Offseason Update

contributed by Ashley Debeljak '13 (pictured above on the left with Kendra Simmons '13 and Deena Levey '13)

Off season for me = no off time. Yes, our days of soccer practices and games are over for now, but staying in shape and making yourself a better player is hard work (playoffs next year baby!). We have lifting 3 days a week, which is difficult but rewarding because I can tell I am getting stronger! Lifting with the team is great because you have their support to keep you motivated in the off season. I usually go to the gym with Kendra and Deena, but I also see a lot of my fellow teammates over at Veale.

IM basketball is also an activity the team does together to stay in touch! Despite the loss to the volleyball team, Team 1 had a very successful run! Don’t worry, we beat the volleyball team in everything else :). Congrats to the team though for making it to the finals! Kick some butt girls :) !

Classes are more time consuming than in the fall. I am taking more credit hours and it is a lot of work!

I’m really excited to get back in the swing of things once practices start again. I can’t wait to spend most of my time with my beautiful, wonderful teammates (miss you girls!). I’m also looking forward to some nicer weather!!

Well, that’s all for now - I need to study for a nutrition test! Hopefully, I can pull off a good grade despite the constant distractions from studying thanks to the Olympic Games! Go U.S.A.!

My Winter Break

by Frannie Hogan '11 (music major)

Kris Kringle, bells that jingle, eggnog, and holiday cheer. Sounds like Christmas, right? For my family, it’s more like barking dogs, a honey-glazed hog, Larry David, and store-bought birthday cakes. You could say we’re kind of quirky.

This holiday break was spent both at home in Ohio and at my grandmother’s in southern Illinois. With most of our family making the trip to Illinois from out-of-state, we celebrated Christmas on the 26^th to accommodate work and travel schedules. It’s more important that we spend time with one another than get together on a specific day. We’re not big on “traditional” traditions – no Christmas Eve stories by the fireplace or group photos in reindeer sweaters – but some trends have emerged over time.

The days leading up to Christmas were similar to those from years past, with Granny’s 88^th birthday, the annual Christmas Eve Wal-Mart run to pick up last minute gifts for unexpected relatives, and a trip to the movies on Christmas day. While Columbus has over twenty theaters within its city limits, Lawrenceville, Illinois, has one within a thirty-mile radius. Perhaps that’s why going to the movies on Christmas day in a small town is akin to navigating a sold-out, midnight Harry Potter book release. I’ve been in both situations, and I’m not sure which is more stressful. Hoards of people, strung out on potato casserole and turkey gravy and annoyed by their abominable relatives, who swarm the local cinema and force lines out the door, or hoards of nerds, revved up on Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans and pumpkin juice, ready to “crucio” anyone who stands between them and the next series installment. After as sly family of sixteen cut in front of us in the ticket line, my aunt noted we had been taken advantage of, but she didn’t say it softly, and didn’t use euphemisms.

On the 26^th, everyone enjoyed some homemade fare. As my grandmother ages, she has begun to delegate more of the cooking to her grandchildren, and this year it was my cousin’s job to prepare the popular chocolate pudding pie. We needed spoons instead of forks to enjoy the dessert that ended up as a pool of chocolate pudding with bits of crust floating around inside, but it didn’t matter to us. It was made with love and good intentions, as well as lots of butter and sugar.

Next came presents. Highlights from the gift-giving included lotto and scratch-off tickets, a mini Jesus flashlight (a “Jesus-on-the-chain,” if you will), and a group YouTube viewing session that included such gems as “The Turtleman” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn8EQ0azXpQ) and “Worst Burglar Ever” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUGRkeynl6Q).

Returning home to Ohio, I was greeted with shipments of textbooks for the next semester. Nothing says relaxation as “Meteorology Today” does. Still, I’ve been determined to make the most out of my break; thus, I’ve made it known that anything short of a National Emergency is not a sufficient reason to wake me up before noon. So far, so good.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, but spring break isn’t too far away. I hope all your holidays were happy!

Rascal House Eating Contest

As part of the halftime festivities at the final regular season home football game (which Case won, by the way, to cap off 3 consecutive undefeated regular seasons, their 3rd UAA title, AND another postseason bid...unreal!), the women's soccer team battled the volleyball team in the Rascal House Eating Contest. Anna Kennedy '12 documents the event in the following videos. Enjoy!

You’re All Gonna Know the Name: CASE!

I can’t believe it’s been four years. I can’t believe we’re done, didn’t I show up to run the mile at my first collegiate practice just yesterday? And now I am here four years later, blogging about my last game, one of the best games I have been in-the Rochester game on Saturday.

