Crimson Wave gets involved with Girls on the Run

It was a classic case of serendipity.

"I was originally looking for a 5K run as a form of cross-training for our team," Calumet College women's soccer coach Jennifer Fickett said. "That's how I came across 'Girls on the Run'."

Read Complete NWI Times Article

Lifetime Fitness Week

Team members "STRIKE!" a pose after taking this signature
kickboxing inspired workout at Lifetime Fitness.
Later in the week they also participated in Total Conditioning and
Studio Cycle and will continue cross-training once a week
at Lifetime Fitness during the spring semester.

Alumni honored with Sixth Man Chair

A new tradition as established for alumni during halftime at the Men's Basketball Crimson Wave Holiday Invite on Friday, December 4. In athletics there is a tradition known as "The Sixth Man," someone, male or female, considered to be the person to lift the team in hustle, excitement and leadership.

And our alumni at CCSJ have exactly those kind of traits. They choose CCSJ for their education, they put in hard work to complete their degrees and are supportive of CCSJ in many ways. For these reasons it is fitting that "The Alumni Sixth Person Chair" was established.

The honorary chair will be available for our alumni to sign at designated athletic events and in the Alumni Office.

Young fan inspires USC football team

A truly inspirational story. Pete Carroll and USC go above and beyond in granting the special wish of a young fan, facing the prospect of losing his eyesight due to complications from cancer.

Celebrating "girl power"

Members of the Women's Soccer team volunteered at the 10th Annual Girls on the Run 5k at Toyota Park in Chicago on Saturday, November 14. Activities included cheering on participants, face paining, hair decorating and making tiaras. The highlight of the event was cheering on the 1st Annual Lil' Sparks Sprints for girls ages 2-7.

Girls on the Run is a program targeting 8-14 year olds to help educate and prepare girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living. The character-building program focuses on building self-esteem, confidence and improving physical and emotional health.

Cookie Lee Jewelry fundraiser kickoff

We kick off our Cookie Lee Jewelry fundraiser today to help raise money for travel and miscellaneous team expenses. The fundraiser runs November 9-30. Orders will be delivered in early December in time for Christmas!

View Cookie Lee Online Catalog

If you are interested in purchasing anything, please contact Head Coach Jennifer Fickett at 219-381-5332 or email jfickett@ccsj.edu by November 30.

Thank you for supporting the Crimson Wave Women's Soccer Team!

Prospective recruits participate in Crimson Wave High School Combine

Members of the CCSJ Women's Soccer Team and
Crimson Wave High School Combine Participants

Season comes to an end

We lost our final game of the season yesterday 7-0 to Trinity International. While it might not have been the result we were looking for (after scoring two own goals) it was certainly an improvement upon last year's 16-0 loss. Linda Munoz recorded 12 saves.

As we near the end of our season

What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us. - Unknown

High School Combine November 6

We will be holding our annual high school combine on Friday, November 6, 2009. The combine, open to all current high school juniors and seniors, is a unique opportunity for potential college-bound student-athletes to visit CCSJ, take a college tour and with the CCSJ women's soccer team.

Student-athletes interested in attending the combine must pre-register by November 2.

For more information, including pre-registration, please contact women's head soccer coach, Jennifer Fickett at (219) 473-4316.

Puzzle pieces coming together despite loss

For the first time since probably our Crimson Wave Invite in early September, we finally started playing together as a team yesterday. Despite a 7-0 loss to nationally ranked Trinity Christian, we picked up the pieces from our Olivet Nazerene loss earlier in the week.

The team starting believing and trusting. It showed in the way they communicated and moved together as a unit defensively, frustrating Trinity Christian's offense.

With only one more game remaining, we need to continue this same team effort one step at a time.

CCSJ Named 2008-2009 Champions of Character Institution

CCSJ is one of 231 colleges and universities that has earned the distinction as a Champions of Character institution for the 2008-2009 school year.

The mission of Champions of Character is to restore character values and raise a generation of students who understand and demonstrate in everyday decisions integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership.

Read Complete Announcement

Some things just never change

For 21 minutes and two seconds, we finally played as a unit and held our line of confrontation just ahead of the comfortable shooting range of a nationally ranked Olivet Nazarene. We were doing what we prepared to do: patient defending, staying as compact as possible and frustrating them. And we held them to only two shots.

