Over the course of the 2007 women's soccer season, UE junior Rocky Hearst along with Angela Bleecher (The Bleecher Feature) will provide a regularly updated blog entry about life as a Purple Ace.
Rocky's Blog Entry #9 - November 15, 2007
Our season came to an end this weekend when we had a devastating loss to Creighton in the Semifinals of the MVC tournament. Let me try to put in perspective how we felt that night after the game. Take yourself back to your first true love. (Work with me here!) Remember all of the fun times you had together like first dates, adventures, funny stories, etc, etc (you get the picture). Now, try to remember when that person broke your heart and it was all over. Let's be honest here, you were a lazy bum for the next month just eating ice cream and soaking in your tears. The worst part was your heart literally felt as though it was broken. Now take all of those emotions and throw it into that one moment after the game when the end buzzer went off. Tears immediately poured out and our hearts felt shattered. I personally started crying because it was all over and it was the not the ending we had anticipated. What really made me start balling was the senior class. It was over for them at that very moment and their reactions keep playing over and over again in my head. I give KUDOS to the senior class for being through so much! They deserved more this season than we could deliver. After seeing their heartache I have to keep reminding myself that I do NOT want to feel like that at the end of my senior year. We need to get past this wall of making it to the tournament, but never winning it.
Thank you for the alumni that came out to support us. You guys are the foundation of this program and we thank you for setting a great example. We only hope to continue the Purple Aces women’s soccer tradition of integrity, victories, and hard working female athletes. We all represent something extremely special. Thank you again for your support!
And to our parents…
Thank you for your season long support. Many of you were able to make it out a couple of the times; the rest of you watched us over the internet. Either way, you were there supporting and cheering us on all the way! Thank you for putting on the tailgates (and I would like to thank you all for providing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches). Thanks for the loud cheers and applause when we would win and thanks for the consoling hugs in not so happy of times. We all truly appreciate your support and we hope it continues next year.
What a fabulous season though. We did accomplish great things this year and there is room to improve next year. Within the next week or so I think we will start lifting and conditioning. Everyone’s favorite! (Kidding.) I’ll let you know how it goes…
To comment on Rocky's blog, click here.
--------------------------------------------------
Rocky's Blog Entry #8 - November 5, 2007
Last week we had our Senior Night at UofE. We honored our five seniors: Angela, Radtke, Ziggy, Heidi, and Jessica. The freshmen were in charge of decorating the locker room. There were purple and orange streamers everywhere and the seniors’ lockers were covered in wrapping paper and bows. The sophomore class hand made blankets and had matching pillow cases embroidered. The junior class made “scrapbooks” and framed pictures of our five seniors as youngsters. Our scrapbooks included letters telling them how much we appreciate them and how we will miss them dearly. Pictures from the past couple of years accented the books. The coaching staff also gave them framed team pictures and the mat was signed by each player. In shorter terms, we spoiled them!!! It is well deserved. However, the best gift was our home victory over Creighton. We won 1-0 that night and it was the perfect ending to a wonderful season.
We placed second in conference, Illinois State got first. That gives us and automatic bid to the MVC tournament that we are hosting on Friday. Everyone is extremely pumped! Practice this week has been intense, like preseason was. Yesterday we had an inner squad scrimmage. We tied 0-0, but it was 90 minutes of intensity and fun. This week we are physically and mentally preparing for Friday. All the players that are sore are jumping in the ice baths and stretching daily. We are all working hard in practice and the usual “preparation” stuff. Wednesday we are going out to the Olive Garden for dinner. That’s my favorite restaurant so I am ecstatic! Then, Thursday we have the MVC banquet at the Centre in Evansville. That is always a fun time because we get to see everyone out of their “soccer clothes” for once and all dressed up. Personally, I am excited to wear my new purple and pink dress.
Parents will be coming in the weekend from all over the country, literally! My parents (and Kristen & Moyen’s parents) are flying in from California on Thursday. We’ll also have “the usual parent fan base” which consists of Smitty’s, Abbi’s, Trish’s, and Kasey’s parents from Evansville and Kara and Julie’s parents from St. Louis. We will have parent fans driving in from Chicago, Nashville, Iowa and more flying in from Colorado and Las Vegas. We’re just a national sensation it looks like! We’re extremely excited for Friday and we hope to see everyone out there. We greatly appreciate your support and it truly makes us play better when we hear our fans backing us up. See you at the game!!!
--------------------------------------------------
Rocky,
You'll have more fans from California coming in...Matthew and I and Kristin's brother, David, will be in the stands cheering you on. We told him he needs to go to the bookstore to buy spirit wear so that PURPLE is the primary color in the stands! We can't wait! Thanks for all your blogs! Best of luck to the team! GO ACES!
