MACON, Ga. - The journey of a student-athlete can take many turns as you try to manage the balance of academics and athletics. Often you don't find the right balance until your final season. This year the A-Sun has seen many upper classmen step up for their teams and lead them to new heights.
In a league where teams shared the regular-season title and all teams remained alive for a Championship spot until the final whistle, coaches will lean on experience and seniors to guide their squads through the ups and downs. As teams face different obstacles throughout the season, its the seniors and juniors that keep a team on the path to the ultimate goal of winning a championship.
The top-seeded Lipscomb Bisons are led by senior captain Luke Gearin. Gearin, the 2014 Defender of the Year, has played and started along side fellow senior Robbie Johnson for a majority of the past three seasons. This year Gearin showed his leadership on both sides of the ball, scoring eight goals, many of them on set pieces.
Northern Kentucky is leaning on its senior class more than ever as the Norse find themselves in unfamiliar territory, the A-Sun Championship semifinals. Cian McDonald and fellow Irish senior Ian O'Reilly are two of seven seniors who committed to NKU when the Norse were still in Division-II. As the Norse moved up and entered the transition period, it was this senior class that helped guide the team to new heights. It was only fitting that McDonald and O'Reilly combined for the game-winner in the Norse' first ever A-Sun Championship match.
The quality of play has also improved tremendously due to players staying and growing with their teams. North Florida Head Coach Derek Marinatos believes the quality of upperclassmen is helping the conference strength, "I attribute a lot of the parity to the talent
that returned to the league, especially among the top four teams. For example a team like Stetson had so much to overcome, and the seniors have taken them to the next level."
FGCU continues to lean on the experienced players on its squad, including Henry Penagos. The redshirt-senior, is tied for the team league in goals (4) and points (8), He has scored some crucial game-winners this year to help give the Eagles a share of their fifth-straight A-Sun regular season title, a new conference record.
This year's group of upperclassmen has performed well on and off the field. FGCU's and North Florida's seniors now get the chance to cap off this season with a championship on Sunday.
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