"We Finally Did It!"



So. Taylor Wakeland

Let me tell you, it wasn’t easy, but we finally did it! We won the GLVC championship and made history for our program here at Quincy University. Along with the celebration of wearing our green t-shirts for the whole week after (yes, without washing them) came a lot of hard work and dedication from every member of our team. It all began last year on November 6, 2011. On this horrible day which I think most of us would like to forget, we lost to Bellarmine in the GLVC final in pks. We came so close and so far (literally 9 hours away to Northern Kentucky) and lost it all in a matter of PENATLY KICKS, the one thing that I deem unfair in soccer. However, I think one good thing came from this loss: the drive we needed to win this year’s championship. I think I can speak for the team when I say we all have never wanted anything more than a GLVC championship (and a ring of course). We had our ups and downs this season, but we pulled together as a team and kept working hard to achieve our goals. Even all off season we worked together as a team for one goal: To win; And our dreams finally came true. WE’RE GETTING RINGS!!!

I don’t think I have ever witnessed so much emotion from a team or group of people in my entire life. As the buzzer sounded to end the game, we all ran out onto the field with tears of joy. Nothing else in the world mattered at that very moment. All that mattered was that we had just beaten William Jewel 1-0 in regulation. It was definitely bitter sweet after losing to them earlier in the season 2 to 1. I have to say a win has never felt so rewarding. Everyone put aside everything else in their life and we came together to win as one. Whether it was people playing new positions or injured players cheering on the sideline, everyone had a role in our historic win. For example, I had to change positions this year from wing mid to ATTACKING wing back. At first I was a little worried about playing defense since I hadn’t played back there in years. However, as the season went on I grew to love this position. At times, I felt a little lost out there but I knew I had the support of my teammates the whole way. My favorite part of this position is that it wasn’t all about defense. If you notice the caps in attacking, I got to go up and aid in the attack a lot more than I expected. Overall, I think I adjusted well with the support of my teammates and coaches.

"It's all about The U!"

Furthermore, I think one aspect that aided in our win and made it that much more exciting was that we were able to host. Being able to host is a huge advantage especially when you have awesome fans like THE UNION (aka the U) that are there to support you every step of the way, rain or shine, win or loss. It's fans like them that make soccer so much fun and exciting especially here at QU. Not only that, but having our family and friends there on our home field cheering, made winning feel that much better. The memories of winning that championship with this special team will be forever embedded in my mind. I still to this day get chills just thinking about it.

Right now, our lives are kind of hectic even though the season ended. This week is finals week and we’re all studying hard to make sure we get that GPA award again! Even though the season ended we all are still doing things on our own to stay in shape, having “Fit for Life” attitudes. However, as soon as we come back we will hit the work outs hard and strive to win another championship once again, hopefully on our home turf! “It’s a great day to be a hawk!”

Taylor Wakeland
2012 Sophomore Lady Hawk

The Union at the GLVC Championship