RCSJ-Gloucester Women's Soccer Fights Through Adversity to Emerge in National Spotlight
Sometimes a near-catastrophe yields positive, life-changing results. Just ask any member of RCSJ-Gloucester's Women's Soccer team or their coaches.
Throughout her lengthy 12-year career as Roadrunner women's head coach, Megan Ruttler and her assistants have always relied on their players' talents and work ethics in helping the program maintain its status as one of the nation's most successful Junior College Division III programs.
But during the current Fall 2021 campaign, the Runners have clearly benefitted from a team chemistry that developed from a life event like no other, one that has propelled them to new heights and even more so into the national spotlight. Make no mistake, each player on Coach Ruttler's roster of 19 has bonded together following the events of Wednesday, September 1.
Powerful Storms Make Impact
That's when powerful thunderstorms spawned three tornadoes in New Jersey, including a powerful EF 3 twister that ripped through Mullica Hill and Gloucester County, and in the process changed people's lives forever.
That tornado directly impacted the Roadrunner Women's Soccer team, which was holding a team bonding party at the home of freshman recruit Ella Van Dine (see photo below) in Wenonah, NJ when emergency alerts from the National Weather Service suddenly popped up on cell phones throughout South Jersey. The storm alerts blared relentlessly and demanded immediate and decisive actions.
"We got the emergency alerts ... and we kind of ignored them," said center back Emily Martin, a sophomore from Triton High School. "We get them all the time and you never expect (something to happen) in New Jersey. The next thing you know the windows are shattering and everyone is sprinting to the basement."
While New Jersey is not considered part of the U.S.'s infamous "Tornado Alley," recent outbreaks of multiple storms this past summer have resulted in twisters in the tri-state area devastating neighborhoods and businesses. Indeed, on Sept. 1, fierce thunderstorms sparked by moisture from Hurricane Ida led to a total of seven twisters in New Jersey and neighboring Pennsylvania.
The RCSJ players, including several whose automobiles were completely totaled, huddled in a basement in that short time span wondering if they would even survive.
"When we were in the basement we thought that was it for us," said sophomore back Sabrina Baer, a former Williamstown High standout. "We thought these were our final moments."
The players, guests and family members were forced into making quick decisions that may have saved their lives, said Nikki Tricocci, a sophomore back from Triton Regional.
"Our breaking point was when the window in front of us shattered -- we ran down the steps quickly and we were all rushed into the basement," said Tricocci.
Once the storm subsided and the damage assessed, the Roadrunner players discovered a seemingly unbreakable team bond. That has been most evident to Van Dine, a midfielder/forward whose home was severely damaged and deemed uninhabitable. Ella, her parents and brother are currently moving into a rental home nearby and will likely live there for the next year until repairs are completed. But in the immediate aftermath of the storm, Ella found support all around her from her new RCSJ teammates.
"The girls were texting me -- what can we do?" said Van Dine, who entered RCSJ following a stellar career at nearby Gloucester Catholic High School. "Some of the girls came over and brought tarps. .. they even stayed after when there was a lot of cleanup to be done, packing stuff up when we had to get out of there."
Team Chemistry and On-Field Success
On and off the field, Roadrunner players have turned the near-tragedy into a positive experience, one that has resulted in widespread national recognition. On the field, the Runners – who have appeared in 7 NJCAA National Championship Tournaments in 11 seasons under Coach Ruttler -- are off to their finest start in several years with a perfect 6-0 record and the No. 2 national ranking in NJCAA Division III. This unblemished mark includes wins over No. 8 nationally ranked Union County College and traditional powers Montgomery Rockville (Maryland) and Division II Mercer CCC. The squad opened the season with impressive wins over Division I Harcum College and GSAC rivals Camden County College and Ocean County College.
Coach Ruttler is proud of her players' reactions to the recent events.
"Team chemistry early in the season, is always something to be worked on," she said. "There's only so much that can be done in training. With that in mind, the team held a pasta party to foster that a bit more on their own. Life took a turn right before their eyes when a tornado ripped through our area.
"There's a lot of damage that deserves attention but to try to take a piece of positivity out of it, the team leaned on each other to get through a horrific experience. Rushing to a basement, windows shattering right before their eyes, to then learn a lot of personal property was damaged...it brought them together.
"Success isn't all that common when you don't face adversity. The team got through that period together. Additionally, they stuck by Ella's side offering aid in any form possible for a group of young adults. Monetary donations, tarps for the roof, a warm/dry bed to rest a head. They stepped up for one another and I'm proud of them for that."
Individual Player Reactions and Bonding
Team members also bonded quickly amongst themselves. "We definitely turned it from a negative perspective into a positive," commented sophomore forward/midfielder Alyssa Meglino, a Williamstown High graduate. "We have inside jokes now that make the situation more humorous -- even though there was a lot of (physical) damage, we try to turn it all into a positive."
Forward/midfielder Melina Towlen, a sophomore from Ewing Township, NJ, is no stranger to damaging storms. Previously, her family suffered power outages from Hurricanes Irene and Sandy, although she notes the recent September storms were the worst she has experienced. But she noted that plenty of positive team relationships emerged.
"It was definitely slow in the beginning, but after this it went from 0 to 100 -- we were all getting along a lot better after that," said Towlen, whose car was totaled during the storm.
And all players interviewed agreed that team bonding began in quite an unconventional way – when they were packed together in a basement as the savage storm raged nearby.
"We all huddled together .... and I guess that started it (the team bonding)," noted Sabrina Baer.
"We all went through this traumatic experience – and no matter what, now we are always together," said Nikki Tricocci.
And however the current season concludes on the field of play, these Roadrunner players have turned the corners in their young lives.
"Before the house party and tornado … we were not close," said Triton's Martin. "But, now I don't think you can find a closer team. That's really helped us on and off the field as individuals."
Ella Van Dine hopes her new teammates continue their current season on a winning note.
"The program is up and coming, but we still have some work to do," she commented. "Hopefully we'll make it (to the National championship Tournament) and go far!!"