The day started with me picking my parents up from their hotel downtown. This was the first time they had both been back to Cleveland since they dropped me off my freshman year. It is a long way from Oregon and they don’t get out very often. For the afternoon we did the usual, went shopping. I got lost attempting to take the freeway from downtown to Beachwood Mall (another usual). After getting a dress and some lunch we headed back to campus so they could drop me off for our pre-game dinner. We parted ways and I hitched a ride with Vaci and the troupe down to the field.

As soon as I got to the locker room to drop my stuff off I got extremely excited. It wasn’t nerves (at least not yet), just pure energy spurned by the fact that it was a big game (not to mention my last). Our pre-game senior dinner was perfect. The Juniors gave each of us frames with multiple pictures which mix action soccer shots with everyday pictures of us having fun with our teammates. They are great. Speeches were made about each senior, (also given by the juniors) each containing laughable parts, and emotional. It meant a lot to have Link and Frannie tell me how I have impacted them. I think all us seniors were moved and started realizing that soccer might actually be coming to a close. We looked at each other’s frames and then walked down to watch the men’s game until we needed to get ready.

I got ready the same way I always do, everything on my left leg first in order, then right leg, then I braided my hair. I am glad my “crazy pre-game braids” have left a mark of their own, same goes for my shin guards. The braiding period was a somber/reflective one, I was no longer bouncing off the walls, rather, I was starting to get nervous. Coach gave us our pre-game chat and we went out to watch the end of the men’s game. After two overtimes the men ended in a tie and we were able to warm up. It was a good, focused warm up.

At ten minutes to kickoff we did the presentation of the seniors. My parents escorted me on the field while the announcer shared my stats and favorite soccer memories. I didn’t get emotional like I thought I might, I felt good about the game and was ready to play, emotions would come later.

Finally, the whistle blew and Rochester was booting a ball at me, the game was underway. Let me just say, I have never been happier with a 0-0 outcome in my life. Every player that stepped foot on the field from Case’s team played hard and well. The support from the bench kept me going when I got tired. Rochester had a few opportunities right at the beginning of the half, but we got into our flow and started attacking them. I felt really confident and good throughout the whole game. Laura was in constant communication with me and together with Vaci, Maeve, and Kennedy, we prevented Rochester from scoring. Our midfield helped us out a ton by stepping up and winning countless balls in the middle, and with Garber and Deena embarrassing girls on the outside we controlled the middle third of the field. The forwards played superb, the runs they had been working on in practice were working and we got several good chances on their net. At one point Ana drove end line, chipped a defender, then went around another one, and I thought to myself, “this is it, we are going to score just like we did last weekend”. I felt confident like that the whole game, I knew we were going to come out with a good result.

Things got really competitive in the second half. Rochester was starting to feel the pressure with us up in their defensive third for the majority of the half, combining that with some charged emotions, fouls and yellow cards started getting handed out. I am not entirely without guilt, I blatantly tripped #15 because she pushed me. Even so, we held out.

The announcer didn’t say what my favorite soccer memory was during the senior presentation. It was winning the corner kick that Bridget (in her senior game) scored a perfect header on to tie Rochester my sophomore year. Well, I have a new favorite memory, though, it happens to be almost identical. My new favorite soccer memory is holding off Rochester for 110 minutes to a scoreless final in my last game as a Case women’s soccer player, causing them to lose their first place position. I am so grateful to my teammates for giving me this memory. We got as far as we did because every player was dedicated and worked hard. Thank you my friends. Without the coaches support we couldn’t have done it. I especially couldn’t have gotten through the last four years without the patience, understanding, direction, and firm encouragement that I got from Coach Tiff, Buddy, Emily, and Coach Taylor. The program has come a long way, and will continue to do better and better. Good luck in the future, I will be around to cheer you onto the tournament next year. Keep working hard. Stir it up…you know what I’m talking about.

I “wave” to you all, especially Yule and my fellow seniors. It has been an absolute blast playing with you. You are each phenomenal athletes and people.

-Froms

A Night Out at Nighttown

(L to R) Katie Green '11, Annie Altenau '11, Amy Bishara '11, Frannie Hogan '11, and Megan

Link '11 before heading the dinner at Nighttown in Coventry.

written by Megan Link '11

The final week in regular season play is always filled with so many emotions. There was so much passion and hard work throughout the last week of practice, everyone wanting to end on a high note for our seniors (and Ana, even though we don’t believe she’s leaving us yet).

On Friday night, the day before our last game, our dedicated faculty advisor Dr. Prahl invited us out to dinner. This was such an unbelievable generous gesture that shows Dr. Prahl’s enthusiasm for the team. We had our very own section of the restaurant with our school logo on special menus, all just for us! As we choose our seats it was interesting. The sophomore class fought to sit with Erin, at the higher up VIP table. The freshmen all sat together. This became worrisome when they started playing with the candles on the table. I sat with Bish, Frannie, Annie, Blue, and Coach Buddy. Our evening started off with salads, then delicious entrees (I chose the prime rib, the BEST), and we all finished up with some ice cream.

