Not much was expected of Southern Virginia College's Lady Knights soccer team during its inaugural season this past year.
Most players were freshman, and as a new program, the team lacked a home field and many athletic resources.But following an 8-1 drubbing in their first game of the season, the Lady Knights - a team composed of all LDS players - put together a 7-2 season to win the National Small College Athletics Association Championship at Rochester College in Michigan Nov. 2. They won the NSCAA championship by beating Warren Wilson, 6-2, the same team that had beaten them in the first game of the season.
"We had an amazing season," said coach Deidra Dryden. "We played some tough competition, including a NCAA Division-One team. The strengths that helped us win were our unity and trust in each other and as a team, not to mention a lot of prayer and faith."
"The spiritual element brought us together," said All-American team member Rebecca Pickett from Elizabethtown, Pa., describing how they also held scripture study on road trips.
"I think this team showed to me the reason athletics are played," said Coach Dryden. "If you are unified in working towards a common goal, you can succeed."
Southern Virginia College is nestled in the hills of Buena Vista in central Virginia. It was originally a women's college and two-year junior college before it was acquired in 1996 by LDS businessmen and educators. The college was revamped into an institution of higher education where students abide a code of conduct based on LDS standards.
