are the pillars of OUR success.

As each day passes, this place becomes more comfortable and feels like home. Thanks you to the Athletic Department for fund-raising and managing the project. Three claps go to the IMC staff for there cooperation in the creating our wonderful space and developing our interactive program guide with pictures and videos of every player. We are so excited and blessed to have all of you behind us and our group is working hard each day to make you all proud.

So the only thing left to say is “Welcome Home Valparaiso Women’s Soccer Players, Welcome Home.”