My table had a particularly exciting night. We found out that Bish has a love for eating butter and ketchup, either on other food or even just by itself (yuck!). Buddy also went on to tell me he feels sorry for my husband one day, apparently he thinks I can be a little demanding. I don’t see it. But the evening really got rolling when Buddy and Frannie decided to create a master piece. Some olives and tomato remnants that were left on a bread plate and soon Buddy noticed them and got instantly inspired. He arranged the olives to be two eyes and a tomato nose then added a dash of pepper for a mouth. Frannie saw Buddy’s master piece and thought “I can do better.” So, she slide the plate to her side and created a goatee from the pepper, added a napkin hat, with the help of Annie she sliced a tomato in half to add a tongue and her master piece was in the making. Our friend eventually had ears and a nose ring (which was originally in Frannie’s ear). As we all admired our new friend, we decided he needed a name. A few were thrown around and then Buddy said, “how about Stu?” We all knew this was the right name when Frannie looked down at our friend and said “Stu?” He defiantly responded to this name and we knew that was the one for him.

As the evening came to a close it was very hard for us to part with Stu. So we let everyone else leave first, got a little photo shoot with Stu and said goodbye. We then thanked Dr. Prahl again for his generosity. We all went back to our rooms in order to get a good night sleep so we would be ready to take on Rochester and play hard for our seniors the next night.

UAA Double Header Hallo-weekend

contributed by Frannie Hogan '11 (Columbus, Ohio)

This past weekend, the Case Women’s Soccer team went 1-1 in UAA play. On Friday, we went up against Carnegie Mellon, a team whose style of play mirrors our own. We knew it would be a battle, but good energy (and decorations) in the locker room and positivity in the pre-game warm-up gave us the confidence we needed. Before we headed out to the field, coach stuffed us into her office to watch a video she’d made (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wocEN8unzt8). Not only was it inspiring, but it also reminded us we’re a team and we all have something to contribute.

We went out to the field as the men’s game was finishing. Unfortunately, the guys lost to nationally ranked Carnegie 2-0, but as soon as they finished we started warming up. We had business to take care of. The game started out well, and it was clear we were pretty evenly matched (like we are with all the teams in our difficult league). Carnegie took some shots early on, but Anna Kennedy denied them all. We also had some opportunities, but the score was tied at 0 at the half. At half-time, Coach Tiff had the utmost confidence that we would win, and her confidence brought up the team. Instead of worrying about losing, the team was waiting for the goal we knew we’d get.

The second half started out like the first, but with Case taking more shots. We were battling our way through the field when Carnegie drew a foul at the midway line. Then, defender Laura Gabster perfectly executed the shot we’d trained for months – a free kick from 50 yards out that flew with the wings of angels as it slammed over Carnegie’s keeper into the upper right 90 of the net. Obviously, we knew the shot was going in, but the team went crazy anyways. It was Laura’s first goal of the season, and it was awesome. That would be the only goal of the game, and we were able to switch up our positioning afterward to hold on to our win.

After the game, I dragged my roommate Amy Bishara to Qdoba where we polished off a quesadilla and a burrito (respectively), each the size of a small child. As soon as I finished the last bite, I knew I’d made a poor decision. The walk back to the dorm was punctuated by cries of over-stuffedness from Amy, and I was sure I was going to explode from all the cheesy, sour creamy goodness. I managed to squeeze in a few games of Mario Kart on Nintendo 64 before the night was over, though I realized my skills have been slowly deteriorating since middle school.

The next morning, my slumber was disturbed in the early morning hours by a shrill beeping noise. I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter, only to discover the noise was from my suitemate’s alarm clock. Most unfortunately, my suitemate had left for the weekend and her door was locked. Thus, I grumpily endured 2 more hours of the alarm before I drifted back to sleep. At 11am, the team met for breakfast in one of the dorms. Bagels and orange juice were provided by Caroline Garber (many thanks!), and it was nice for the team to just hang out.

After hours of studying, I enjoyed some of the Halloween festivities sponsored by Case. Free food and s’mores, pumpkin carving, student booths and live bands were several of the highlights of the on-campus “Halloween at Home.” I then hiked over to South Side to see the student production of West Side Story with some of the sophomore girls. It was a great show, but I got even more entertainment on my way home. Surprisingly, I saw an inordinate number of fashionable cops, doctors, nurses and German beer wenches wandering campus on all-Hallows eve. I can only speculate that they were needed en masse for some sort of joint collaboration with University Hospital and the German Federation of Scantily Clad People.

