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...

A great story about one of our greatest!

SOO HOO FIGHTS FOR ONE LAST SEASON ON SOCCER FIELD...

CLEVELAND, OH - The senior season is a special time for any student-athlete as four years of hard work and dedication culminate in a final season on the field. For women’s soccer midfielder Jen Soo Hoo (Berkeley Heights, NJ), her senior season was abruptly put on hold in early June. Soo Hoo tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and lateral meniscus in a co-ed soccer game.
“It was really simple, I was just changing directions and it snapped,” said Soo Hoo about suffering the injury. “I didn’t think anything was wrong at first because I was able to limp off and it didn’t really hurt. After I found out, I was really upset at first but I always assumed I’d try to come back and play.”

For many athletes, a medical red-shirt would be the course of action, and their senior season would just be put on hold a year. For Soo Hoo, who is already in her first year of medical school at Case Western Reserve concurrently with her senior year, the academic requirements would have been too much.

"There was a period where I debated between red-shirting and playing next year or coming back for this season,” explained Soo Hoo. “Med school wise though, I knew my only chance of playing was probably this year.”

There was only one option left for Soo Hoo – fight as hard as she could to make it back to the soccer team by the end of the season.

So Soo Hoo did what she could and rehabbed every chance she got. With the start of the season less than three months away, there was no chance she could return from an injury which typical takes six months of recovery time by then. However, if she could get ahead of schedule, a return for University Athletic Association (UAA) play in October was not out of the question.
“I never really thought about not being able to come back this season, I was always like ‘no, you have to come back this season,’” said Soo Hoo. “I wanted to keep pushing it, like when she told me I could run, tomorrow I wanted to sprint. (Case soccer’s head athletic trainer, Erin Lake) was really good about all of it. She knew when to tell me no I couldn’t do that.”

“She has worked very hard over the last few months,” said Lake. “Jen's desire to return to the field was the driving force behind her rehab. Some people need to pushed, but not Jen. There were times I had to slow her down. She managed to make rehab a priority, even with medical school classes.”

“Jen’s dedication to the program and the team in the rehab process has been outstanding,” said third-year Head Coach Tiffany Crooks. “As a first year med student, she could easily have walked away from the season and her teammates to focus on her studies. Rather she has attended nearly all of our practices, attends all the games, and is finding success in med school.”
Last year’s team captain received plenty of encouragement to make it back from teammates and the coaching staff.

“I received a million calls, everyone just wanted to know what happened and they were really sorry,” said Soo Hoo. “Coach (Crooks) tried to call me all the time but I didn’t want to talk to her at first because I didn’t want to cry while talking to her on the phone.”
While Soo Hoo sat and gave encouragement from the bench, her teammates flourished to open the season. The Spartans got off to a 7-3-2 start and were ranked in the Great Lakes Region for the first time since at least 2004. This included a 2-0 start to the conference season, the team’s best start in UAA play since 1993.

“The team was very open with me being apart of everything,” said the senior. “The first UAA win, I was very happy for the team. Obviously, I would have liked to have been a part of that, but I still felt a part of it, sitting and watching.”

Not everything has been smooth sailing for the Spartans this season as several other players have gone down with knee injuries. Already being on the road to recovery, Soo Hoo was able to talk to the other during their time of need.

“I’ve talked to (the injured girls) and everyone reacts to it differently,” said Soo Hoo “It’s nice for them that they have at least another year to play, but it’s obviously devastating.”
All of Soo Hoo’s persistent indeed paid off. In early October, Soo Hoo was cleared to practice and just a week later, she joined the team on a big road trip to St. Louis and Chicago to make her first appearances of the year.

“It’s good to be back out there and just playing,” explained Soo Hoo. “Fitness is huge right now after only practicing a week before going out there.”

While the Spartans dropped both games on the trip to No.9 Washington University and No. 15 University of Chicago, the team was happy to have Soo Hoo back.

“Jen is one of the most gifted players in the UAA, completely healthy she’s is a game changer,” said Crooks. “Even though she is not 100 percent, she can still provide us with limited minutes and impact the outcome of a game. Just seeing her on the field and playing is inspiring. I'm not sure I've ever been prouder of a player.”

Soo Hoo’s knee will prohibit her from playing at the level she was at a season ago as one of the team’s best players. However, she’s going to try to think about her knee as little as possible the rest of the season.

“It was tough, because I remember how I used to play before the surgery and I feel a lot slower and can’t do the same things I used to,” explained Soo Hoo. “I try not to think about it because it’s all mental and I know my doctor wouldn’t have cleared me if I couldn’t go out on the field. It’s a little scary because of how I tore my ACL, just turning.”

The Spartans have four matches left (@ Oberlin - Oct. 24, Carnegie Mellon - Oct. 30, Emory – Nov. 1, Rochester - Nov. 7) in the regular season. That final date against No. 10 University of Rochester is senior night and is expected to be an emotional night as the team graduates four seniors, forward Kaitlyn Yule (Raleigh, NC/Vernon Hills), midfielder Caroline Garber (Cincinnati, OH/Ursuline Academy), defender Katie Fromwiller (Clackamas, OR/Sam Barlow) and Soo Hoo.