Posted by Patty T.
November 6 10:34 AM
--------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------
Rocky's Blog Entry #7 - October 18, 2007
WINNING AND NORDSTROM'S. LIFE IS GOOD:
No one likes driving to Iowa on a bus. Well, we certainly don't. Last week we started conference at University of Northern Iowa. We walked away from that game with a tie, 0-0. We dominated, but were unable to put away a goal. Then we played at Indiana State and that was an intense game! We had several chances to score at the beginning, but clearly made it difficult for ourselves by not putting away those goals. Indiana State sneaked in a goal and we were down 0-1 at half time. The second half we came out fired up; you could see it in our faces. We scored not one, but TWO goals in the last eight minutes of the game. What a come- back! Next, we played Missouri State at home. We won 1-0.
After the game we all jetted off for Fall Break. I drove to Indianapolis with Nicole Moyen. My favorite part was Circle Center. They have a Nordstrom!!! Moyen and I enjoyed our three hour drive, both ways, jamming out to our iPod songs the entire way. On the way up there was this car filled with four guys, probably seniors in high school. They waved to us and we just laughed. Then, they pulled up next to us again and had a piece of paper with their phone number on it. We laughed real hard that time and then drove off. It was good entertainment.
Today, we play Drake at home. Evansville is taking some pretty on and off again weather. It will rain hard and then be sunny and hot. Who knows what we will be playing in tonight.
--------------------------------------------------
Rocky,
Just wanted to let you to know ...we love reading your and Angela's blog...it helps us get an insight on what goes in with the road trips and practices...Kristin isn't much into details...she just says...'fine'
and 'good' when we ask her how things are going!!! OMG! (she gives us some info...but not like your blogs do!) And yet we're hungry for more info from so far away! Your stories are funny and informative...so keep writing!
Posted by Patty T.
September 26 1:12 PM
--------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------
Rocky's Blog Entry #5 - September 18, 2007
Last week I made a serious mistake. I was feeling a little under the weather and decided to take some DayQuil before our afternoon practice. After taking the medicine I was relaxing on the couch with Mia Tofano. (That girl hangs out on our couch in Schroeder all the time; she?s a third roommate almost.) I got extremely tired and could barely stay awake. Mia told me that I better wake up because we had practice in a few. Then it hit me. I accidently took NyQuil. That's not just an "oops", that's a HUGE "OOPS!!!" NyQuil knocks me out cold. I was in the training room for half an hour before practice getting treatment and I feel asleep. Keeping my eyes open was a challenge. I feel asleep again in the locker room, on the drive over to Division Field (don't worry, I didn't drive), and again on the bench before practice started. Coach thought it would be funny if I did the sobriety test where you stand on one foot and touch your nose because he thought it would be funny. I declined because I can not even do that on a day without NyQuil. It was difficult to push through practice, but I made it. There were plenty of jokes thrown around with my teammates, but it was well deserved. Who seriously takes NyQuil in the day? The pills are two completely different colors to keep people from making that very mistake.
On Friday we played DePaul. We walked away with another victory, 1-0. At our previous home game a local fan, Madison, made us rice krispy treats with M&Ms on top. We invited her into our locker room after the game. The team signed her mini soccer ball and devoured the treats. They were amazing!!! I had four of them. Madison and her dad come to every home game and we greatly appreciate that. We're looking forward to our next home game against Murray State. I have a special guest in town, my dad. He?s been here for a week catching the last couple home games. He leaves Wednesday but is hopefully coming back with my mom for the MVC tournament. KUDOS to our fans, we love you all!
--------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------
Rocky's Blog Entry #4 - September 8, 2007
This past week we had two games. On Wednesday we were at the University of Kentucky. We arrived a couple hours early and decided to explore. It is a little overwhelming being on a large campus like UK after living at UE. Heidi, Julie, Kellee, and I walked over to the football stadium to check it out. We just about made it to the field when UK officials stopped us and said we had to turn around. We were a little bummed because we just wanted to the see the field; we weren't going to walk on it. So we strutted back to our bus to hang out before our game.
The game started out pretty well. UK scored an early goal, but Nicole Moyen made up for that ten minutes later. She cut a girl about thirty yards out and then had a left footed ROCKET. She scored in the upper right hand corner. It was well deserved. She had tons of great shots at the Write State Invitational, but it never quite found the net. After that it was all down hill. The end result was 1-4. However, on a happier note, we won our home against Western Illinois. We always enjoy playing at home. Who doesn't? Many of our fellow student-athletes made it out to support us, along with our fraternity friends and regular attendance of parents. We scored early and it set the tone for the rest of the game. Danielle Brand scored from the right side. I scored the second goal at the end of the first half and Heidi Grey ended it for us and we walked away with a 3-0 win. Winning at home is great, but winning with a shut out is even better!
