By: Jake Gibbons, Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, jmg6174@psu.edu

By now the news of the soccer team’s recently stunning performance has probably spread throughout all of Penn State’s campuses, but on Thursday, Jan 29, the team’s impressive achievement was immortalized in Brandywine’s gym.

For any who don’t yet know, the achievement in question is Brandywine Men’s Soccer securing the coveted PSUAC title by beating out Penn State York 1-0 last October, the victory being the last of fourteen consecutive victories in total that season, making them undefeated. What makes this even more significant is that this is the team’s second consecutive title, and it granted them access to the USCAA National Championships. This is the first time since 1997 since a Brandywine team has been able to pull off such a feat.

To commemorate the occasion, a small ceremony took place during the halftime period of the basketball game against York. After the coach said a few words and expressed his pride in the team, each individual member was called up to the half court line. A banner marking their tremendous feat was then unveiled, commemorating the occasion for years to come.

In addition, player Manny Weldemicael was congratulated for his acceptance into the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All American Team, a prestigious accolade that requires one to hold both a high GPA and significant status on their athletic team, as voted on by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Manny is not only the first ever Brandywine student to receive this honor, but also the first ever college division athlete from the entire state, male or female.

After the ceremony, Brad Jule, a captain of the soccer team and recent fall graduate, was available for comment.

“The team performed really well this past season, and we were actually undefeated.  We had a lot of returning players to help out as well,” Jule stated.

Brad also feels confident about the team’s future seasons. Though they are losing a couple seniors, the team has a lot of incoming freshman who are ready and willing to perform, and the team is always looking to cull more prospective players from some of Penn State’s other campuses.

All of Brandywine’s future soccer teams and future students will be able to look at the banner and remember the 2014 team’s achievement for years to come. With freshmen rolling in every semester, and returning players from last season, Brandywine just might be able to hold this title next year as well. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see.