The confidence soon faded after a defensive breakdown, giving up a penalty kick. After the unlucky break, Olivet scored not more than 30 seconds later on another defensive breakdown to make it 2-0. We simply could not refocus and find our compact line of confrontation again and came out of the first half down 7-0. Olivet continued to capitalize on every defensive mistake we made in the second half. At the end of the match we gave up 35 shots and 12 goals.

One can only think of the "what if" we held our defensive shape in the 21st minute of the game? What if we didn't give up a penalty kick? Would we have finally believed that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE?

When one door closes, another door opens

Coming into our final three and toughest conference games of the season, we lose another player to injury. After suffering a concussion on October 7 against St. Francis, Angie Malinowski's symptoms have not improved and will need to see a neurologist (after learning this is actually her third concussion). It will be challenging to replace her speed and tenacious work ethic in our defense.

Remember that just the moment you say "I give up", someone else seeing the same situation is saying, "my, what a great opportunity... - Unknown

Nothing is impossible

Lessons from Northwest Indiana girls high school soccer

This past week I have spent my fair share of time watching the IHSAA girls sectional soccer games in the cold and the rain in search of recruits to bring in for next season. In short, it has been a week full of emotions for players, coaches, parents and fans alike.

I have seen teamwork, commitment, passion, talent, mental toughness, confidence, perseverance, defeat, victory, tears and celebration.

I witnessed Covenant Christian upset Boone Groove, who was playing without two key players, 2-0; Kankakee Valley edge Valparaiso, who has won 11 of the last 12 sectional titles, 2-1; and my highlight of the week so far, watching Hobart come back from a 3-0 deficit at halftime, only to defeat Griffith 4-3 in overtime.

Why is all of this relevant? Because ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE with hard work, dedication and BELIEF, the same principles we have been stressing to our team all season.

Best of luck to those teams participating in the IHSAA girls soccer state tournament!

Facing our own giants

Voice of Truth by Casting Crows

We all have potential to do great things

Team continues to face challenges

Slow starts and inconsistent play continues to plaque the team, as we allowed six goals in the first half of yesterday's game against St. Xavier before falling 7-0. Good defensive efforts by Evelyn Morales and Lesly Cuadra in the second half.

A good friend said...

Another Monday, another chance to make a difference!

Coming unglued

Yesterday we faced yet another defeat, giving up three goals in the first 15 minutes due to lack of defensive organization before we finally settled in. Hoping to make some adjustments at halftime, we came unglued and lost 7-0 to IIT.

Team Building: Doing!

Yesterday's team building included watching Winning Isn't Everything: The Untold Story of a Soccer Dynasty, nail activity, team jump rope and making a "stop doing" list.

Second half breakdown

Tonight we were unable to hang onto a closer game and suffered a 4-0 loss against University of St. Francis after only being down 1-0 at halftime.

We need to find our mental toughness and overcome our injuries and illnesses to survive our last five conference matches.

A bump in the road

Some not so good news today...Kari Stanley's MRI results confirm that she has a torn ACL (after this past Saturday's match against Holy Cross) which means we will have to make some more adjustments to our line up and style of play for our remaining six games.

A bump in the road is either an obstacle to be fought or an opportunity to be enjoyed, it's all up to you. - Unknown

Something to think about

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.
- Helen Keller

Not enough change to pull it off

The team came up short today after playing short-handed, losing 2-1 to Holy Cross. Kari Stanley suffered a knee injury seven minutes into the game. Less than a minute after playing a man down (without substitutes for today's match), Holy Cross found the back of the net to go ahead 1-0.

After a hard fought first half, Gaby Rodriquez tied the match in the 44th minute of play off of an assist from Alejandra Cuadra. The team continued to generate an attack with seven shots in the second half (12 overall); however, were unable to hold on, giving up a goal in the 87th minute. Linda Munoz had three saves.

Team Building: You cannot improve without change

The team participated in a three hour team building session this afternoon. We broke into small groups to further discuss how C-H-A-N-G-E can bring a positive effect on the rest of our season. Activities included: building a spider web, hold the rope, blind man's dodge ball and powerful "you are" statements.