“Every senior year we always see the seniors get very emotional,” said Soo Hoo. “This is your last game ever playing soccer in a competitive environment and obviously soccer has been a huge part of our lives so it’s going to be something that we’re all going to miss.”

While that game will be the end of Soo Hoo’s playing career, she will still be at Case Western Reserve another three years for medical school. She already has experience coaching youth soccer as an assistant with former Case player, Madeline VanGunten, and has spoken with Coach Crooks about staying involved with the team in the years to come.

“I talked to Coach Tiff about it and she’s very open to it,” said Soo Hoo about having a future role with the program. “I hope to help out, come to practices and home games at least. I want to help out as much as possible. Coaching is really different than playing…it takes a lot of patience.”

Second UAA win!!!!

by Anna Selser '12

This past weekend the men’s and women’s soccer team headed to New York City for this season’s first UAA away game! This was especially exciting to me because:

1) It’s my first UAA game I have ever played in

2) I have never been to New York City

3) Flying somewhere always means one thing: you get to browse through Sky Mall magazine.

I love skymall magazine so much that I was enlisted in creating an advertisement for this issue highlighting some of the best products. Unfortunately for you dedicated blog followers, the footage for this advertisement was lost. However if you get the chance to check out the Sky Mall website, you should definitely consider buying “Your Names in the Sand.”

On Friday it seemed luck was against us. Right before we left we find out that Laura, one of our starting center backs, is very sick! Oh no! Then our flight got delayed! Then there was a lot of traffic getting into the city. After a short time walking through Greenwich Village and eating, we returned to the hotel where we were all ready to settle in for a good night’s sleep. However, a certain two members of the team, who shall remain nameless, were thoroughly convinced by some very thin evidence that they were going to be murdered in their sleep which caused quite the commotion. Luckily everyone made it to bed by curfew and everyone was alive for the most important day of the trip, GAME DAY!

We woke up early to take the boys to the field to warm up and after a delicious breakfast we returned to cheer them on. After 90 minutes the score still remained 1-1, so the game went into overtime giving us more time to get focused and game ready. We had our pregame talk in a nice clearing near the woods where we were lucky enough to hear the beautiful, inspiring poetry of Caroline Garber. The boys ended up remaining tied after two overtimes, but we didn’t let that disappointment bring us down.

Although our warm up was not very sharp, we came out ready to play and immediately realized the Violets were a completely beatable team. Their formation gave our outside midfielders so much space we were able to switch the field really well and create some great opportunities. However after the first half, the game remained tied at 0-0. The second half continued to be pretty similar to the first half until with 7:45 left on the clock Cicy Fusco crossed the ball from the right side of the field. Kaitlyn Yule attempted the header only to have the goalie deflect it, luckily freshman, Deena Levey was there covering back post to put the ball in the net. The ref was odd and at first we didn’t realize it was a goal, but when we did we were obviously ECSTATIC!

Overall the team played very well and most importantly we went out and set the tone for the game and played our game. We are now 2-0 in the conference and confidently ready for our next UAA away games next weekend in Chicago and St. Louis! AND we are able to check off another box in the “wins” and “shutouts” section of our goal list. Good job this weekend ladies!

First UAA win of the season!!

by Caroline Garber '10

This past weekend both Men’s and Women’s Soccer teams played in the first conference games of the season against Brandeis University. I know for me, conference games are my favorite portion of the season. It had been 2 years since my last conference game; a lot of nerves and excitement had been building over that time in anticipation for the chance to play these UAA games one more time. Needless to say, I was extremely excited for the game on Saturday.

Saturday morning everyone on the team was up pretty early to get some breakfast and be at the field in time to catch some of the Men’s game. It always pumps me up to see them play, so luckily we are scheduled to play second in every UAA match this year! When it was time, I had to peel myself away from their game. I headed into the locker room to see it was brilliantly decorated by the freshman on the team. Streamers, balloons, signs everywhere; you name it, they had it in there. I was even more excited for the game knowing that my team was just as eager for it to start. Coach Taylor and Coach Tiff then came into the locker room to give the pregame talk. We learned a little something about ants in that time. I’d share more about the story, but I think that it was good luck so I can’t give it away now. Right before we left the locker room, Devyn revealed that under our bench was a hidden quote typed out for each one of us. It was a big surprise and the perfect note to end on before warm-up began.