On Sunday, we battled against Emory University. They’re very direct, and we’re very possession-oriented. The game started out well, even though Emory had several shots. We got on the board at the 13-minute mark when Ana Arruda chased down a ball headed toward the corner flag, maneuvered herself in typical Brazilian fashion around a defender and found Alex Litofsky open inside the box. Alex had great composure and put the ball away for her second goal of the season. We definitely thought we had the game in the bag, but Emory came back 17 minutes later and tied up the game. Even though we were determined to win, Emory added another goal 5 minutes into the second half. After that, we had trouble keeping our possession game against their powerful, direct play. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find the back of the net again. The loss was definitely a hard one to stomach – everyone on the field and the bench kept going until the clock ran out. If anything, the game has given the team motivation for our final UAA match against Rochester this coming weekend. It’s our senior night and, along with pride, we have an amazing senior class to play for. Come out to the turf on Saturday at 5pm for the Men's game, and 7:30 for ours!

Halloween Practice Part 2

Halloween 2009 Winning Costumes

Team Pic

Class of 2013

Class of 2011

Class of 2010

Class of 2012

Halloween Practice

Every Halloween practice seems to outdo the year before. This year was no exception. Here's some footage from this year's practice. Enjoy.

An impromptu Hannah Montana concert starring Ashley Debeljak '13 and Katie Woodling '13

This year's Halloween Practice winners are announced...

Runners-ups...

Caseyola (Sophomores Laura Gabster, Anna Selser, Becca Vaughan, Sammy Sarett, Anna Kennedy, Jackie Guttman, Kristina Vaci, and Alex Litofsky)

Cloudy with a chance of Thunderstorms (Amy Baumann '11)

Grand Prize Winner...

Fat Man (Ana Arruda '11...kind of)

Kicks for a Cause Wrap-up

Yesterday at practice we were joined by Karen Bain, Development Director for the Alzheimer's Association - Cleveland Area Chapter. After contacting her with our final tally from our inaugural "Kicks for a Cause" game, she insisted on personally thanking the team for their efforts and contribution to the fight to end Alzheimer's. She came to practice to pick up the money and to greet the girls. She shared with the team how impressed she and the entire staff at the Alzheimer's Association have been with the team's efforts. Their picture and efforts will be shared on the website and in their upcoming newsletter. It was a great and well-deserved moment for everyone.


Below is an article written by our sports information department detailing this year's event. I cannot put into words how touched I was by the support the team received. I never envisioned such a simple idea to take off like it did. Thank you so much to all of you who supported the cause, either by spreading the word, donating money, or attending our game. We look forward to many more years of giving back and making a difference.


CLEVELAND, OH (October 27, 2009) - The Case Western Reserve women’s soccer team raised $5,201 as part of the first-annual Kicks for a Cause Day. The beneficiary of this donation is this year’s charity of choice –The Cleveland-Area Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.

“It has been overwhelming how much support the event garnered,” said head coach Tiff Crooks. “We've received so many generous donations and heartfelt notes from family and friends across the country. Our original goal was to raise $3000. To exceed it by so much has been very exciting and rewarding.”

The fundraising activities for Kick for a Cause Day, which was held September 26th against Ohio Northern University, included bake sales throughout the week, donations raised prior to and at the game and a raffle at the game with the help of the volleyball team.

Junior Amy Baumann (Dublin, OH) organized the team bake sale.

“When we heard of the idea we were all very excited and enthusiastic about it,” said Baumann. “The response and effort put into it by the girls was amazing. Pretty much every single person on the team helped in one way or another - baking, working the table or making fliers. It was definitely a successful endeavor and something of which to be proud.”

Sophomore Alex Litofsky (Columbia, MO) was the leading fundraiser on the team.

“I was happy to be a part of Kicks for a Cause,” said Litofsky. “Alzheimer's has some personal relevance for my family and me, so I made an effort to ask all of our relatives and friends for a pledge. It really means a lot to me that so many people responded with such enthusiasm and support.”

The development director from the Alzheimer's Association will attend a practice next week to collect the donation and personally thank the ladies for their hard work.

“This year's cause was my decision, but the team did all the work in raising the money,” said Crooks. “After one mention of the "Kicks for a Cause" event, the girls were enthusiastic and filled with ideas to make the event a success. It's inspiring to see how engaged they became in the process. I'm so proud of this group and their ability to see the big picture and the world outside of college.

Case Witch Project...

Sophomore Kristina Vaci and friends get creative with the Flip Cam outside Anna Kennedy's house during our trip to St. Louis and Chicago last weekend...