Members of the team participate in the college's annual Blood Drive

CCSJ's Annual Blood Drive had a huge turnout this year. Not only did we break our goal of 35 units of blood, we set a new record with 48 productive units collected!

We miss 100% of the shots we don't take

The team walked away with a disappointing 4-0 loss to conference opponent Cardinal Stritch last night. Giving up an early goal in the 14th minute, the team was able to generate some offensive attacks for the last 17 minutes of play in the first half; however, could not put a shot on goal.

Stritch came out hard in the second half and found the back of the net again in the 61st minute. For the second straight game we gave up an own goal (in the 71st minute) and allowed one final goal in the 79th minute.

While we improved our speed of play and were able to attack more in our offensive third, we simply lack the confidence to shoot the ball within our range (recording only two shots all game). Instead we constantly look for the "perfect shot"!

Remember the Titans

A lesson on success

It's easy to have faith in yourself and discipline when you're a winner, but if you want to be a winner you must have faith and discipline even when you're not a winner.
- Vince Lombardi

Another bump in the road

Over the weekend, the team faced Robert Morris, another tough conference opponent, and suffered a demoralizing 10-0 loss (including scoring an own goal).

Finding the Positives:
- Kari Stanley playing consistently on offense AND defense
- Linda Munoz for her effort in goal
- Brenda Ramirez for challenging 50/50 balls

Facing the Giants

A tale of two halfs

Give your best. Play with heart. Build us a stone wall. Don't defeat ourselves. Those were the coaching points given prior to our Judson game last night. And after the first 45 minutes of play, the team did just that. We improved our defensive shape, got behind the ball and were able to play a higher line of confrontation. We frustrated Judson's attack and came out 2-0 at halftime.

However, the second half we defeated ourselves conceding four goals in 11 minutes and losing 8-0. Despite the fact that our reliable defender, Angie Malinowski, was out injured, we lacked the mental toughness needed to play our game, to drown out our own perceptions of our opponent.

Conference play starts today

We open our tough CCAC conference play with Judson (4-2-1) on the road today. And just when we figured out our starting 11, we lose one of our key defenders to an injury (from last Saturday's match against Goshen). Can we shut down CCAC Player of the Year, Christina Thornton and the Eagles?

Focus on the destination, not on the obstacle

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. - Henry Ford

Have you ever noticed that sometimes you catch yourself focused on the problem instead of looking ahead to your goal or destination and figuring out how to get there?

If you focus on the fact that you don't have any willpower to stick to your eating plan, or you have bad habits, or you don't think you can find exercise that you enjoy, you will hit those barriers and probably not pass them. You must be aware of the challenges you face in order to navigate past them, but don't make your obstacle the focus.

Your focus should be on where you're going next and how you're going to get there!

Goshen loss prepares team

Despite losing last night 3-0 to Goshen, the team continues to show improvement. In our last non-conference, match we made some changes to our line-up in preparation for our remaining 10 conference matches. Since the beginning of the season, the goal has always been to use our non-conference games as an opportunity to work out the kinks before we play against our CCAC opponents. And we've finally found our starting 11!

Linda Munoz came up with some big saves, tallying 9 for the night, to keep us in the game. Amanda Churilla has added some consistency to our defense for the past two matches and Brenda Ramirez proved to be a tough nosed defender after being moved from midfield to defense last night.

If we can play with consistency each game for 90 minutes, we will be able to hold our own in the CCAC. We've improved a lot already since last since and our stats prove it!

Goshen Highlight Video

Calumet College dedicates activity center

It has been nearly 40 years since Amoco donated a six-story building to the Missionaries of the Precious Blood to establish a main campus for Calumet College of St. Joseph. And while enrollment has grown since then, the campus hasn't -- until now.

Hundreds of students, faculty, alumni and residents gathered Thursday afternoon on the Robertsdale campus to dedicate the college's Student Activity and Community Center. College President Dennis Rittenmeyer said the $4.5 million building is a testament to the dedication of the college community.

Read Complete NWI Times Article

Other Articles:
New facility at Cal College long overdue
College dedicated $4.5M gymnasium

Defensive breakdowns costly against Taylor

In a 10-minute span we defeated ourselves on mental breakdowns suffering a 4-1 loss to Taylor Upland yesterday. Taylor capitalized on goal scoring opportunities in the 37th, 42nd, 44th and 47th minutes of play. Late in the second half, Kari Stanley, scored our only goal on a penalty kick; however, it wasn't enough to get us back into the game.

