Anderson University Adds Lights to Soccer Stadium

Indulge Tera Dolan, please.

She deserves it.

A rising fifth-year senior on the Anderson University women's soccer team, Dolan drove by Trojan Stadium last week and was overcome with emotion when she saw the recently installed lighting that will enable her and her teammates to play home games after dark for the first time in their college careers.

She strolled to midfield, looked up and choked up.

"It was a surreal moment," Dolan said. "I'm tearing up again right now just thinking about it."

Stadium lights might not seem like a big deal at Clemson or South Carolina or any other number of schools with burgeoning athletic programs and big budgets, but when you're one of only two members in the Division II South Atlantic Conference without soccer stadium lights, the impact can't be overstated.

"I've been waiting for this for four years," Dolan said. "So I don't know if I can put it into words."

The difference, she says, will be like, well, night and day.

"Sometimes I don't even bother to ask people if they can come to our games because we play right in the middle of the day, when people are in class or at work," Dolan said.

Those days are about to end.

"I'm in marketing," Dolan said. "So I'll be putting up flyers and posters and promoting all of our games on Facebook."

The fact that Anderson's men's and women's soccer teams have had to play their home games during daylight hours has proven an inconvenience for more than just the Trojans.

"I would always get calls from other athletic directors in the conference, complaining about having to leave at 8 a.m. to get here in time to play us," said Bill D'Andrea, Anderson's Director of Athletics. "Anderson student-athletes as well as our opponents will miss less class time and have the latitude to accommodate scheduling and playing games at night."

The lights were installed by Musco Lighting, an industry leader in sports lighting that previously provided lights at Anderson's softball and tennis facilities.

The recently completed project, which had a $260,000 price tag kindly picked up by an anonymous donor, also is expected to maximize the benefits of a home-field advantage for the Trojans.

"Lights for soccer means an atmosphere for the players, the students, the campus and the soccer community to embrace the excitement of the program's success," said Trojans women's soccer coach Julie Davis Carlson, whose team finished third in the conference last season. "It will help define a new athletic culture in the fall term of the academic year and will draw a new audience. It's also a huge selling point in recruiting."

Avoiding day games and practices in late summer, when high temperatures and humidity have been known to linger, will be a welcome reprieve as well as decreasing her chances of sunburn, Dolan said with a laugh.

"The weather can make it really hard - the temperature during the day can be grueling, honestly," said Dolan, a former standout at Greenville County's Mauldin High School. "And when you have to take so many water breaks, it kills the momentum of a game."

Anderson men's coach Michael Zion agreed.

"Playing in the heat of the day in August can be brutal," Zion said. "The heat definitely affects the overall performance and quality of the game."

Now the countdown is on.

The Trojan women will debut under the lights against Lynn University on Sept. 7 while the men will make their first primetime appearance against North Georgia on Sept. 8.

"The idea of having an atmosphere that will enhance the experience for our players, student body, and community is now coming to light," Zion said. "This is another move that solidifies the fact that Anderson athletics is on the move. We are looking forward to providing some quality entertainment for everyone."

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