Her plan had been to take one last whiff of Nebraska turf before her career took her down south. Her plan had been to go out with a bang, but she could not have planned for a global pandemic cutting the year short.

“After what happened last year, I was really looking forward to my last year and maybe winning state again,” Erin Morrissey said.

Committed to play division one soccer at K-State, Morrissey had been looking forward to trading her Mustang blue uniform for a Wildcat Purple one. However, she did not intend to give up her Mustang season so early. 

“My first thought was my team, especially the other seniors. We never expected our season to be over so quickly,” Morrissey said.

Because of COVID-19, the spring soccer season has been cancelled. For Morrissey and others committed to play soccer in college, this could have detrimental effects on training, especially given a lack of space.

“We were supposed to move down [to Manhattan, Kansas] in June;but now that I can’t I do my own training, it’s just hard to not have a big field or an actual goal to practice with,” Morrissey said. 

Morrissey continues to practice individually and is able to have some connection with teammates doing the same workouts online.

“Everyday I try to get as many touches on the ball as I can, and my sister helps me with that. And our coaches post online workouts,”  Morrissey said. 

Online resources have been extremely helpful for everyone in this challenging time of distancing. More than training, Morrissey is able to use platforms like Zoom to connect with coaches and teammates socially.

“Our teams have been holding Zoom meetings once a week to check in with each other and just hang out and talk to each other and catch up,” James Abueg, head varsity girls soccer coach said.

Because they were unable to have a senior night and be recognized for their years of success, coaches shifted their honors to a digital space.

“Coach Harding and I put together a short video saluting our seniors and thanking them for the hard work they have put in the past four years at Millard North.  We sent it out to our senior parents, posted it on YouTube and on Twitter,” Abueg said.

Given the uncertainty of the future of their careers at K-State, Morrissey and future teammates alike try to remain optimistic about playing at the division one level.

“I think that by the time August rolls around, we will hopefully be pretty clear of COVID-19 and be able to play our season in the fall. If anything, we may play less out of conference games before the BIG-12 season starts,” future teammate Alaina Werremeyer said.

Morrissey doesn’t plan on stopping her training any time soon. She knows that if and when the time comes to play, it will be to her advantage to be ready.

“I worked so hard to get a D1 scholarship, now I just need to step on the field during a game. The competition for play time is fierce, but I have dreamed of this my whole life,” Morrissey said.