GAMETIME. If you were able to catch any of the game, you know that it was intense for 90 minutes. We knew it would be a tough battle, and we got just what we had expected. In my past four years playing soccer here, we never were able to pull out with the win against Brandeis. After the first half, the game was scoreless. It was in the second half that we really stepped it up. I am so proud of the team’s performance in that second half of the game. We were able to score 15 minutes into the half!!! Now up by 1, we had to hold off the Judges and maintain our lead for 30 minutes. The team played awesome and we kept our lead for the FIRST UAA WIN IN 2 YEARS!!! I was fortunate enough to finish our one goal against Brandeis. I am pretty sure I tackled Yule as soon as I turned around and was soon surrounded by our entire team. Rewards come few and far between sometimes in soccer, but moments like that remind you that it is TOTALLY worth all of the hard work. I wish I could give my team a million goals every game… they deserve it!!! I can’t express accurately enough just how happy I was to walk away from that game with a win. Being a senior, I can assure that there are few things more rewarding in a season than a win against a UAA team. Winning against Brandeis was a great memory I’ll keep from this season, but I must admit it has made me hungry for more wins in our conference. We head off to New York this weekend to play NYU. Hopefully our team walks away equally as proud from that match. Thank you and Stay Tuned!!

Battle Scars

Katie Fromwiller '10 got drilled by Kaitlyn Yule '10 in training on Thursday. Here's their documentation of the aftermath...

Kicks for a Cause

by Amy Baumann '11 (Dublin, Ohio)

This past weekend, the Case women’s soccer team battled the Ohio Northern Polar Bears in a very physical and spirited game. This is one of our biggest non-conference games every year so it is no surprise that the game has a heightened level of intensity. The game this year, however, had even more reason to be so passionate: we were playing for a cause. As part of our yearly community service, we decided to raise money in support of the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.

Each player helped contribute to the cause by either accepting pledges per each shot taken or through flat donations. The team also sponsored a bake sale during classes the previous week and held a 50-50 raffle during the game (with help from the Volleyball team!) While the final tally still has to be calculated, hopefully we were able to accomplish our goal of raising $3000.00. Thanks to the Alzheimer’s association we were able to wear T-shirts supporting the cause during warm-ups.

The game was just as demanding as we expected. ONU fields a very athletic and hardworking team every year so we were prepared for a battle, and a battle is was. Furthermore, the weather was very conducive to a hard-fought game: lots of rain, a little wind, and the first “cool” game of the year. Both teams were fairly evenly matched with a majority of the play occurring in the midfield. After a very back-and-forth first half, half-time arrived and we found ourselves down a goal.

The second half was just as physical and tightly contested as the first. Every single Spartan who stepped on the field contributed all the effort they could, but we were quite in sync and despite putting lots of pressure on ONU, including a few free kicks and corners, we were unable to net the tying goal and ended up falling 1-0.

This loss is particularly difficult to suffer because the game was so winnable and should we have another opportunity to play them, the result could very well be different. However, we came away from this game focused and ready to enter our “second” season – the conference season. With only one more game until our UAA conference games begin, we are focused and ready to take the next step to becoming the best team we can be. With so much potential, this conference season looks very promising. Hopefully the loss to ONU can serve as a springboard into our conference play.

Photos:

Top: Entire team before Kicks for a Cause game

Middle: Assistant Coaches Rene Taylor (L) and Buddy Cooper (R)

Bottom: Injured Players...Katie Green, Jen Soo Hoo, Amy Bishara, Megan Link, Kendra Simmons, Amanda Wojahn, and Anna Selser

Case for Community Day

by Annie Altenau '11 (nursing major from Cincinnati, OH)

On September 25, 2009 the women’s soccer team participated in the 7^th annual Case for Community Day. The day gives students and faculty the opportunity to connect with and improve our Greater Cleveland community. There were over 50 projects set up including Pennies for Peace, painting, landscaping, and athletic activities.

The athletic portion of the day was run by CASA (Case Association of Student Athletes). Each sport was responsible for running a station for the neighborhood school children to teach them how to play their sport and improve on their existing skills. The kids were split up into several small groups that rotated through the stations. The kids would stay at the station for about 40 minutes before moving on to the next sport.

When the kids arrived at the soccer station, we attempted to take the kids through a short warm up consisting of jogging, skipping, star jumps, and a few stretches. Several of the kids were just too excited to play soccer that it was nearly impossible to get them to line up on the line. They all had so much energy and all they wanted to do was get a soccer ball and shoot on goal. This resulted in fifteen kids shooting at the same time on the same goal.

Once the majority of the kids went through a warm up, we moved on to other games. We had the kids shoot, play sharks and minnows, race each other, juggle, pass, and even do head balls. By far, the favorite “game” of all of the kids was to see how high we could kick the ball in the air. They were all amazed that the ball could go that high, and would attempt to imitate us.

Most of the kids that came to our station seemed to attach themselves to one of us or a group of us. They had us playing whatever they wanted to play by their rules, which kept us laughing. One second grade boy that I was playing with wanted to scrimmage 1 vs. 1. While playing, he decided that he was allowed to get a different ball to play with at any time. Other kids had us racing them, showing them tricks, and playing keep away.

We all had a blast at Case for Community Day, and we look forward to participating again next year.

Freshman Reflection

by Devyn Lee '13 (State College, PA)

It’s difficult to go through a new experience without comparing it to something from your past. So, in my first month here at Case, I’ve been comparing almost everything to what I’ve known in the past. Having grown up in State College, Pennsylvania, that means that I am constantly thinking about Penn State University.

