Joey Soeder, along with the other Winthrop Eagles, have a lot to be proud of. The Winthrop men’s soccer player is cheering alongside his teammates, on both the men’s and women’s teams this semester as they add yet another award to their long list of accolades.
“I was proud, for myself and also my teammates,” Soeder said, “It’s a prestigious award and it is always a good thing to be recognized for your hard work.”
It would seem to be yet another recognition of the Eagles’ prowess in soccer, but this award is not merely for athleticism. Winthrop’s soccer teams were honored with academic awards for the 2017-18 school year by the United Soccer Coaches for outstanding work in the classroom as well as on the field.
The teams were awarded for maintaining an average GPA of 3.0 or above. This is the tenth academic award for the men’s team and the ninth for the women’s and the latest in four-year and nine-year streaks for each team, respectively.
Winthrop soccer players are ecstatic over their latest victory with many Eagles taking time to congratulate their fellow teammates with high-fives and fist bumps and celebrate with their families over a job well done. Now that the news has come in, team members look back on the people and values that made it all possible.
“I feel as if all of the lads on the team are responsible and diligent in terms of getting work done, and as teammates, we also tend to hold each other accountable, ensuring that we don’t skip classes or forget to do any assignments,” Soeder said, “In addition to that, the athletics staff members are always stressing that we are ‘students first, athletes second,’ and really try to push us to do our best in the classroom.”
While Soeder is excited over the Eagles’ performance these past few years, it’s nothing he wasn’t expecting.
“Our coaches told us at the end last semester that we had set a new team-record GPA, so I was almost expecting to receive recognition,” Soeder said.
Women’s soccer team member JoJo Taylor concurs.
“I am not surprised as it was something we put emphasis on in the beginning of the year: to make school a top priority and try to improve our overall GPA from last year,” Taylor said.
On the women’s team, many players are just as thrilled with their performance both on and off the field this past year. Taylor cites a careful balance as key to her team’s success.
“Playing sports and balancing a strong school life can be difficult,” Taylor said, “Having good time management skills is crucial if we want to be able to succeed on the field and in the classroom. Having school be a top priority as well as soccer helps us understand our responsibilities.”
Skillful time management has paid off in a big way for both teams in the end. The Eagles are one of only three collegiate soccer programs to be recognized in the Big South Conference and one of only 195 nationally to have both their men’s and women’s teams honored together out of a total of 778 teams who received the award.
As both teams take some time to enjoy these honors they recognize that they are far from finished this semester.
“Our team was very excited and we are proud, but we understand there is work still to be done,” Taylor said.
It seems that Winthrop’s soccer teams plan on keeping their streak of success going both on and off the field.
