Haley Woodward has spent the last four years dedicating herself to a vision–the vision of her Head Coach Erin Saleeby to change the culture of Women’s Soccer on csmpus.

“As soon as I stepped foot on campus, I could feel how tight-knit the community here was. I met Saleeby and Wes along with some of the players, and I knew that it was somewhere that I would fit in,” Woodward said. “Additionally, I got to speak with Dr. (Katie) Goff and alumnus that graduated with a Pre-Med degree, and I ultimately decided Ferrum was the place for me.”

It didn’t take long for Woodward to make her mark on the field, as she started 17 games in her first season.

“No one prepares you for the physical and mental toll that college sports take on you. The transition to college athletics was tough,” Woodward said. “I had never been sore to the extent that I was sore, never had played with such high physicality and speed, nor had I had to manage such high fatigue and still perform academically and on the field.”

Despite all this, she said she loved it.

“Once I figured out how to manage it all, I realized I thrived in an environment that’s high demand and structured,” she said.

But after a 4-12-1 season, Head Coach Erin Saleeby sat down with the freshman class and explained her vision.

Woodward was one of the players with whom Saleeby spoke.

“In my end of the year meeting freshman year, Saleeby told me that she had high hopes for me. I also remember her telling me that she thought I was going to one day lead the team,” Woodward said. “She told our whole class about how we had to face adversity to have success later. She told us one day we were going to be at the top; we just had to be patient and put in the work.”

When Woodward entered her sophomore year, she saw herself stepping into a leadership role.

She also found herself in a new position.

“Amber Gillen, another senior in my class, and I were starting center backs,” she recalled. “She had played that position the year prior, but I had not. She helped me a lot with confidence and understanding the role. We both play differently, and we were able to understand and read each other well on the field. I think I did have a higher level of confidence because I was a returner, and it wasn’t all brand new, but I still was anxious about stepping up into a position with more responsibility.”

But with another losing season with the team finishing with a 6-9-2, internal problems began to occur within the team.

“The 2022 season was another rough season for us. We had done slightly better than the year before, but there was a lot of tension and frustration on the team,” Woodward said. “However, in the spring of 2023, my class really stepped up. A lot of people, including myself, found leadership within the team. We knew that it was up to us to change the culture and raise the standard.”

The 2023 season brought a fast start as the team was 5-1-1 in out of conference play.

Once the team began ODAC play, it was a different story, as the team finished 2-8 and missed the playoffs.

“Our team had always struggled with not winning the games that we should have won,” Woodward said. “As we entered conference play, I think our confidence dropped. We lost multiple games in the last five minutes. There were multiple games that I felt so defeated afterwards.”

Woodward expressed it was hard as a defender to watch all the hard work and effort they put in all game be taken away in the last five minutes.

“I think the 2023 season was when we really built the heart and grit of the team. People really started to care and wanted better for the program, for the seniors, for respect, and for the coaches. Wes talks all the time about having pride in who we are and Ferrum. The 2023 season was a pride building year.”

But even after three losing seasons, Woodward still remembered Saleeby’s vision and wasn’t ready to give up on it yet.

“I’ve always been bought into the program, but I think the older I got, the more I realized how little time I have left, and I started to care more. I think the whole senior class knew what talent we had and what we were building,” she said.

She also said that because they have all seen and experienced the adversity, it has helped them overcome challenges.

“I remember one game, Saleeby had told us that no one was expecting us to win, and that is the best place to be. She said that we were going to surprise people, and we were building our own underdog story,” Woodward recalled.

But with this being her final season, Woodward expressed her biggest struggle and piece of adversity up to this point in her career–herself.

“I think my biggest adversity and struggle has always been my own mind. I have struggled with anxiety, and I have really had to overcome self-doubt. It helps so much to have teammates around you that support you and want what is best for you,” Woodward said. “Soccer has always been my life and I have found myself putting my self-worth and identity in how well I played. I’ve tried to reframe things so that failures, mistakes, and setbacks, are just part of the journey that leads to success.”

Woodward credits her teammates for helping her whenever they feel she is in her own head.

“The defensive line is great at reading each other. We can each tell when one of us needs extra encouragement, and we try to stay put together. Also, this past spring, I had a stress fracture that put me out all spring and summer. I had just been cleared to run around three weeks before reporting for preseason this year,” Woodward said.

Now, this season is the pinnacle of Saleeby’s promise to the freshman class back in 2021.

This is the opportunity they have been working for, but the culture was set in the Spring of 2023.

“After our fall season last year, we all felt that we didn’t perform to our capabilities. Saleeby has been telling my class since our freshman year that our time was coming, and I think we all realized the time was here. There were no more excuses. We were finally old enough and experienced enough to get stuff done,” Woodward said.

In the spring, they set an expectation for the team.

“Coming into the season, we set more goals, and I think having a tangible goal has really helped us,” she said. “One of our goals was to go undefeated out of conference, and we managed to do that. Also, the preseason poll rankings came out, and we were almost at the very bottom. Some of the teams that were put above us we had beaten. We used that as fuel.”

In the preseason, Woodward was named a captain for the second straight year to help lead the team she felt was ready to win now.

“It feels great, but it has also been an extremely humbling experience as well. I was lucky enough to also have been a captain last year. Last year, I learned a lot about the best way to communicate with others,” Woodward said. “It has helped me to better communicate this year. My dad always says, ‘To whom much is given, much is expected.’ It’s a big responsibility, but I want what is best for this team. I hope at the end of the day that I am that.”

Woodward said the senior class has seen a lot of adversity, and they’ve seen each other at their lowest on and off the field.

This has built a tight-knit relationship on the field.

“I can honestly say that I would not be here if not for them. The team is incredibly close, and it is a culture that we as seniors built. We knew when we came in that we wanted to change the culture, and I think we did. Hopefully, the culture continues after we are gone,” she said.

But before the seniors leave, they have to finish out this season.

A game Woodward said changed her outlook on the year was after a 2-0 win against Southern Virginia University.

“That was the game we were circling on our calendars because we knew they were going to be tough,” she said. “After we beat them, it was such a relief, as we knew it was going to be a fight. Also, other teams in the ODAC had tied them or got similar results. That’s when I knew we could play with anyone we wanted.”

The team not only changed their culture but executed their goals into a reality.

The team started the season 11-0–the best start to a Women’s Soccer season on record.

The Hollins University game was Senior Day where eight seniors were honored and recognized.

Woodward has been on campus all four years of her career and isn’t ready for her time to be done yet.

“It hasn’t really hit me yet that I am a senior. I feel like I’m stuck in junior year still. I’m trying not to think about it too much and just enjoy the time I have left,” she said. “I really want to make sure that when I leave this program, I left it better than I found it. I don’t want to have any regrets about how I played or the effort I gave. I think I have been motivated just knowing that it is nearing the end of my soccer career.”

Woodward and the rest of the seniors’ careers aren’t done just yet.

The team has six regular-season games remaining, and these six games determine whether the team can compete for an ODAC championship.

“Our team goal this season is to make the conference tournament. If we make it, that will mean the world to me and the team,” Woodward said. “After years of barely missing out, that would be huge for us. It would mean that every adversity, extra training, film, and hard work was for something.”