Both of my parents work at Penn State, and life in our town is frequently dictated by what is going on at the university. For example, if you’re going to be driving on weekends in the fall, it’s important to know if the football game is home or away, for traffic patterns change significantly when a town of about 40,000 is invaded by thousands more crazy football fans. Most of the best restaurants and stores are right next to the Penn State campus, so if you live in State College, it’s easy to be familiar with the campus even as a freshman in high school. At least 60% of graduates from my high school end up going to Penn State, and the town is filled with alumni, so the tradition runs deep.

I had the chance to go to the Ohio State- Toledo football game with my teammate Maeve, an Ohioan (ha ha… that word is so funny to me). I initially refused, because I thought I could never enjoy watching an OSU game if they weren’t playing Penn State and losing, but I decided that since Maeve’s brother is a Toledo student, and she would be rooting for the Rockets, I could do that too. Besides, last year Toledo upset the Buckeyes, and I welcomed any chance of witnessing that kind of upset. While the same thing sadly did not occur this year, I had a great time rooting against the Buckeyes, even though Toledo fans were outnumbered approximately 20 to 1.

So, this might not make sense to anyone who hasn’t grown up in State College, but when you live in such a football-crazy community, you can’t help but be swept into it, and you can’t help but hate any rival team. I’m getting over the urge to yell “BOOOO,” whenever I see an Ohio State fan, but I’m positive I will never join in the “O-H” and “I-O” call and response cheer, because “We are… Penn State!” has been a part of me for so long.

It’s also strange to live in a city where life doesn’t revolve around the college. Case is only one school in Cleveland; it’s not the only school, and events here don’t usually have an impact on the community; for example the football game last night. However, though I can’t help but think of things in how they compare to Penn State, I couldn’t be happier with my choice of schools. At PSU I would be one of 40,000 kids, and wouldn’t have access to elite hospitals blocks away from campus for research or volunteering opportunities. At Case I have the opportunity to explore the entire city of Cleveland, and I’ve already successfully used the RTA (after one initial… adventure) to get downtown for an Indians game. After several weeks of classes, it’s apparent to me that I’m going to get a great education here, and my fellow students are among the best in the country. My soccer teammates are all awesome young women who obviously all have talent in areas on and off the field, and I am glad that I have older players to ask for help. They’re always there to lend advice, whether it’s soccer-related or not. In short, though coming to Case has meant a multitude of changes, it’s going well so far, and I’m looking forward to even more new experiences.

Photo: Caroline Garber '10, Devyn Lee '13, Anna Kennedy '12, and Amy Bishara '11

John Carroll Invitational Weekend

by Stephanie Chinchen '11 (in red shirt in video)

It was quite the weekend for the women’s soccer team! We started out on Friday at the John Carroll University Classic, playing Olivet College. Thanks to Yule’s quick thinking, we scored early in the first half after the goalie decided to pick the ball up outside the 18. However, we seemed content with the 1-0 lead and lost intensity in the second half. Yule’s goal was the lone goal but we probably should’ve had five. Despite the fact that we got the W, we walked away disappointed that we didn’t play our level of soccer. To pick up our morale, we then headed to Vaci’s house where her mom had a lovely lasagna dinner waiting for us (thank you!). The highlight of the night was definitely the cookie dough ice cream cake from Coldstone. I luckily got a piece with a huge chunk of cookie dough.

The pool looming in the background led to some after dinner shenanigans… Anna Kennedy made the fatal mistake of jumping onto the raft, fully clothed. So of course, we had to tip her off it. She tried to escape but Soo Hoo tactically used the pool cleaning brush to push her to me. Anna put up a strong fight but ended up in the water after Blue came out of nowhere and jumped on the raft as well. Unlike last year at the Baumann’s, where almost everybody got pushed into the water, only Katie Woodling was thrown in. Jackie was the only one that didn’t take part in the goalie bonding sesh. Before they could catch a cold, we headed back to Case to recharge for Saturday’s game against John Carroll.

We could immediately tell that Saturday was going to be a better day. Before leaving Case, we watched part of the men’s game, which (along with their very loud, crazy fans) pumped us up to play. That, in combination with riding in sweet 15 passenger vans, stories of Tiff’s family holidays, and an extra long and thorough warm-up seemed to be the perfect recipe for a team ready to play. We started the first half like a completely different team, combining beautifully and controlling the pace of the game. But then, John Carroll scored, challenging us to not be the team that gets down but to pick it up and be better. However, we started to play tired and were unable to find the back of the net, leaving the score 1-0 at the half. Confidence from the coaches and bench carried us into the second half where a beautiful goal by Ana, assisted by Deena, started a scoring streak. The next goal came from a corner by Amy Baumann. Bish and Alex combined for a very exciting goal. Finally, Yule headed in the third goal from another assist by Deena. All three were great finishes and everyone was ecstatic about the win. This win was exactly what we needed; hopefully we will use this momentum and build from it as we go into the next few games before UAAs start. I’m very excited for the rest of the season!

