Gideon’s army beats upstart Quakers

The Lady Royals soccer team crowded around head coach Greg Steffen before going out on the field to play Old Dominion Athletic Conference competitor Guilford College Saturday in Greensboro, N.C.

Steffen lifted his four-year-old son’s Playskool tape recorder in the air to play a small excerpt of the story of Gideon’s army defeating the Midianites. The Lord’s voice boomed in the background, “You have too many men, Gideon. Take your men down to the water. Take aside those who keep one hand on their sword while they drink their water. You want your army to be prepared for the battle ...” Gideon’s army was reduced from 32,000 men to 300 men through a series of character tests that the Lord had instructed Gideon to perform. The women’s soccer team was reduced from 16 players to 14 players for Saturday’s game, leaving only three players on the bench to substitute in during the game. With the NCAA’s new substitution rule stating that a player may make only one appearance per half, that meant that most of the roster would have to go the full 90 minutes without a break.

The Royals quickly went down in the first half 3-0 due to miscommunication and a few technical errors. However, the beginning of the second half was a different story. Senior mid-fielder Heather Bauman initiated a comeback to end all comebacks when she hit the back of the net with her 14 yard shot. Ellie Lind then had a pair of breakaways to tie the score at 3-3. The fuse had been lit and there was no giving up on the part of the Royals.

When asked what the biggest turnaround point in the mentality of the team was, junior captain Kendra Martin said “We refused to stop; we refused to let them win.”

The offensive attack continued with a game winning breakaway by freshman Marcy Spory, and a clincher by Lind to give her a hat-trick for the day. Lind was announced as the ODAC Player of the Week on Monday for her efforts this season. She also sits atop the scoring list with 8 recorded goals.

The defense kept the Quakers scoreless in the second half, adding to the Royals’ momentum.

"It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog,” Martin commented.

The Lady Royals are now 3-2-0 overall and 2-1-0 in conference play. Saturday’s game was truly an example of teamwork and dedication. The Lady Royals travel to Sweet Briar Tuesday for more ODAC competition and then go head to head with Roanoke Saturday, Sept. 27 at 1 p.m. on their home field.