By Sara Belsole
This past weekend, conference play wrapped up. All the teams in the Sunshine State Conference found themselves in all different types of situations. One team needed a win to clinch a spot in postseason play, while other teams had already secured a spot in the conference tournament; and the conference title was up for grabs.
Going into our game versus Florida Tech, we knew that we wanted a win to claim the conference title. Along with us, St. Leo and Nova Southeastern were trying to get a piece of the title. It all came down to three games.
We played to a 1-1 tie, while St. Leo lost and Nova tied. After everything was tallied up, we were named conference champions for the third consecutive year, as Nova took second and St. Leo took third. We get to enter the conference tournament with a first round bye and claim home field advantage for our Friday game.
The past does not matter. It does not matter who beat whom before and which teams were picked to win. We all step on the field Friday with a clean slate. Anything can happen.
We planned to train hard this week in practice, brushing up on our weak areas to make sure we come out and play our very best in postseason. But there is one thing I believe that is missing: a good fan base. We have worked so hard to gain the advantage of playing at our home field, so why not take advantage of it?
We go to a school that has 5,500 students, and sometimes it is disappointing to look up at the stands and only see our parents and a few of our friends at the game. It is exciting to play while fans are cheering you on. It is conference tournament time. Each game teams will be fighting for their lives. Soccer is a contact sport—we will be sliding and tackling and making some brilliant plays. I dare you to tell me that is not exciting.
So fans, I ask you to come out on Friday and Sunday and support our team. I know for a fact that our intensity will rise when we know that we have fans behind us. Some of you see us around campus—you know us as your chemistry lab partner, girl who lives down the hall, or even that crazy group of girls you always see eating together at the cafe. So now come out and get to know us as soccer players, in our own element.
Sara can be contacted at sbelsole@ut.edu
