Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Honor Late Teammate, Open New Stadium
9/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - A day of celebration and remembrance, a look back and a new beginning.
Sunday, the Central Michigan women's soccer team will remember and honor a former teammate, the late Josie Seebeck, in a ceremony before its game with Illinois State, which kicks off at 1 p.m.
It will be the first event in the brand new soccer-lacrosse stadium located immediately to the south of the CMU Field Hockey Complex. Parking is available in lot 64, which is located to the west of Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Fan are encouraged to arrive by 12:45 p.m., which is the start time for the pre-game ceremonies.
Seebeck was a sophomore on the women's soccer team when she was killed in a car accident in August, 2013. She would have been a member of this year's senior class along with Kaelyn Korte and Maddy Bunnell.
"I think it's going to be an incredibly special day for our program," third-year CMU coach Peter McGahey said, "and an incredibly hard day.
"Maddy and (Korte), in terms of what they've meant to the program, what they've meant to me and my family, and to everybody in terms of what has happened over the last three years. Then you stack the special nature in terms of recognizing Josie and the impact she had in her short time here, how many lives she touched here at Central and across the world. I think it's going to be an incredibly emotional and powerful day."
Seebeck's parents and grandparents will be in attendance along with CMU administrators
A tree has been planted just outside the facility and an accompanying memorial plaque bears Seebeck's name.
"I don't think it'll be easy for any of us," McGahey said of the emotion of the day. "We will recognize Josie and we will celebrate her life on Sunday and then we're going to try and put the ceremony behind us and try to get after it as best as we can. Once the day is over we'll try to reflect on it and try to put it into context."
The Chippewas (1-4-1) are coming off a 1-0 loss to 24th-ranked DePaul last Sunday. Illinois State is 2-5-1 and is scheduled to play at Western Michigan today.
"I think moral victories are hard, but I also believe in a good process and I still think as a team we're putting in a good process," said McGahey in reference to his team's match with DePaul, which moved up to No. 21 in this week's poll. "If you looked at the DePaul game and you had gotten outplayed, I think that would've been a problem, but that clearly wasn't the case.
"I think when you're able to box with that level (of competition), that always breeds confidence. We're not necessarily putting it behind us, but we're basically continuing the process and continuing the growth and believing that results will come."
Sunday's match is CMU's final non-leaguer. The Chippewas open Mid-American Conference play on Friday, Sept. 25, at Western Michigan. Two days later, CMU goes to Northern Illinois.
"I don't spend a lot of time chasing the table, but I think we've had some good results against some very good teams," McGahey said. " I think the MAC quality is going to be quite good, and I think we're going through a process of sharpening the saw. You wish the saw had cut the wood a little more often, but I still think it's going to be sharp when it comes MAC time."
