Lillian Miller
Contributing Writer
We all know that Wooster loves its traditions, and Black and Gold Weekend is the culmination of all of them. The bagpipers lead the football team down the hill before their game; alumni communities meet up to share old stories; the orchestra, marching band and a cappella groups perform for crowds. All these important traditions unite the Wooster community in what feels so familiar to all those who have walked back from the library at two in the morning during their time here at Wooster.
However, this is the first time I have been able to truly experience this atmosphere. I am a senior on the women’s soccer team and every Saturday during our season we have a game during Black and Gold Weekend. For the past few years, we have had away games. My first year, we were away at DePauw, my sophomore year we were at Wittenberg and my junior year we didn’t have a season due to COVID-19 restrictions.
This year though, we not only had a home game on Black and Gold Weekend, but we had a double header with the men’s soccer team and it was our Senior Day. We don’t always get the greatest turnouts to our games, but this past weekend our stands were packed and overflowed into the grass and parking lot surrounding the field. This season, having people at our games has given us a dose of long-awaited energy, but having teammates who graduated my first-year at Wooster and teammates who just graduated last year cheer on our team on Senior Day was overwhelmingly refreshing and motivating. The positive and supportive presence that these alumni brought to our game only made our team want to push harder, to play better and to win even more.
After the regular 90-minute game, we were tied 2-2 and were sent into overtime, where the first goal wins. It’s a pretty intimidating concept—one mistake and the game is over. Three minutes into the first overtime period, we scored. Our team stormed the field celebrating while the fans cheered us on. Any overtime win is special, but to be able to win on our home field with a huge crowd of family, friends, alumni and past teammates made it all the more exciting.
At its heart, Wooster is a community, and that’s why finally experiencing a Black and Gold Weekend game and win at home was so special to me and my teammates. Be sure to catch our next home game on Oct. 9 at 1:00 p.m. against Ohio Wesleyan!