 At this time, we would like to honor our team of tradition. The 2006 women's soccer team finished 15 and 8 overall and reached the Northeast Athletic Conference Championship game. The Mustangs earned a birth into the NCAA tournament, the program's second NCAA birth, and defeated College of Notre Dame 3-1 in the first round before falling to eventual national finalist T.C.N.J. in the second round. We had a great time. They had so much grit and it was a culmination of several years of work for the conference to be established and for us to get the AQ. So when I think of them, think about how hard we laughed, how much we were on the road together and their humor and just their grit through such a really hard season. One of the first people that comes to mind is Nikki Miller. She was there when I got there in 2003 and I got there in 2003 after the season had started and Nikki stuck with the program through its hardest times all the way through her senior year. In the 2006 squad, Nikki was our only senior and I think about all the time we spent together, how committed she was, how much she weathered through those four years and her patience with the program. When I think of Nikki, I think of her on her senior day and it was a muddy field and she had her ponytail on top of her head, her signature haircut and hairstyling and I just think of everything she put to the side so that she could be a leader on that team for four years. I also think of Tonya who was a captain, was a multi-sport athlete and very much a leader and then that entire junior class, it was my first recruiting class and that was the bulk of the team was my first recruiting class in that junior class. I think with this team, we made a decision as a college two years prior to create a conference and this team was part of that but we had to wait two years before we were even eligible for an automatic qualifier to the NCAAs and so this team had to have patience and have long-term goal setting and really be committed to that there would be a payoff in the end and they worked hard. They worked hard for reputation, for pride. As an independent school prior to that, we got beat up all the time. We were everybody's guaranteed W and we had to stick through that and still be a team two years later to get to the NCAAs. I think with this level of achievement that this team had, it set a bar for what other teams can do. There was so many things that could have inhibited these players or the team to be really successful and they overcame them all. There was no excuses, no getting out of stuff easy. They worked hard and they fought for every goal they got. They learned from every loss they had. It set a culture of, you know, you're going to work hard, you're going to run through walls and you're going to love your teammates and you're going to come out on the other side really proud of yourself. And now I'd like to present the head coach of the 2006 women's soccer team, Lynette Buffington. I'm still waiting for my walk-up music and the tunnel. I'm going to get on you with that, Paul. We'll talk about what my choice is. Congratulations to everybody that's been inducted and even the past inductees that are here tonight. Jeb, my co-worker, office partner, office neighbor. Poulet, Bourbon Chicken, Adikti, fellow Adikti. Kara, you lived in our hallway. You were a big part of my family while I was there. D-Fran, I was in charge of student-athlete conduct. You were a big part of my life. And a hell of a spring break. I came back on a train. I wouldn't ride back on the bus. As Brett mentioned, I made the trip. I live out in the Seattle area, but I always find a way to come back. Everybody here makes me feel so welcome and special, so the tagline SU is home is fully appropriate. The Hall of Fame induction for this 2006 squad is really a capstone experience to the relentless work of the preceding three years leading up to that moment. Four, if you were Nikki Miller and started in 2003. Oh, sorry, yeah, 2003. With the enrollment of the 2004 class, began the building of something special for the college and the program. Under the vision of Dr. Manning, Tim Campbell, Brett Adams, and all of my fellow departmental colleagues, we started building a future for not only this squad, but future teams of tradition to take form. We started this vision. You know, we talked about being an independent, and we thought, well, if we aren't able to get accepted into a conference, then we're going to build one. We won't wait for anybody to invite us any longer. We're sick of being turned down for prom. If we couldn't get on an acceptable and suitable field, then we'll go buy one and build one, why not? And if we couldn't quite identify our athletic identity because we are an independent, then we were going to build that as well. So from 2004 through 2006, many of the players sitting back there, trying to behave while I'm up here, they worked hard building the culture and the identity and the legacy of Mustang women's soccer. Over the course of that 2006 season, we had some big wins. We blew some people out. We had some ugly losses, and we had our share of close ones. By the time we hit the field that rainy day in November, which was our first round in the NCAAs, we were the first team in the history of the school to win an AQ, and the hard work of building something was going to pay off. But it wasn't just a team that had been working hard. When we arrived that day, Paul and Tommy Russ were squeaging the field. There was so much water on the field. The refs were shifting around nervously, biting their fingernails, wondering if we were going to play the game. Tommy and Paul made sure that that water was off the field and we were playable. We wouldn't lose a home field advantage. Kathy, MC, and Carol were going through the rigors of hosting an NCAA playoff. It's not easy. Jeb and Coach Raymer were making sure there was a lock tight game day management system in place so no one would question the clock, goal scoring, assist, stats, or any of that. And Brett was pacing, smiling, and pacing some more. And that all was left was for our team to show up and play. But if you read the play-by-play stats, we did not show up in the first half. We entered the locker room down 1-0. I have no idea what Graham and I said to the team in the locker room. I'm sure it's not fit for public consumption and I'm sure there are still players traumatized by what we said. However, we won. And we came out and we scored three unanswered goals in advance to the next round of the NCAAs. And in that moment, the 2006 squad became the cornerstone for the foundation of the athletic department you see today. Our next round pitted us against future finalists, TCNJ. We experienced a hard and emotional game against a more talented, but in my opinion, far less honorable team. It would be unjust for the TCNJ loss to define our season or our experience over the year. It was every practice, every long bus ride with Howie. Howie. Every athlete remembers Howie. Every bone-rattling ice bath and every post-game cheer that defined our season. We had done what we had set out to do. We were building something and these players that are in the back of the room there, they had done the heavy lifting. As your coach, because I still am Bethany, I don't care what you say. I hope you are soon to experience one of the greatest benefits of aging, which is allowing you to forget the bad and remember the good. Because this was good and you were remarkable. You have become amazing mothers, bad-ass professionals, and you are the loyalest of friends. I thank you for making me laugh and always putting the team as a priority over yourself. The community of this program continues on with my 2006 assistant, Graham Miller, or Grammy Malar, as I like to call him, taking the reins after my departure and now my former ODP colleague and Goucher competitor as well as longtime friend, Tati Korba, leading the program. Lastly, on behalf of the 2006 squad, I want to thank the Hall of Fame Committee for recognizing and memorializing resilience, hard work, and vision. We are all honored and humbled. Thank you.