Athletics

Hat-tricks and Gratitude

N Our Voice by Sarah Weber

Hat-tricks and GratitudeHope Shortridge

I’m very proud of everything I’ve already accomplished at Nebraska, but I’ve never started a season like I did this year — my senior year.

On August 18, I scored my first collegiate hat-trick in our game against Colorado State.

As if that wasn’t enough of a whirlwind, I followed that up with another hat-trick against Creighton just a few weeks later.

Mind-blown.

Freaking out.

Dreams coming true.

Trust me, I felt every emotion you can think of.

But in all honesty, it’s not the hat-tricks that make me pinch myself and ask, is this real life?!

It’s Nebraska.

It’s the love and support I have from my family, friends, teammates and coaches that have been by my side through every step of my journey as a student-athlete.

Doing my Job 

Throughout my time at Nebraska, I’ve always prided myself on doing whatever is asked of me.

Going into my senior season this year, perhaps more than any other season I’ve had here, my job is to put the ball in the back of the net.

Period.

Little did I know that would mean scoring two hat-tricks in the first few games of the season. But that’s what I love most about soccer. When the referee blows that opening whistle, you just never know what’s going to happen!

In the game against Colorado State, we were coming off a bad loss to Oklahoma State where we just weren’t ourselves, so we had a lot of extra adrenaline and motivation going into that game.

Thanks to Jordan and Florence for setting me up, I was able to score two quick goals within the first 20 minutes.

At halftime, I was able to kind of reflect on my play in the first half and had this moment of, wow, I have two goals. All I need is a goal in the second half to bag my first hat-trick.

But you just never know how the game is going to unfold. We were up 2-0 and had total control of the game.

Then, just like that, Colorado State evened it up at 2-2 in the 69th minute. There was no panic by our team, though. We still felt like we were in control and did not want to lose that game.

And that’s how we responded.

Just seconds after Colorado State tied it up, we took the lead again.

We got the ball out quickly and Gracie and Jordan set me up for the goal.

This ended up being the decider and my first hat-trick at Nebraska.

The hat-trick was very gratifying, but winning the game is what mattered the most to me. We played way too well to come away with anything but a W, so to get a win and be a part of a little bit of history that day for my career accomplishments is something I’m never going to forget.

A holiday to remember

In the lead-up to the game against Creighton, it was a similar situation in which we were fired up and anxious to play. We got shut out by Duke and felt that we didn’t play up to our potential.

Not to mention, the next game against UNO got postponed, so as if we needed any extra motivation to play our in-state rivals in Creighton, we were ready to right the ship and show out.

We did just that on our opening score.

We had a corner kick and Florence sent a beauty of a ball my way, so I was able to jump up and get my first header goal of the season.

Just before halftime, it was 2-1 and we really wanted to add another score to give us some breathing room for the second half.

Jordan sent an amazing cross my way that I was able to put in the back of the net and give us that 3-1 lead at halftime we were looking for.

As I was jogging to the locker room, I remember thinking, I have two goals at half. Is it meant to be, again?

In the 60th minute, I got another perfectly placed crosser from Jordan and I was able to head in and complete my second hat-trick of the season.

Truthfully, the fact that I was able to score two headers in this game made this hat-trick even more memorable than my other one.

My coaches have been constantly working with me on headers because sometimes I get so excited and want to hit the ball so hard off my head that I lose my position and accuracy of where the ball should end up.

So that was just a surreal experience knowing my hard work had paid off and I was able to score those three goals and help our team win a big rivalry game 5-2.

It was Labor Day, so it warmed my heart to see so many fans come out and support us on the holiday and their day off.

My friends and family were in the stands.

The crowd was electric.

And that’s the stuff I’m going to remember most when I hang my cleats up one day.

My team is behind me

 

As a senior, knowing my time at Nebraska is coming to an end, there are some personal and team goals I want to accomplish before I leave Hibner Stadium for the final time.

For me, personally, I would love to lead the Big 10 in goals, and I’m on pace for that to be a realistic goal for me.

But more importantly, we want to defend our crown as Big 10 Champions again in the regular season, in addition to getting over the hump and winning the Big 10 Tournament.

We’ve fallen short the last few years, but we believe in each other and know the sky's the limit on what this team can accomplish in both the conference tournament and NCAA Tournament.

No matter what happens for the remainder of the season, I’m just so proud to be a Husker and beyond grateful for all the support I’ve received during my time in Lincoln.

Those hat-tricks don’t happen without my teammates setting me up for success. Soccer is the ultimate team sport, and I wouldn’t be where I’m at in my career without my teammates and coaches who have believed in me and pushed me to become the best version of myself, both on and off the field.

With my family being 45 minutes away, their attendance at every home game has meant everything to me.

I doubt my brothers could even tell you what position I play. But they’re always encouraging me to be better than I was yesterday, and I don’t know where I’d be without them.

Looking ahead, as I hope to pursue a professional soccer career after Nebraska, I know whatever obstacles and challenges come my way, I’ll always have the support from my friends and family as I continue to chase my dreams.

Not even a couple of hat-tricks can compare to a feeling like that.