The week of our first ODAC games has finally come to a close. Our team played some amazing games that saw the week full of some excitement and some disappointment. The Lady Eagles are off to a great start to the season that is full of high expectations.

At the beginning of the week we faced Emory and Henry on their home field. This game was a real nail-biter with our team waiting until the last 12 seconds of the game to score what would be the winning goal. The excitement of winning our first ODAC game of the season was unimaginable; it was so intense I think Coach Van Horn almost went into cardiac arrest. The ladies worked so hard during preseason and it finally paid off. W\e won our first ODAC game! There was not a grim face throughout our team.

The rest of the week the team had an important task of getting ready for our next ODAC game against Roanoke College. We prepared in practice with fitness, drill after drill, corners, set pieces, and everything the coaching staff could think of. We knew we were ready to play and win this game. Before the game, we had our head football coach come in and give us a pregame pep talk and this got us fired up.

In the stands were the Eagle Maniacs, our new student fan club, along with parents, and others there to support us. We came out and controlled the first half, and this game was in our hands. We were really proving all the doubters wrong and had Roanoke with their backs against the wall. The second half was just as physical as the first half had been and then came an unfortunate goal off a corner kick by Roanoke to finish the game with a 1-0 victory. The team was more than disappointed because for the first time we knew we should have beaten Roanoke.

Now the team is moving forward and practicing harder than ever. With 6:00 a.m. weightlifting sessions, fitness like crazy and drills working to fix our mistakes, we are even more determined now not to feel the disappointment that we felt against Roanoke. We are physically and mentally ready to move toward our next challenges against Marymount and Randolph-Macon. ODAC, we are going to prove that we belong as one of the top ranked teams in the conference. WITNESS THE RISING.

- Megan Ryan