EWING – In intercollegiate sports, it is the equivalent of parents moving their children into their college dorms for the first time and leaving them to explore a new chapter in their lifetime. This event, of course, is senior night.
Senior night, much like moving a child into college, is an inevitable, surreal moment where one group of people, must say goodbye to another person or group of people as they move on to the next chapter in their lives.
Wednesday night, the College of New Jersey women’s soccer team experienced that surreal moment, bidding farewell to six seniors as they played in their final home game of the season versus Stockton University.
After this season, Jessica Goldman, Kayla Bertolino, Christine Levering, Hannah Richman, Elizabeth Thoresen, and Kelly Wieczerak will move on to the next chapter of their lives.
These seniors were unsure of what to expect out of the night, being that they were finally the ones being honored during the final home game.
“It’s so weird,” said Bertolino, a midfielder. “It’s just weird that this is all coming to an end, but it makes playing that much more worth it.”
The girls were also extremely appreciative of the effort that the underclassmen put into making the night memorable.
“I’ve been through this always as an underclassmen, and the underclassmen were great,” said Bertolino. “They
put so much time into this and decorated the locker room, it was nice to see them to do that for us.”
One specific underclassmen who contributed a lot to the night was sophomore midfielder, Taylor Nolan. Nolan scored the only goal of the game in the second half.
The Lions fought hard against the Ospreys, shutting them out in the effort. For the six seniors, who have contributed so much to the team over the years, they were just happy to get a win, given the circumstances.
“There was so much going into this game, that we know that we had to win it for that reason,” said Bertolino. “We wanted to end it in a good way.”
As these players have matured through the ranks, they have continued a long-standing tradition of excellence for The College of New Jersey women’s soccer, and they have served as an example for younger Lions looking to follow in their footsteps.
These seniors will hand the team over to the younger players soon enough, having already taught the significance of conference play to the younger players.
“We know what’s on the line and we know how easily that can be taken from us,” said Nolan about conference matchups. “Even when you’re the team who deserves it, it can be taken from you.”
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