NAU Blog: Soccer's Senior Sarah Neatherton Reflects on her Final Games
NAU Athletics
Blog
Women's Soccer senior forward Sarah Neatherton played her
final regular-season home games last weekend, leading Northern
Arizona to a 2-0 weekend record and a shot at the Big Sky
Championship. The journalism major reflects on her final games as a
Lumberjack for the NAU Athletics Blog:
By Sarah Neatherton
The games this weekend were both a
great team effort and nothing short of amazing. Two must win games
ignited an extra spark within all of us and everyone played with
great intensity. There is something exciting about playing with our
backs against the wall. Sure, it may have produced additional
anxiety in our coaches, but as a team, we relish opportunities to
succeed…and succeeding was our only option.
Our first success came Friday afternoon, a nail-biting game
against Montana, one of our most despised rivals in the Big Sky
conference. As forwards, it’s our job to score goals. We
needed them quick and we needed two. Our coach wouldn’t
accept anything less. Jenna Samora, with great intensity as always,
put one away to tie up the match. With three minutes remaining in
the first overtime, I saw an opening in the top right corner and
fired a shot. Prayers raced through my mind faster than the ball
was moving and in the back of the net it went. Sure, Andre would
probably prefer our goals to be scored earlier, but hey, added
angst and excitement is fun for everyone. It was a relentless
performance by our defense, executed brilliantly by our midfields,
and our offense was lethal when it counted.
Sunday’s game was Senior Day. Five of us, my self included,
were recognized before the game for our contributions during the
four years of playing soccer at NAU. It was a bittersweet afternoon
to say the least. We started out with a class of eight and stood on
the field with five. There is a special bond between the five of
us, an understanding of dedication and mutual support, even when at
times we didn’t think we could make it. But we did, and we
all made it through the years together. The underclassman knew the
importance of the game, a must win for our season and a must win
for the seniors. This was evident in the performance of every
single player who stepped on the field that day to give us a 4-2
win over Eastern Washington. Each person on the field that day
played fearless soccer and did so with their hearts on their
sleeve. And in case I didn’t mention it, I speak on behalf of
all the seniors. Thank you- to the juniors, sophomores and freshman
for playing with and for your seniors, and for never letting us
forget that we can, in fact, win the Big Sky…again.
Even if we aren’t yet, our championship mentality will be
carried over to the Northern Colorado game on Friday. Our team has
worked too hard, for too long to let something so close slip out of
our grasp. Our team was given a second chance, and we’re
holding onto it tight. We’re a group of fighters, and the
fights far from over. Go Jacks!