We have one more non-conference match on Saturday against Goshen to prepare for our conference play which kicks off next Wednesday against Judson.

Taylor's upcoming game .

This week, in my perspective, has been the most effective since the season officially started. Although our fitness should be at a high level at this point, we still need some work on it. In the past couple of games, we came to the conclusion that we have many things to work on, such as team shape and change of pace. Consequently, we focused on running these past two practice days. I believe it helped us out in our confidence level of play. Now it is time to focus on tomorrow's game. Team shape will be essential to bring a win to the house. After Ashford's game, we noticed some points that will be fix in this next game. Showing up to the field in a positive way will determine our success. Go wave!. Lets bring it.
Gabriela Rodriguez #10

Week off to a good start

After a slow start to our training session this morning, I think we may have finally tapped into our "competitive edge". Very pleased with the way we finished today! Let's hope that we can continue with the same intensity tomorrow as we prepare for Taylor on Wednesday.

Something to think about

Failure happens all the time. It happens every day in practice. What makes you better is how you react to it.
- Michigan recruit favorite quote

Disappointing loss to Ashford

The team traveled back to Iowa yesterday to face Ashford who was coming off a 1-0 stunning victory over nationally ranked Trinity Christian earlier in the week. Playing with only 11 players, the team suffered a disappointing 5-0 loss.

After giving up 4 goals in the first half, the team fought through the second half and conceded only 1 goal. Solid defensive play by Evelyn Morales and Angie Malinowski. Miriam Ojeda came up big with two defensive saves.

With only two non-conference matches remaining before facing our tough conference play, can we dig down deep to play consistent soccer for 90 minutes? Do we believe that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE?

Encouraging words

Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. - Galatians 6:9

Success at Crimson Wave Invite

The team ended the program's losing streak by defeating Waldorf 2-1 in overtime on Saturday in the Crimson Wave Invite. Gaby Rodriquez scored both goals, including the game winning goal 2:53 into overtime.

In the championship game on Sunday against the University of St. Mary's, the team fought a tough battle; however, came up short 2-1. Gaby scored the team's only goal, adding three goals to her name in two days.

Gaby along with Linda Munoz and Lesly Cuadra were named to the Crimson Wave All-Invite Team.

In one short week the team has seen many small victories and a dramatic improvement from our 0-2 start. We are now 1-4 overall and hope to continue our forward progress as we prepare for our match against Ashford!

Soccer , Thursday

Yesterday we had our soccer game at Iowa against William Penn University. Although we took a loss, our team has improved dramatically over the past few days. It feels like if we have finally found players' positions on the field. We are getting closer to scoring and i am positive that we will take a win this upcoming game on Saturday. There is nothing in this world better than to stay positive:)
Gabriela Rodriguez #10.

Positive 4-0 Loss to William Penn

Despite losing 4-0 yesterday against William Penn, the team's shape and ball movement improved from our last two games in Omaha. We had great defensive plays by Angela Malinowksi and Alejandra Cuadra, both of whom were coming off of injuries and Kari Stanley and Amanda Churilla were able to generate some shots up top.

We are taking a day of recovery today before preparing tomorrow for our first home game against Waldorf on Saturday at 9 am in the Crimson Wave Invite. Depending on the outcome of the game we will face either Mountain State or University of St. Mary's on Sunday.

Tough Weekend Loss

We lost 12-0 yesterday against Dana. We struggled in the first half to shut down their key players and could not find our defensive shape. With a score of 7-0 at halftime, we made some adjustments to improve both of our offensive and defensive shape which proved to help some, but not enough as Dana was able to find the back of the goal three more times.

While we return back home with a 0-2 start, we now look ahead and start preparing for our match against William Penn on Wednesday.