Some Parent Picnic Pics

This year's Parent Picnic prior to our Case Classic opening game was the most well attended we've had. Over 60 parents were able to attend. Below are just a few pictures that the girls allowed me to take! Special thanks to Pat Altenau and Sue Baumann for all their help!

Jackie Guttman '12 (Eden Prairie, MN)

Alex Litofsky '12 (Columbia, MO)

Maeve Goede '13 (Westlake, OH)

The Levey family minus Deena '13 (Bexley, OH)

Cicy Fusco '11 (Croton-on-the-Lake, NY)

Annie Altenau '11 and alumnae Liz Altenau '09 (Cincinnati, OH)

Amy Baumann '10 (Dublin, OH)

Jen Soo Hoo '10 (Berkeley Heights, NJ), Kristina Vaci '12 (Mentor, OH), and

Caroline Garber '10 (Cincinnati, OH)

Devyn Lee '13 (State College, PA)

Opening Weekend

by Kaitlyn Yule '10 (nursing major from Raleigh, NC)

The long Labor Day weekend is always a welcome little break after the first couple weeks of classes. And this years Labor Day weekend was no exception. This year it was not only a long weekend but it was also the annual Case Classic and team family picnic. This year’s picnic was probably the best turn out yet. Family members from all across the country joined at Case to support our women’s soccer team. My parents were among the many out-of-towners who made the trip to Cleveland in support of our women’s soccer team. This picnic is something I look forward to every year, not just because of the wide variety of amazing homemade food, but also because of the atmosphere that’s created. It’s such a great feeling to know you’re surrounded by people who are all their in support of you and the team you put so much time and effort into. Playing at a collegiate level it’s hard to get such a supportive fan base at every game so weekends like this one are a big deal to us.

Our first game on Saturday was a night game under the lights with tons of fans against Buffalo State. Having never played this team before we didn’t really know what to expect. It’s not far from the truth to say that with all the events of the day prior to our game we may not have been as ready as we should have been to play them. Starting out the first half flat, we ended up tying the game 1-1 at the end of regulation and having to go into overtime to try determine a winner. But unfortunately, after two ten minute sudden death periods there was still no winner so the game ended in a 1-1 tie. It was a hard game to walk away from, we knew we should have beat that team and to have it end in a tie didn’t sit well with anyone.

Exhausted from Saturday’s game and the extra twenty minutes we played, we were all a little tired on Sunday. But despite our fatigue we knew we had to pull out a win, it was not an option. At the end of the first half the game was scoreless and I was starting to get nervous, we needed to put shots in the back of the net and soon. So we went out the second half and started scoring. I got my first goal of the season and was beyond excited. As a forward I put a lot of pressure on myself to be the finisher this team needs and when I don’t score goals I feel like I’ve let my teammates down. Not even ten minutes after I scored Ana, our go to Brazilian, put another one in the back of the net. Her goal was from twenty yards out, and of course in typical Ana style was some sort of over the head volley which dropped right under the cross bar. Then finally, the best was saved for last. Steph Chinchen put in the third and final goal off an assist from Sammy Sarett; this was the goal that made the bench go wild.

Needless to say, this may not have been the most glorious win but it was just what our team needed. We now have one win under our belt and want to use this as momentum to carry us through this upcoming weekend at John Carroll. It’s still early in the season and we still have a lot of work to do but I am confident that if this team stays dedicated and continues to work hard and push one another we will be able to achieve far greater success than in any years past.

First Week of Classes

by Deena Levey '13 (nursing major from Bexley, Ohio)

Up until this week my life at Case consisted of eating, sleeping, and playing soccer. I was perfectly happy with this schedule and getting in the groove of things, but it had to come to an end. Unfortunately, my months of freedom from homework and classes were over. All week, before and after practice, the topics of discussion were schedules and professors and how many hours of work we had to do that night. Apparently, the weather is just as upset about this turn of events as I am (it has been raining all week).

Thursday the team was very excited for a break from studying. We scrimmaged Ohio Wesleyan and played very well. There were three 30-minute games. They scored in the first game off a free kick, and I have to say it was a very nice shot. We then tied it up in the second thanks to a perfect pass by Devo and a great finish by Cicy. The third 30 minutes we had a couple really good chances and played very well however, the scrimmage ended in a 1-1 tie. Many of our lovely parents came to watch the scrimmage (Thank you!) and I'm pretty sure my mom has already made a couple of new best friends.

The weather (still upset about school starting) did not allow us to practice on Friday, so Saturday we had a captain's practice. We all had a good time playing World Cup (Go China!) and Knockout, in addition to a couple other games and drills.

Our first game is coming up this Tuesday against Ashland! Can't Wait!

All-Campus Boogie

Much to the chagrin of the team, they were volunteered to participate in the First Annual All-Campus Boogie during the Provost's Hour on Friday. They were great sports and above average dancers. No embarrassing moments caught on tape as planned...

