The purpose of the Women’s soccer program at Principia College is to serve the cause of Christian Science by providing student athletes with a vehicle for vigorous physical activity that encourages spiritual growth and character development, creates opportunities to learn and master new skills, and provides a forum for achieving competitive excellence.
VISION
Since 1983, the vision driving Principia College women's soccer is educational in the larger sense. It is helping student-athletes maintain a balance between intellectual pursuits and a competitive athletic enterprise that compliments the development of the whole person. It encourages a lifelong passion for the game of soccer, and endeavors to nurture unique and essential qualities in shaping the character and spiritual progress of each participant. Working hard to achieve excellence, sacrificing self for team, expressing a sense of joy for the opportunity to play the game, and demonstrating grace and sportsmanship in victory or defeat, represents our highest ideals in this pursuit.
GOALS
* Communicate with God on a daily basis through study and prayer. * Create a team unity that nurtures and encourages each to be the best they can be individually and collectively. * Embrace competition as a mutual quest for excellence through the challenge created in practices and games. * Provide a wide and varied exposure to competition from around the country and the world. * Inspire within each athlete an enduring interest and enthusiasm for the game of soccer. * Express gratitude for the opportunity to engage in the activity of soccer. * Win the SLIAC Conference and thereby gain an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. * Have fun!
The Mark of a Champion
Every year we challenge the players in our program to leave their mark and create a legacy for those who follow.
The senior class leading us into the 2006 campaign featured nine determined and accomplished student-athletes with a record of achievement on the soccer field (NCAA Tournament Second Round, 2004), in the classroom (NSCAA Team Academic Award, team GPA 3.4/4.0), and in living lives replete with expressions of spiritual growth and character development.
The season opened with early victories against Earlham College and Anderson University in the Raven-Quaker Classic. On September 12 the Panthers hosted Millikin University for the first-ever night game at Principia and continued their winning ways through seven consecutive victories. But inconsistent play was an issue in the ensuing games; we just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net. Yet for the most part, the victories kept rolling in. By the end of the season the team finished second in the conference behind Webster University with a record of 15–5.
In the opening game of the SLIAC playoffs Principia bested Maryville University 2–0, setting the stage for a rematch with Webster for the conference championship. In a thrilling game the two contestants gave soccer fans more than their money’s worth as the lead shifted back and forth through 90 minutes of regular play, two overtime periods, and eventually a penalty-kick tie breaker. Webster took the SLIAC crown, but Principia showed great class in congratulating the victors and in celebrating the terrific fan support that followed our every match throughout the season.
The bitter end to the season was sweetened somewhat during the conference coaches’ meeting when Christina Day was voted Player of the Year, a fitting honor for one of the most dominant players in the conference during her four year reign. Meagan Fleming, Jessica Thompson, and Britsy Bruland received first-team honors along with Day, while Kenzie Jones and Jennai Taylor were selected to the second team. Johanna Publicover earned honorable mention. Head coach Lee Ellis and assistant coach Nicole Gervais received Coach of the Year honors. The most significant recognition, however, was the conference Team Sportsmanship Award. In so many ways the team exemplified the win-win philosophy that epitomizes the Principia ideal of true athletic competition.
We look ahead to the first match of 2007 when the Panthers travel to California to play Whittier College, where Principia’s assistant coach Nicole Gervais has just been named head coach. Bring it on!
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTER EDUCATION
Leadership development involves both practical and theoretical components. Each year seniors are given the opportunity to serve in the role of Team Captain. In this capacity individuals are given several leadership responsibilities including welcoming new players to the team, developing a team vision, goal setting, leading inspirational meetings, consulting with the coaching staff, coordinating with the team manager equipment and laundry duties, and meeting with players.
In providing a theoretical base as a foundation for the practical responsibilities expected of a captain, each individual is encouraged to enroll in Sports Management 360 (Leadership). One of the essential elements of the course requirements is a journal that each captain must keep during the season. The occasion to reflect on the leadership experience is a crucial aspect of the developmental process.
Character education is an ongoing endeavor, which occurs in a variety of ways. Paramount in the manner we teach character is the culture we create through team rules, spiritual inspiration, stories, (team like a car, role of reserves in building championship teams — New York Yankees, developing game excellence through practice intensity — Fredonia, 1975), physical workload provisions, and by the standards of performance athletes are expected to achieve. Furthermore, the game of soccer itself places demands on players requiring of them discipline, courage, responsibility, respect, fairness, selflessness and trust.
