Over the summer, Point Loma Nazarene University’s iconic soccer field was transformed. Athletes from the soccer programs are coming back for the 2024 school year, ready and ecstatic to play on the new surface.
With the neighboring baseball field dubbed “America’s Most Scenic”, the soccer field was in dire need of a makeover according to Kristi Kiely, head coach of PLNU’s women’s soccer team. She said this change was long overdue.
“We need a new field…we were in desperate need of a new surface,” Kiely said. “The way both programs play, the men and the women, stylistically, it’s better for us when the surface is good, nice and flat, because we tend to have the ball on the ground a lot.”
Kiely said she is delighted to have a new field, especially after a long couple months without one at all. The field restoration process took all summer, leaving student athletes without a practice space. In the absence of the field, Kiely said finding space to build her team has been challenging.
“We’ve been on a bus everyday, traveling to USD, UCSD, Chula Vista,” Kiely said. “ Eating out a lot. Girls missing training for class because we had to train at different times, so I think that parts been really difficult.”
But through it all, Kiely said she’s been really impressed with her girl’s commitment to the sport.
“They handled it well and we’ve been looking forward to being on the field,” she said. “Some nights, they got kicked off four different fields around town. But they kept trying to go to the next one and the next one and so I think they are committed to their growth and development.”
At the first home game of the season, the Sea Lions beat University of Colorado at Colorado Springs with an impressive 5-1 score. Similarly, the men’s soccer team has also had a remarkable season, winning 5 of their 8 games so far. Both teams have shown appreciation for the new field.
Keoni Young, a graphic design and marketing major and a first-year member of the men’s team, said he is happy to have space for his teammates to be together.
“Being on a team to me means that I have a brotherhood of people that I can trust with anything,” Young said. “It’s been really nice playing on our new field. It’s a lot better then what we were practicing on in the past so I am very grateful it’s done.”
While the on-field renovations have been geared toward the university’s athletic teams that use it, Delaney Olivas, a first-year communications major, said although she isn’t on an athletic team she’s excited to see the field completed.
“I’ve been playing soccer since I was 8. The community is really good everywhere and it always gets me back to feeling like a little kid,” Olivas said.
She said she is looking forward to joining an intramural team later on in the year. She said that she hopes becoming a part of this program will help her with her transition into college, as well as providing her with a much needed outlet.
“Having a good field means everything,” Olivias said.
Charis Johnston