For college athletes, their team becomes like a second family, and that bond extends even after graduation.
Today on the UMary campus, a group of women’s soccer alumni got a chance to express that bond on the pitch once more.
For these dozens of U-Mary women’s soccer alumni, the program was always more than just a team.
“This was my family–my first friends, my family while I was up here,” Jessica Sedevie said.
Sedevie and around 20 other alumni rekindled that bond Saturday afternoon by suiting up in the annual match against the current Marauders. And for the alumni, the memories came rushing back.
“Sometimes when you watch them play it feels like it was just yesterday,” Sedevie said, “even though it’s been over ten years.”
So they reminisced about their time as a Marauder, and it’s safe to say that the program now has a few more resources than back in 2005. Former captain Kelly Quintus said back when the team qualified for nationals, they weren’t sure if they’d be able to even make it there.
“We had to take a bus to Colorado,” Quintus said. “There was no money to travel hardly. We qualified for nationals in California, and they thought about making us drive.”
Each memory carried smiles with them, especially when one story highlighted head coach Sarah Cook’s interactions with officials back in the day.
Those and so many more memories have stayed with these alumni. And some loved it so much that they never wanted to leave.
“It’s hard to find a game I’m not at<” Quintus said. “Some of us alumni get together and travel to the away games just to be a part of the environment still.”
The current Marauders did end up getting the win, but not before the alumni found the bottom of the net once.