--------------------------------------------------
Rocky's Blog Entry #3 - September 3, 2007
This past Wednesday we started with the first day of classes. For me it's the feeling a child has on Christmas Eve, always anxious and excited! I know for the rest of the team it's more of an "aw man" feeling. A majority of our team is majoring in a science field. Some are PT, others are exercise science or AT. Their classes, lectures, schedules and textbooks are absolutely ridiculous. One textbook is the size of all my books combined and they are always studying. I admire my teammates for their concentration and hard work; I could never do it, but I do pretty well.
Thursday at practice we had our first PGG game. PGG stands for Pre Game Game. Some know it as "flying changes" or "flying colors." We play this at the practice before every game. There are four teams and these teams stay the same the entire year. It?s a short sided scrimmage, but the teams alternate every time the ball goes out on an end line or if a goal is scored. This goes on for about twenty minutes and it is extremely intense. Coach McKendree keeps track of our goals and at the end of the season the winning team gets a prize. I am happy to report that "Team Purple" scored the most goals on the first day of PGG with 8 goals. Team purple consists of Nicole Moyen, Elise, Susan S., Megan, Smitty, Sarah, and myself. GO TEAM! It wasn't long after practice when we left for Ohio. To find out about our weekend check out the Bleecher Feature!
--------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------
Rocky's Blog Entry #2 - August 22, 2007
Our routine hasn't changed much over the last week. We're still practicing twice a day and eating at Weinbach's. Yesterday we went out to local restaurants and stores to hang our posters with our schedule. Everyone was extremely nice and generously posted them. If you?re interested in a game you can find our posters all over town now (or you could just go to the website).
As a junior, I am still in the dorms. However, a majority of juniors and seniors are in the Hazarts and Ramonas (campus apartments). Kellee, a junior midfielder from Texas, got stuck in their bathroom. She couldn't open the door because she was unable to turn the door knob. She hollered for Heidi, a senior midfielder and roommate, to help her out. Lucky for Kellee someone was home! Many "blonde moments" like these seem to frequently happen on our team. For example, the other day at practice Susan S., a sophomore from Michigan, made a serious grammar mistake. We were talking in a group and she stated that she thought the word "baby" could also be spelled "babie." We had to inform her that you only use "ie" when the word "baby" is plural. That is what our team is there for. We help one another get out of bathrooms when we have too much lotion on our hands, and we help the underclassmen with grammar.
On another note, we were informed today that we were ranked #1 in our conference! It is only the preseason poll, but it still says a lot about our team. Last year we only lost two players. We have a solid returning squad and much to look forward too. We have our second practice at 5:30 and it'll be anything but light. Coach Pfau and Coach McKendree are pushing us hard to minimize our mental mistakes and to capitalize on each opportunity. And at the end of each practice we can always count on the "Sprint Master" herself, Coach McKendree, to add a variety of sprints. It is actually a good variation because we always get a short recovery period. We gotta do what we gotta do to be number one at the end of November!
--------------------------------------------------
nice article. lot of info. proud of you. stay healthy and keep that wonderful smile.
Posted by Letty4Ever
August 28 6:29 AM
--------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------
Rocky's Blog Entry #1 - August 17, 2007
PRE SEASON HAS STARTED!!! Everyone took some time to get settled into their living situations. I believe we have taken over the campus. We have a soccer player living in every female building: Schroeder, Brentano, Morton, Hughes, the Ramonas and the Hazarts. We may be dispersed around campus, however after a few practices, Holiday World, and the movies we are bonded as one. Our first week as a team went smooth.
The UE women's soccer team gained eight freshmen this year and they are all fun, vivacious, and each is different. That brings us to a grand total of 28 players! Everyone completed 1/3 of our "fitness test." It was a two mile run, also known as the cooper. No one quit or threw up; always a good sign. Practices are intense and all Lady Aces look in shape and motivated. We will be hosting the MVC tournament this year, but as a team we are taking it one day at a time.
UE's dinning services are not up and running until school starts. Therefore, for lunch and dinner we all enjoy the quality of Weinbach's Cafeteria. It is a great place to eat, but my teammates make fun of me. I am known for repetition with my food. I'm also very picky. My platter of choice at Weinbach's is the fried chicken breast, their rolls, and some applesauce. Except for Thursdays, I love their pasta! It does not bother me; I look forward to Weinbach's after each practice. All is looking superior on and off the soccer field...so far.
--------------------------------------------------
Good job ROCKY
Posted by David M.
August 17 12:28 PM
--------------------------------------------------
Great job updating us on team activities. Keep it up!
Posted by Neeny H.
August 17 10:31 PM