College of St. Mary's game

So there we are, on the plane, daydreaming about a nice little trip to Nebraska, thinking about all the fun and the good time we will get to spend with the team mates. We arrive at the airport, collect our luggage, and grabbed something to eat. We iced, we napped, we are off for our first regular season game. Our team arrived quite early to the college, which was perfect timing to focus on the game and get our ankles and shins tapped. Yes, we did get tapped, and no, we were not focused on the game from the get go. The game begins with a successful warm up. The warm up leaves room for concentration towards the next ninety minutes. Game faces should be placed in every players' minds. Instead, we goofed around and made our warm up unsuccessful. So there it was: the board was set to ninety minutes, the goals and shot on goals spaces were zeros, and the intensity and adrenaline was seconds away from kicking in. The man on the microphone announces the players' names and the ref blows the whistle. For the next forty-five minutes, it is absolutely blank. 8 to nothing by the end of first half murders every players' minds. Lack of communication, lack of attention, lack of concentration and focus, lack of respect for each other and coaches, and most importantly, lack of dedication for the team was spotted. But what does not kill us makes us stronger. No team in this world is perfect. Not even the best teams out there are. Everyone has a bad day, and that is acceptable. The important part comes from how we react to those types of situations. Should we keep our heads down and give up? or should we try harder, give it all we got, and pull something out of the bottom of our hearts and give each other the respect and the dedication we deserve? Well it is essential for the success of this team to look at the second option. So we did. We came out to the second half with decisive minds. We were ready to get those goals back and leave every breath and every heart beat on the line. We were not going to back down on each other. So there it was, by the end of the first half, only one goal was scored. We picked it up, and we worked as a team. We were on the right track. No one likes to loose nine nothing. No one likes to loose period. By the end of the game, our heads were down, our pride was touching the floor, and we began to wonder what we were doing here. But then it came the rehabilitation and the reality check. We showered and headed to the restaurant to eat some pasta. This was a great team bonding moment where we all let out our feelings and our visions and opinions out about the game. Everyone listened, everyone talked. And then bam!, the light bulb turned on. After we were done eating, we met up at the lobby. And what happened next was indescribable. Two hours of intense talking. Feelings were all out. So many things needed to be said, so many things needed to be known. What happened in that room, well that is something i will always, always remembered for the rest of my life. It was good to know teammates' opinions and feelings, it was good to let it all out, even if it meant crying our eyes out. After the meeting we all felt relieved. It was a new start, a new beginning that was necessary for our upcoming success. We are a team, and teams go through tough times. Like coach told us, no one said it was going to be an easy ride. A team with such a short history and a short time in the program has only one option: go forward. And I have faith on my teammates, i have faith on my coaches, i have faith on the program, and it does not matter how long it takes us to get to the top, we will work for it and we will fight our souls out. Because that's what we do. From here, it only gets better:)
Gabriela Rodriguez #10

For the Love of the Game

The whistle blows, the ball is controlled by the crimson wave. Here comes the opponent, dodge, miss...she takes the ball and scores a goal. However, the game wasn't over just yet. With agression, heart and passion, the Crimson Wave soccer team finished the battle without surrendering. Never in my life did I think that I would get the opprotunity to play soccer, especially with a group of talented young ladies. We walked onto that vast green soccer field and I was nervous because I never thought I'd play in a collegiate soccer game. I overcame my nerves though as soon as I saw how the team warmed up and did there thing on that emerald pasture. Swift kick there, pass here, "MAN ON!!" they screamed. I felt completely confident that these girls will take care of business no matter what they were up against. They had courage and they had strength. Did it come from their endless hours of practice and running their lives out for that horendous cooper test they strive to finish? Quite possibly. But what I saw on that soccer field, was something much more stronger than any kind of physically strenuous training. It was the passion for the sport that took the limelight during that game. I saw hardwork, dedication, passion when they would take the ball from the other team. With gritted teeth, blood, sweat and injury, the Crimson Wave soccer girls didn't let defeat phase their love for the game.
-Betty Fuentes #9

Three words; talent, passion, and DETERMINATION
-Mayanin #15

Team struggles to connect against St. Mary's

We suffered a 9-0 loss last night against the College of St. Mary's, giving up 8 goals in the first half. Goalkeeper Linda Munoz had 9 saves. The team will face Dana today at 1 pm.

Nebraska Trip

As we anxiously wait for the rest of the teammates, the excitement is overwhelming. Although it is quite early, we feel ready and prepared for the game. The rain will not stop us! ha. Hope that the plane ride does not drag and we can get to the hotel soon. This game will determine our progress from the two scrimmage games. It is our time to shine and prove everyone wrong. People expect nothing favorable from our soccer team, and it is time to show how much this program has improved. As long as we play hard and with heart, leaving our souls on the field will dictate the rest of the trip. - Gaby Rodriguez #10.

