Senior Sendoff
October 27, 2009 12:15 PM | General
October 27, 2009
Providence Match Notes
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| Gift Maworere |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men’s soccer team will play its final regular season home contest Wednesday evening against Providence. The match marks “Senior Night” for players Ryan Gillespie, Gift Maworere, Jason Bristol and Kyle West.
Gillespie, Maworere and Bristol were a part of WVU’s 2006 team that won its first-ever conference regular season title. It was Coach Marlon LeBlanc’s first season in Morgantown, and he led that group to a 9-0-1 conference mark and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
For Maworere, that season sits at the top of his list of memorable moments. Yet he also adds that there are still memorable moments to be made as WVU closes out its regular season this week. The Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, native enjoyed instant success in his first season.
“There have been a lot of memorable games – especially winning the Big East in the regular season my freshman year,” Maworere said. “We had a really good team that year. It was a great feeling just coming into a program and winning right off the bat.”
For the business administration major, it might have been a difficult adjustment at first to travel over from another continent. But Maworere felt right at home when he got to know the compassionate people of Morgantown.
“Having the team chemistry and getting to know all the guys I have met the past four years has been great,” Maworere said. “Being in Morgantown and having the fans and the coaching staff -- everyone has been great to me over the last four years.”
Maworere plans to graduate a semester early, forcing him to take 18 credit hours this semester. When he leaves school he still has aspirations to pursue the sport he loves the most.
“First of all, I have to finish off school. I’m getting my undergraduate degree in December. Then I hope to keep working out and play at the next level,” Maworere added.
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| Ryan Gillespie |
For Gillespie, who has logged 941 minutes during his senior year, the feeling of wearing the Old Gold and Blue has been extraordinary. The reliable defender from Virginia Beach almost chose to come to WVU as just a student before realizing that he had what it took to play soccer at the Division I level.
“I was undecided on playing soccer in college – I kind of wanted to just go to school at that point,” Gillespie said. “The coaches came and asked me if I wanted to play here, and my parents are from West Virginia, so I thought about it. I took a visit here and thought it was amazing, and it ended up being the best decision of my life.”
His wise choice has made him a Mountaineer for life. It is an experience that Gillespie wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.
“There’s definitely a sense of pride. You’d never thought you’d be so into something but when you get here it’s about playing for your school. It’s kind of like your family; you would go out there and do anything for your family,” Gillespie added.
The criminology and investigations major has a share of long-term choices – either attending graduate school for Applied Social Sciences, Public Administration or even going to law school. But before he has to come to grips with life outside of soccer, he doesn’t hesitate to reflect on his greatest moment so far in his four-year career.
“The best moment is when we had over 2,000 people here my freshman year against Notre Dame. There was a ton of people here and they scored first and we came back and scored two and ended up winning the game. It was an amazing feeling,” Gillespie said.
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| Jason Bristol |
Bristol has shown his flair for the dramatic, scoring game-winning goals against top-ranked UConn and Villanova in 2007, and at Marquette this season. The 6-foot-5 defender from Franklin, Tenn., has four goals and two assists in his accomplished career, but he has learned much more outside of soccer from his time spent in Morgantown.
“I’ve learned to really manage my schedule,” Bristol said. “Having school throughout the day, then lifting and going to treatment sessions, then going to soccer and going to the ice bath after … basically I leave home in the morning and don’t come back until nighttime.”
Bristol is fond of the team’s NCAA Tournament appearances in 2006 and 2007, especially the “Sweet 16” berth his sophomore year when WVU knocked off Virginia. But he also enjoyed the practices when competitive battles were waged in helping the team bond together even more.
“You always have your games – whether it was beating UConn or USF. Making the NCAA Tournament my first two years was something that was fun as well,” Bristol noted. “But I think one of my greatest memories is when we play ‘King of the Hill’ with each other. It involves three teams, and the winning team stays on. That’s something that I will remember most from practice and it is a lot of fun.”
Bristol was recruited by Coastal Carolina and Louisville before choosing WVU. He wanted to attend a bigger school that was far away from the Volunteer state, and was impressed by how much interest West Virginia showed in him.
Now, the business administration major has plenty of memories to look back on, while helping this year’s squad push ahead into the postseason. When this year concludes, he also wants to continue his play on the pitch.
“The dream would be to play past college – that would be awesome,” Bristol said. “If that doesn’t work out then I’ll go to graduate school and find a good job out of there.”
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| Kyle West |
West transferred to WVU from Ohio State prior to the start of the 2008 season. The defender from Omaha, Neb., received a medical redshirt last year and has played 546 minutes in 2009.
The redshirt junior truly respects his fourth-year coach, equating LeBlanc to a boss-like figure with boundless knowledge.
“From Coach LeBlanc, he teaches us about how hard work pays off, and how someone like him - who is our coach - has so much knowledge of the game and you can learn so much from him,” West said. “He’s someone that is higher up and has those years of experience, and learning from him is something that I can take into any field.”
West had plenty of choices to go following his two years at OSU, but was sold on the Mountaineer program following his first visit.
“What drew me here was Coach LeBlanc. There were a lot of other schools I was looking into, and this was the first one I came to,” West admitted. “I met with him and called him that night and told him I was going to be here.”
West also came to WVU because he felt he could get a quality education as an exercise physiology major. He has plans to attend physical therapy when he is through with soccer.
For the fleet-footed defender, there have been plenty of exciting games that he has been a part of in just two seasons. But what he will miss the most is the team camaraderie that he instantly felt after being one of the “new guys” in his junior season.
“The finest memories would be being with the team in general. There’s not a specific moment, but being with the guys and getting to know them and the things of that nature,” West said.
Game time Wednesday night is 7 pm.