Preseason - Day Six

by Jen Soo Hoo (First-year med student, '10)

After a good five days of two-a-day practices and team bonding activities, the last day of pre-season culminated in a scrimmage against Denison University. Denison has typically been in the top 25 teams Division III teams every year so we knew it was going to be a good game. Everyone was extremely excited to put everything together and see where we were at. I was especially excited to see how the team would look in the 11 v. 11. I came in hurt to pre-season so I was able to watch and observe the entire pre-season practices. From what I had observed, we seem to be miles above where we started out last season, which is extremely exciting. Everyone seems motivated and eager to compete and play their hardest. We also have a really nice group of freshmen come in which added a lot more depth to our team.

Despite the end of two-a-day practices, we all still had to get up fairly early to make the bus, which left promptly at 9:00 AM. I’m happy to report that everyone made it on to the bus on time, including Garber (sorry, I don’t think you will ever live that one practice down). The bus ride over was a fun time. We stopped at Panera, everyone’s favorite place, to get breakfast/lunch. I swear every time we walk into a place to eat the workers there look like they’re about to faint as thirty plus people come swarming at them. We all got our food without a problem, nonetheless. The whole rest of the time was full of laughs as a bunch of us played M.A.S.H in the back of the bus. This game basically spelled out what your future was going to be ranging from who you were going to marry to how many kids you were going to have to who you your only friend was going to be. Some people’s futures unfortunately didn’t look so bright. We learned that Steph was going to marry her cousin. We also learned that Yule was going to have ten kids with one of the freshmen boy soccer players, while living in a box, with Ana as her only friend (really sorry about that one Yule). Coach Tiff, we learned was going to have twenty kids with Otto with Ronald and Donald as her only friends. It was extremely funny learning about everyone’s lives.

We arrived on Denison’s campus with plenty of time to spare. Everyone got ready and headed over to the field. After some initial controversy, we finally figured out where the field was over the hill. We ended up playing four quarters of thirty minutes. The first quarter went extremely well. We played a 4-4-2, which was a different formation from last year, but we adapted really well. We possessed the ball extremely well and switched the field. It was apparently obvious that the players on Denison were in EXTREMELY good shape. I literally thought they could run up and down the field all day long. Despite this, we held our own really well and dominated the play at some points. However, the long week of two-a-days on burning turf started to take its toll on the team as was expected. The latter parts of the scrimmage were not as fast-paced or concise as the first quarter, but it was still evident we were a good team and could move the ball around well. I was extremely excited watching us play. I couldn’t help thinking about the start of our season and how well we can do during our season and UAA’s. This scrimmage showed us our potential as a team as well as things we need to work on in order to continually improve. It was a solid end to our pre-season training, and I’m extremely pumped to see how the rest of our season turns out.

The ride back was much more uneventful. We stopped at McDonald’s for food and arrived back to Case around 8:30 pm exhausted but happy. Pre-season is officially over. Great job girls!!!!

The Men, The Myth, The Legend

Case Athletics has been lucky enough to have the support of twins Ronald and Donald for a long time. They are regulars at football practices and have worked the sidelines during football games for many, many years. They are even very proud owners of UAA championship rings, courtesy of the football parents. In the past three years, the women's soccer program has been able to sway them to our practices and games when the football team is on the road or when football practice is getting a little boring. I speak for the girls and the entire coaching staff when I say how much we enjoy having the two around for practices and games.

During preseason they provided one of the highlights of the week when they danced to the King of Pop's "Beat It" prior to one of our training sessions. Big Thanks to Coach Debeljak for being the deejay!! Enjoy!!

Preseason - Day Five

by Kendra Simmons '13 (Medina, Ohio)

Preseason is over! After a full day with our soccer teammates for the sixth day in a row, we finally end the two-a-days, quick naps between sessions, and early breakfast dates. Now we move on to scrimmages, practices after class, and preparation for games! Today, we started the day with 8:00 breakfast (just like every day this week), then met in the locker room by 10:00 to start the team building activity, an exciting scavenger hunt. Since I am only a freshman, I was not lucky enough to experience last year’s scavenger hunt, but supposedly this year we completed it a little differently. Instead of having the activity center around fitness, we were allowed to have cars to make transportation easier. Because of the access to cars, the destinations on our extensive list of locations to find weremuch more vast. So basically, the entire Case women’s soccer team was frantically driving and running around all of Cleveland taking pictures of specific things (a vendor at the West Side Market, a “Greenie” driver, the oldest traffic light, Playhouse, Willard Park, The Science Center, Lebron’s huge poster, and various signs, buildings, and statues all the way from downtown Cleveland to Case’s campus). Since different pictures were worth different amounts of points, each group of five players figured out their own strategy and quickly drove away to find their first object (under the legal speed limit of course). My group, consisting of Sammy, Ana, Froms, and Selser, dodged buses, cars, and pedestrians to rapidly navigate through Cleveland. Unfortunately, with only 30 minutes left, Selser lost her wallet somewhere, so Ana, Sammy, and I were left to finish as much of the scavenger hunt as possible on foot. The three of us sprinted all around campus trying to gain as many last minute points as possible then hurried to make it back to the locker room by 12:00. All the other girls were completely dry and calm while Ana, Sammy, and I were dripping sweat and breathing heavily. I guess you could say we got just a little more fitness than the rest of the team. After Coach Taylor, Coach Tiff, and Coach Emily tallied up the scores and looked through the pictures, they decided on a winner. With 248 points, Yule’s team came out with the victory. After relaxing for some time, we headed to Leutner for lunch.

