A moment of reverent silence envelops Trojan stadium Wednesday at 5 p.m. before kickoff against Lander.

Twenty-five hands clutch slim yellow roses and wear white wristbands to honor Lamar Jack, a beloved member of the Anderson University athletic family who tragically passed away Tuesday morning.

As we circle up, one by one and place our roses on Lamar's number 31 painted on our home field, we dedicate this match not only to honor his memory and celebrate his life. We honor his memory as an athlete devoted to his sport but more importantly as a beloved son, friend and brother. Our hearts ache for the Jack family, friends and members of our own team who were especially close to Lamar.

At first glance it seems unusual, even disrespectful to think carrying on with a soccer match is appropriate in the midst of such tragedy. However, it is not the act of playing the game itself that carries such meaning. However, we are reminded that every day an opportunity is a blessing, as Lamar was to us and we are reminded to make the most of every moment we are given, as we believe, Lamar did.

We may have lost the non-conference match against Lander 2-0, but in the greater scheme of things we are able to say we stood up and took on an opportunity and though we tackled real-life emotions, we dedicated our time on the field to the celebration of a life. We had to make the decision to either represent the values we so strongly claim as a team or to abandon them and crumble apart into weak individuals and I am proud to say our family did not compromise our values. We are so grateful for the opportunity to play and even more so, the opportunity to have known and had Lamar as part of lives.

Although Lamar, his family and friends are still in our hearts, we leave this non-conference loss behind us and look forward to begin preparing for the conference match Sunday against Mars Hill-another day, another unguaranteed opportunity to compete.

7:45 a.m. Sunday Morning:
Coach Samar: "How is everyone feeling?"
Team: "We just have a good feeling about today, Coach."
Coach: "Why are we feeling good?"
Team: "We are confident."
Coach: " And what allows us to have confidence?"
Team: "The time we have taken to prepare for this opportunity."

As we board the bus for another away game, the energy and anticipation of the battle awaiting us on the astroturf of the Mars Hill stadium is tangible. We are coming off two great conference wins against Carson-Newman and Catawba. The last time we lost a conference match was a stunning heartbreaker to Newberry in September, which taught us so much about ourselves. We came out so composed against both Carson-Newman and Catawba, we played together and worked for each other. So here we are in Mars Hill, North Carolina. To some a game of soccer is just another match-another 90 minutes punctuated by a coin toss, the occasional flash of a yellow card, the cheering of fans and a shrill whistle at the end.

But for the Anderson University women's soccer team, those 90 minutes are what we crave. This past week more than ever has reminded us that we are never entitled to this opportunity; but for at least today we have one more chance to rally around the ringing cry of "TOGETHER…WE COMMIT!" and choose to be the team that wants it the most.

We want it enough to not just lay aside past failures, pressure, injury, sickness and tragedy, but to use them as fuel to fire our commitment to pick up our family's weaknesses. Outside distractions vanish-the only reality is a clear path to the back of the net, starting from Kaitlyn Neipp unrelentingly guarding the pipes for a fantastic shutout all the way to our two game-winning goals scored by Jessica Kleinberg and Summer Miller, with a beautiful assist by Krystal Goss.

It feels so good to come home with a win, and to be one step closer to competing in the SAC tournament. Our game is not perfect by any means. When one player drops, another is beside her, covering for her. We rely heavily on our goalkeeper to clean up dangerous situations created from gaps in the middle and a lack of communication due to fatigue and a touch of complacency (we almost surprise ourselves with how well we're playing). Kaitlyn owns her box and denies a recorded eight chances on goal to hold our 2-0 lead. The lead is the greatest lead we have had since the second week in September in our Converse College game. We see players redeem their starting positions, and our sideline is beside itself. Players who typically don't amass a lot of playing time are so in tune with the game and are more positive than ever before on the sideline, forging the team forward. Every single member of the team holds each other accountable. We watch our team score three goals, and each one of those goals gets called back! Yet we continue attacking and defending and win 2-0, we now have another shutout against a conference rival!

Together we committed at the Mars Hill stadium, and together we commit to be even more prepared for our upcoming match Wednesday against Brevard. The number 31 painted on our home field may wash away, but it will stay forever burned in our hearts and minds as a reminder that with every here-and-gone moment we are given to represent the name of Anderson University women's soccer, we will do so with pride, with commitment to excellence, and integrity of heart.

We would like to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to all the parents that helped us with our GAME DAY shirt project and to the Widenhouse family for a delicious pregame meal before our Mars Hill game!