Rainy day core training

Team kicks off season this weekend in Omaha

The team travels to Omaha, Neb. to open their season with two matches against College of St. Mary on Friday, August 28 and Dana on Saturday, August 29.

Hoping for more..(brenda thought of it)

Mmm...all i have to say about yesterday's game was that we didn't play to our potential but we did defend good ...especially angie....and linda did an amazing job not to let them score...so our score is 0 to 0..which is fantastic but many things we have to improve on like for example passing the ball more and communicating....but overall in my perspective these few weeks that we have played we are improving little by little and our hearts keep getting bigger and bigger...and hopefully that continues on during the season ....this season is going to be the best ...and overall every teammate on the team was very ecstatic because WE DID NOT LOSE!..even though it does not count cause it was just a scrimmage that boosts up our confidence level into doing good things this following season and hope we continue on... - Captain Lesly Cuadra #6

Bethel College Scrimmage

Last night's game against Bethel College ended in a 0-0 tie. We only had 11 players again and all had to play without substitution. The girls were able to fight and be competitive throughout the match. It could have gone either way, but the solid goalkeeping from Linda Munoz kept us in the match. Kari Stanley had some opportunities, but with some saves and blocks, none were able to convert. When looking at the progress from our last scrimmage, we are on the right track, but we still have work to do. I see the potential and promise of such a young team. We just have to put it all together! - Assistant Coach Rubin Nieto

Thoughts from Captain Lesly...Maritza...Brenda

I would love to say that orientation is verrryyy boooorrriiiinnnggggg....the only fun part is lunch and interacting with others. This season so far is going really good especially my teammates being committed to our practices. We are all very nervous and anxious about today's game and hopefully everything goes well today at the game and hopefully we can win and prove everybody wrong. My thoughts and Brenda's thoughts are that she wants to win and i also do and perform well at the game. Maritza's shin hurts realllllllyyyyyyyyyyy bbbbaaaaaaaaaddddd and she wants it to stop!!.....those are my thoughts for today and i'll write more tomorrow about the game. - Captain Lesly Cuadra #6

Cuadra, Crimson Wave women's soccer team looking to bounce back

Cuadra, Crimson Wave squad looking for improvements

Second-year Calumet College of St. Joseph women's soccer coach Jennifer Fickett has adopted a new quote for this year's team: "Pain is weakness leaving MY body, making US stronger."

The player that has taken that saying to heart most is freshman Lesly Cuadra.

Read Complete NWI Times Article

Iowa Wesleyan Scrimmage

We just returned from our trip to Iowa and we return with a lot to look forward to. We played with only 11 girls who played all 90 minutes in the loss but we had some moments of brightness. Linda our goalkeeper played very well stopping a 1 vs.1 battle to save a goal, near post kick save, and communicated very well. Brittany our center back emerged as a back line leader and was very active all game.

It was good to get all of them on the field and see where we could utilize our talents best. I have already begun to review film and will continue through the night and review it with the team in the morning. We will have a regeneration workout in the morning and view the video and focus on our mistakes from the match. It was only a scrimmage, but losing was not taken well by the team and we hope to use it to our advantage. - Assistant Coach Rubin Nieto

Roadtrip to Iowa:)

The road trip was pretty long...fortunate enough, the hotel is amazing...water park, casino, fun center, and lots of food ...yeeeeeyyy....this is a great opportunity to bond with the girls and increase the chemistry to improve the communication both in and outside the field...it is night and now its time to concentrate on the game tomorrow. This scrimmage is essential for the formation of the team. Even though we have 12 players, i am sure this will be a successful season. Cant wait for the game tomorrow and kick some butts...good night:) - Gaby Rodriguez #10
Pictured: Gaby and Kari

Season Preview: Moving Forward

After coming off a character building 0-18 season last year and playing the majority of the season with only seven players, Head Coach Jennifer Fickett enters her second season with some new faces and a fresh perspective.

"This season is all about a new attitude and changing our culture," said Coach Fickett. "Every day we talk about what it means to be a part of this program: Commitment to Team, Relentless Work Ethic, Personal Responsibility, Mental Toughness and Contagious Passion on and off the field."

