When most people think of alumni, they think of people asking students to sit down at Bulldog athletic events. However, the Lady Bulldogs soccer team is helping to change that view.
For the second consecutive year, the Soccer Alumni Game will be played as part of the activities of Super Bulldog Weekend. The game follows the baseball game with a 6 p.m. kick-off.
After playing a regular season schedule in the always tough SEC, a game against friendly foes should be a welcome challenge to the Lady Bulldogs. But, as head coach Neil McGuire will say, just because the practice format may have been different this week, the team will be equally competitive when it comes to winning this game.
“I think practice this week has been a little more light-hearted as far as structure in terms of running set offense or defense,” said McGuire. “But, it has been very productive in terms of how much intensity we’ve had.”
Playing against the alumni team is always interesting for current team members. The competition level is as high as in any game, even if the game is just for fun- and a few bragging rights. This is especially true with 2002-03 seniors Lynda Henry, Jessica Wells and Jessica Kauffman playing for the alumni team.
“Those three will be our main threats because they know how we play,” freshman forward and midfielder Betty Ann Casey said.
With these three players having played with the team as recently as November, seeing them on another team can be strange.
Junior midfielder Becca Edwards explains, “It is hard not having those players on their team anymore.”
“There is definitely a loss not having them because we’re close with all of them,” said Edwards. “We don’t feel like we replace them, we just look at it as an opportunity for other players to step up.”
Although this game is only two years old, the player’s levels of competition and enjoyment seem to be as high as any coach or fan could ask for.