Best Foot Forward At th e end of a four -yea r soccer car eer , sen ior Dl'ew Nowlin had a lot to look back on over his time on the fie ld. A brotherhood of teammates and exciting close games we re some highlights for Nowlin' s time spent as a Bi son soccer player. In a game against the University of Texas at Tyler , played earl ier this year, Nowli n played a pivotal role that gave the team t heir first win of t he season . " It was back and forth the whole game; both teams had chances to put it away, but it was two str uggling teams who were fighting hard for their first win ," Nowl in said. "We ended up getting the penalty kick on a handball in the box , and I knew we had the game locked up then, " With support from both his coach and his team behind him, Nowlin had the confidence to make the shot when it counted most. "When h e scored we all sprinted down the fi e ld to celeb rate with him," senior goalkee per Andrew Fleshe r said. Flesher sa id that Nowli n , along with the oth er seniors on the team, took on big r esponsibility roles this past season. "Coach was very clear from the beginning that this team was ours to lead and tha t we n eed ed to do everything in our power to do so, " Flesher said. " [Drew] stepp ed into a leade rship role right away and was a big prese nce in the midfield. [He] made som e huge plays as well as set up a lot of oth er great plays ." Harris indeed had high exp ectations from his seniors and said he saw a lot of d evelopment in Nowlin ove r the past four years. " [Drew] has a lways be en skill ed and been a good passer, but one aspect of hi s game that improved greatly over th e years was his abil i ty to defend ," Harris said. "Off the fi eld, Drew is a dedicated C hristian man. He is compl e te ly unselfish, and he leads others by the way h e lives his life . Drew loves p eo pl e, gives to others and expects n oth ing in return. He is a great example of what a young C hrist ian man should he. " 81son teammates rejoice after the final shot against Del ta Sta te on Oct. 9th. Bisons won over Del ta 2- 1. Craig Rainbolt In addition to the st r o ng bond between pl aye r s, Nowli n cred it ed Harris as another reason for why he enjoyed his experience playing soccer so much. "He has been a great example to my t eammates and [me ], n ot only as a soccel' coach, but as a great Christian man and father , " Nowlin said. " H e ca res about you maybe more as an individual and [about] your spiritual life than just the soccer playe r asp ect of it , which I thought was awesome. " The end of the 2009 season marked the last time Nowlin and four other se niors would don Harding jerseys . The lessons and experiences that the playe r s had during the ir time on th e team, howeve r , would leave a las t ing impression b eyo nd a life of collegiate soccer. "The main thing I' ve learned over these four yea r s is [thatl everything is not all about win s and losses; it is about giving your best e ffort in everything you do, whether it is soccer, school, church or an y e ndeavor ," Nowlin sa id. Emily Hauptli Connor Galloway Craig Rainbolt Phillip McCormick Craig Rainbolt Soccer used to he my life. I played so ccer from an early age and actually was o n the Harding team las~ semeste.r. It 's is one of those sports that I wi ll always mIss and wtll alway, enjoy to play. a .4:,. 'N . Sophomore Carrolton orri s men 's soccer 285
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