Three o’clock came around way too fast as we all found ourselves right back in the locker room ready for the second part of the day. We piled in the baseball stadium and listened to the AD give us a talk about drugs and things like that to look out for. After filling out some forms, we went to the field to start practice. We started with our usual warm up, then we did some “pre-practice” fitness. Everyone pushed themselves through several sets of sprints, then geared up to play 11 v 11. Since I am currently injured, I am able to watch everything from the side lines. Of course I would much rather be on the field, but since I’m not able to right now, it is great to see everyone improving in even a week. The other day, the forwards worked on their runs toward the ball while the midfield worked on distributing and making runs off of them. Even though we struggled at first when practicing that, everyone has already executed those runs and passes while scrimmaging. With this work rate and improvement, it looks like we could have a very successful season. Tomorrow we head to Denison for a scrimmage, and hopefully we can continue to think about everything we have learned so far and apply those things when playing against outside opponents.

(L to R): Devyn Lee '13, Maeve Goede '13, and Frannie Hogan '11

By Popular Demand...

The non-award winning, yet still highly entertaining synchronized swimming routines...

Class of 2012

Class of 2011

Class of 2010

Preseason - Day Four

contributed by Frannie Hogan '11

TGIF! Day 4 of preseason is over, and the team is getting more in sync every day. While the freshmen attended a mandatory "Meet Your Advisor" session, the rest of the team enjoyed a short and sweet morning practice. Jammin' tunes were provided by Kristina Vaci, (the most popular of which was probably the infamous "Discovery Channel") much to the chagrin of sleepy Village Apartment residents who preferred their sleep without a soundtrack. Yet I can't manage to find sympathy for those who stayed in their air-conditioned rooms while we got our sweat on in the heat.
First came small (5 vs 2) and large (12 vs 7) possession games, then skill ladders with Coach Taylor. After dividing the team between the sophomores and the upperclassmen, girls partnered up and tried to complete as many back-and-forth skill sets as possible to earn points. Trapping, heading and juggling skills were the main focus. While the sophomores made a valiant effort, the upperclassmen were victorious in all the challenges. But any sadness over the loss quickly dissolved when Coach Tiff informed us she would provide dinner from Chipotle. We all know meals that contain over 1,000 calories of goodness are the best.

The afternoon practice began with a heated game of handball. Although Coach offered up extra points for unique or humorous goal celebrations, cool and exciting ones were noticeably absent. She took mercy on our weary legs by working on near-post, far-post and slot runs to the goal with crosses from the outside. Getting the timing down took some work, but the team worked well putting the drill into practice when we transitioned into 5 v 5 games. Still working on possession and transition, the small-sided games helped create an environment where taking shots and scoring goals was the focus.

Our final evening session was a "Team Effectiveness Workshop" led by Tiff's former college roommate and teammate. With Patrick Lencioni's "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" as a guideline, the team learned more about potential roadblocks to success - Absence of Trust, Fear of Conflict, Lack of Commitment, Avoidance of Accountability and Inattention to Results. A "Vision Web" exercise had the team split in two, with some players coaching others to complete a task that only the coachers could see. Communication was vital, and some of the problems the team encountered gave insight into how it can improve. While the issues and their solutions aren't of rocket science material, it was helpful for us to learn about being open with each other to create a foundation of trust, write down solid, realistic goals, remember to put the good of the team before ourselves individually and to keep in mind that, ultimately, we need to hold each other accountable if the team wants to improve and grow. The 2 hour session was insightful, as we learned that future dentist/orthodontist Ana Arruda grew up with part of her front tooth missing; that we have several former high school Quizbowl members; that Cecilia loves Giraffes; and that Coach Tiff used to be a unibrow kid.

Preseason - Day Three

contributed by Caroline Garber '10 (Biology)

Here we go again! It’s day three of preseason and the physical and mental demands of the two-a-day routine are in high gear. Practice started at 10:00 am this morning with direction from creative soccer warm-up enthusiast, Coach Taylor. The practice focused on the 3 aspects of the game our team will be striving to master throughout this season: defense, possession, and transition. Specifically, this mornings practice drove home the importance of opening up your hips when receiving a ball to better see the field and your options, as well as movement that provides the teammate with possession two passing options… always. We ended this practice with one of my all time favorite things, RELAY RACES!! I am proud to say that my team (Baumann, Deena, Devyn, Sammy, and myself) crushed the competition with eleven points! We’re still waiting for our reward; bragging rights will do for now.