The Crimson Wave graduated only one senior but only have three sophomore players returning to the lineup. Linda Munoz, who brings a strong work ethic and a great attitude to the team, will be making the transition from defender to goalkeeper this season. Amanda Churilla is back to anchor the defense and Angela Malinowski brings speed and tenacity up top.

Three junior transfers from South Suburban Community College, Gabriela Rodriquez, Evelyn Morales and Kari Stanley, bring experience and leadership to the team. Rodriquez and Morales will be instrumental in adding strength to the midfield, while Stanley looks to add the offensive punch lacking from last season.

This year's lineup also includes freshmen Lesly Cuadra, Alejandra Cuadra and Maritza Cornejo from East Chicago Central, Miriam Ojeda from Hammond Clark, Brenda Ramirez from Benito Juarez, Brittany Moczynski from Hammond Morton and Jessica Garcia from Whiting.

Our freshmen will need to contribute just as much as our returning and transfer players" comments Coach Fickett. "We have more talent than we did last season and with our numbers up, we are looking to gain respect in the prestigious CCAC [Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference]."

Also new this year is Assistant Coach Rubin Nieto, a former St. Joseph's College goalkeeper, whose most recent coaching stint was at Cochise College in Arizona. Nieto will oversee goalkeeper training as well as assist with recruiting.

"I'm excited to be here," said Coach Nieto. "We have a great group of players out this year. I'm looking forward to helping take the talent we have and improve from where the team was last year."

And while the program may still be under their ideal squad size, this year's team has HUGE hearts.

"We're a very young program looking to turn the corner," states Coach Fickett, "and we're hoping to surprise a few teams along the way."

The team travels to Omaha, Neb. to open their season with two matches against College of St. Mary on August 28 and Dana on August 29.

Calumet College of St. Joseph Golf Outing

Members of the CCSJ Women's Soccer team greeted and cheered on golfers at Hole 5 at the 10th Annual Crimson Wave Golf Outing at Lost Marsh in Hammond, Ind. last Thursday.

A HUGE THANK YOU to our hole sponsors: Executive Coach, Allard Rental Corporation, Hollywood Video (Munster, IN) and Carniceria "La Chiquita" #3 (East Chicago, IN).

Front Row: Maritza, Amanda, Jessica and Evelyn
Back Row: Marina and Linda


Front Row: Brittany, Angie and Miriam
Back Row: Brenda, Ashley, Kari, and Gaby


Track Coach Don Reed showing off his juggling moves.


Wrestling Coach Leroy Vega with juggling partner Kari.


Softball Coach Tom Fickett trying to focus after a long day of golf.

Early mornings, fitness tests and team building, oh my!

The past two weeks the team has risen before sunrise and is on the training field by 6:00 am Mondays-Fridays and by 8:00 am on Saturdays. Preseason training is here!

While it wasn't easy at first, we are starting to see the benefits of our off-season training (hence our theme for this year "Pain is weakness leaving MY body making US stronger!"). We're finally getting "comfortable" being "uncomfortable" with our fitness tests. Earlier this week, the team pushed through what they thought was impossible with our Cones test and amazed themselves this morning on just how teammates can help carry each other through our 120s. Tomorrow morning we will run the Cooper test and next week we will see who has the mental toughness in the Beep test.

The team's chemistry is getting stronger each day. We have just a few more days to prepare for our first preseason scrimmage against Iowa Wesleyan next Thursday. Are we prepared?

Season kickoff

The CCSJ Women's Soccer team kicked off their season yesterday with a barbecue and a trip to Toyota Park to watch the Chicago Red Stars defeat Marta and the Los Angeles Sol 3-1 in front of a record 7,959 fans.

Photo: Chicago Red Stars celebrating Lindsay Tarpley's goal in the 47th minute.

A new attitude for 2009-2010

2009-2010 Season
Pain is weakness leaving MY body making US stronger!

CCSJ Women's Soccer Moving Forward

Welcome to the CCSJ Women's Soccer Blog. The purpose of this site is to help us stay connected with alumni, family, friends, prospective student-athletes and fans of the Crimson Wave! Follow us as team members and coaches blog about their experiences on and off the soccer field. Go Wave!!!