“PLAYING IN THAT HUGE STADIUM WITH EVERYTHING AROUND US —
THE ANNOUNCING, THE MUSIC — IT WAS AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE.”
GOAL ORIENTED
(Clockwise from top left)
Kelly Wieczerzak celebrates
with her family after TCNJ
wins the New Jersey Athletic
Conference Championship;
the TCNJ Women’s Soccer
Team proudly holds the
NCAA Soccer Championship
banner; Wieczerzak
playing for Wayne Valley;
Wieczerzak anchored
the Lions defense, which
allowed only five goals all
season.
AND YOUR SENIOR YEAR? My
senior season was definitely the best
season that I’ve had in college, and
that the TCNJ program had in quite
a while. We went undefeated the
whole season, too. The difference is
this year we ended up winning our
conference championship, which was
nice because then we had home-field
advantage in the NCAA tournament
for the first, second, third and fourth
rounds. In our Elite Eight game, we
were down 1-0. Then with about 15
minutes to go we tied it up, and went
into double overtime. We ended up
winning in penalty kicks, which is
how we ended up in the Final Four.
WHAT WAS PLAYING IN THE FINAL
FOUR LIKE? It was like nothing I ever
experienced before. We did a com-
munity engagement experience with
kids at an elementary school. Then,
we had a police escort to the field.
You really felt like a celebrity that
day. Then, the game, just playing
in that huge stadium with everything
around us — the announcing, the music
— it was an unforgettable experience.
I play defense, so the clock is right
behind me. Of course, I’m checking to
see how much time is left and thinking,
‘Can we do it?’ Even in the last five
minutes, we were pressing so much. I
still felt there was a chance to pull it
off. When that whistle blew, I knew [it
was over]. The seniors, especially, just
dropped to the ground. There were a
lot of tears. I remember my coach came
over to me because I was almost refus-
ing to get off the field, because it’s just
sad. I’m still not over it.
DO YOU WATCH PROFESSIONAL
SOCCER? I do. I love watching the
World Cup. I don’t really watch the
English Premier Leagues or anything
like that, but I do follow the U.S.
Women’s National Team and Men’s
National Team. I love watching the
Women’s National Team.
ARE THERE ANY PLAYERS
THAT YOU SPECIFICALLY LIKE?
Obviously, Kelly O’Hara. I actu-
ally used to play forward, then was
moved back to midfield, and in
college I started playing defense.
I love watching her play, because I
try to emulate her style a bit. She’s
super-fast up the field, plays an
outside back, which is the same
position I play, and she’s so com-
posed. Then, of course, when I was
growing up, soccer star Mia Hamm
was always a favorite, and Abby
Wambach, too.
ANY ADVICE FOR GIRLS WHO ARE
STARTING OUT OR IN THE MIDDLE
OF THEIR SOCCER CAREERS? If
playing soccer is what you love
to do and it’s your passion, never
give up on your dreams. You can’t
ever let someone else’s opinion get
in the way of what you want to
accomplish. ■
WAYNE MAGAZINE SPRING 2018
37