We had a big break between the end of practice 1 and the start of practice 2. Coach Tiff held brief meetings with each individual athlete during this time. Everybody else enjoyed the napping opportunity. As Coach Tiff kindly spelled out for me in a voicemail, practice was going to be moved up to six instead of seven that evening – Thursday the 20th of August, not Friday the 21st of August (She must think I’m scatterbrained… psshhh me?!). At 6:00, the team was ready to go but the weather was not allowing. We waited about 30 minutes in the locker room watching Katie Froms and Anna Selser attempt to teach us moves for the boogie dance our team will be performing for the Case campus later this month. Ana strung toilet paper in Soo Hoo’s locker. Sorry if you are finding out this way Soo Hoo. FINALLY we were free to head out to the field.

The evening practice focused on our forwards! Checking runs, accurate passes, playing to feet, angles, maintaining possession… I could go on. After a rough start to practice, the level of play started to pick up. By the time we moved on to play 11 v 11 full field, the kinks were out and I think both the Coaches and the team were very encouraged by how well we were playing together so soon into preseason. I have been able to be a part of this program as it has changed and grown over the past 4 years. Truthfully, I am so proud of the team we have right now. The work ethic is high, the talent is present, and the will to win is stronger than ever. I am so ready to see this season start to unfold. Stay Tuned!!!!

Preseason - Day Two

contributed by Cicy Fusco '11

We started with a morning practice at 10:00 on NRV and much to everyone's dismay the cones were missing. Despite excellent detective work by Caroline no one could figure out where the cones could be. As it turned out, today we were playing 11 a side so the cones were not in high demand. The scrimmage looked pretty good, and everyone was playing with intensity and purpose trying to live up to the 'three pillars of our teams identity' (as Alex phrased it). While there were no goals, we showed a promising start for the season to come and the freshman blended into the team well. However, after the game was done it was time for some fitness. Today was the day for the much dreaded 6 corners; this is when we run around the field six times and increase the distance we sprint each time until we sprint the final lap. Sounds like torture right? As it turned out everyone finished and did well and now we have that behind us.

In the afternoon we had our swim practice or our annual synchronized swimming competition. In this competition each class goes against each other to try and have the best synchronized swimming routine. This year Coach brought in some guest judges to make the results unbiased. Everyone dedicated a lot of time to work on their routines but there could only be one winner. The class of 2011 was trying for their third win in a row, but this year the freshman won with an inspiring performance. The juniors came in second, followed by the seniors and then the sophomores.

After the pool "work out" the team got together to help with Move-In. We, along with other teams and groups from Case help the incoming freshmen lug their stuff to their dorm rooms. We helped many people move in, but Kennedy takes the prize for carrying a T.V. up the stairs to someone's room. At dinner we learned that Caroline, through her excellent deductive skills, had learned that our cones were in the boys locker room. They were promptly retrieved.

The Class of 2013's winning synchronized swimming routine!!

Preseason - Day One

by Alex Litofsky '12...centermidfielder from Columbia, Missouri

When she stepped onto the field this morning, Coach Taylor declared with her cheery inflection that she could cut the tension on the turf with a knife. Jumping in place, nervously murmuring, doing a few last-minute sprints on the sideline, or silently focusing, each of the players on the Women’s Soccer team prepared for the much-anticipated Beep Test in her own way. This grueling fitness test serves as the annual opener for Fall Preseason.

Upon completion of the test, the nervous energy of the group began to dissipate. 1 v 1 contests immediately followed, much to the chagrin of my tired legs. However, I fully recovered in time for some fast-paced 2 v 2 and 3 v 3 that involved shooting on goal. To my delight—especially so early into preseason—I discovered that the eagerly-awaited freshman class was indeed a promising bunch. Also, over the summer, returning players had found even more energy and focus to bring to practice, charging the air with enthusiasm and determination.

After lunch and a few hours of rest, the afternoon session gave every aspiring Spartan a second opportunity to show off her skills. On the grass of Van Horn field, Coach Taylor led us through a new warm-up, followed by Coach Tiff’s drill, Windows, which hones our touches. The remainder of practice was dedicated to the pursuit of possession, one of the three pillars of our team identity, as proclaimed by Coach Tiff: 1) defense, 2) possession, and 3) transition. As practice drew to a close, the Relay for Life dragon paid a visit to the field in a futile search for more peasants to eat. He only managed to get a hold of Kristina, who poked him in the eye with a trident and effectively scared him away…if only for today.

The only disappointment of the day was the absence of our beloved goalkeeper coach, Buddy. He will be noticeably missing from practice for the next few weeks because of a serious injury. We send him all the positive thoughts we can, and look forward to his recovery so he can help us through training again.

Finally comfortable and clean this evening, enjoying a few hours of relaxation in the suite that I share with five fellow sophomores, I can breathe a sigh of relief; we have now all survived the first day of preseason. Though we have plenty work to do this week—and in the coming months—there is also much to be excited about. This first day may have begun with anxiety, but it ended with eager anticipation of what the season would bring.

I’m already looking forward to a soccer-filled second day….