A Happy Holiday Season to all you soccer fanatics! Hopefully, this being the last blog post for this season will not put too much of a damper on the Christmas cheer that is building in your hearts!

It has been quite a ride this season. Lots of great games, goals, saves, and laughs along the way! Unlike professional sports, where you have to win the championship to "GO TO DISNEY WORLD"-- in college, you can go to Disney World FOR the national tournament! And that's exactly what we did! All last week, our team was down in then less sunny than advertised Kissimmee, Florida for the NCCAA national championships!

This was my second trip to this tournament, and it always proves to be a good time with lots of great competition! But before the first whistle blows, all 16 teams (eight guys and eight girls teams) gather together at Campus Crusade headquarters for a giant banquet and service project. This year, all the players brought toys and socks for Campus Crusade to use in the urban Christmas program. It was great to spend time with soon-to-be opponents wrapping gifts and developing relationships while being a part of something bigger than ourselves and the sport we play. All of the gifts we brought and wrapped will go to less fortunate inner city families in the Orlando area during this Christmas season. I also took advantage of this time to connect with some teammates from the Chicago Eagles Academy trip I was part of this summer! Before the week was done, we competed against two former partners in ministry!

On the whole, going 2-1 at a national tournament is nothing to scoff at. Unfortunately for us, the one loss came in the first game of the tournament. It was a tough game that saw seven goals, (two in the first five minutes of the match) and one being the deciding goal...a PK....in golden goal overtime...Needless to say, we were all heartbroken after the first loss, but we didn't waste any time getting back to Cougar soccer. We won the next two matches (finishing in 5th place overall) in typical fashion, scoring the necessary winning goal and snuffing out all attempts on their behalf with solid defense.

Not too many teams get to end their seasons on a win, and I was incredibly proud of the team working hard to send our seniors and leaders away on a positive note that really summarizes their time here at MVNU. They've been great leaders all year, and they will definitely be missed in the next season. I pray God's blessings and guidance into all their future endeavors. Also, the beauty of college athletics is that as one class leaves, another class comes in and tries to represent the blue and green jerseys on and off the field in their own way.

'Twas a great season, one I will remember for a long time (providing long-term memory abilities survive finals week), but there is still one more year to be played for me personally, and I cannot wait to see how the returning players and incoming freshmen come together in the next 7 months in preparation for Cougar Soccer 2010!

Thanks for reading and supporting us through this year! I hope you enjoyed hearing about a little bit of life inside the post!

'Til the next whistle!

Cody Snouffer #4