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Inside Hokie Sports
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younger players continue to learn their roles.
Plus, injuries have hampered efforts to play
with a little more fluidity.
The Hokies also have simply been a little
unlucky at times. For example, in a September
non-conference game against Longwood, they
took 25 shots and only scored one goal—by
Tiernan.
“I don’t think we’ve played to our potential,”
she said. “It’s a lot of small things. We’re
missing little passes or not finishing at the
goal. If we get those things fixed, I think we
have potential to go far.”
Once the season ends, she’ll sharpen her
focus toward her future. She figures to have
options, both in soccer and in the housing
industry.
Her long-term future remains uncertain, as
she deals with cystic fibrosis. There is no cure
and life spans vary, according to the Cystic
Fibrosis Foundation website. Yet the research
continues, and as a result, better treatments
continue to emerge.
KICKING
ASIDE
All Worries
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from page 33
Tiernan and her family certainly do their
part to help the cause. They participate in
numerous walks to raise money for research,
and her dad sponsored spaghetti dinners and
is now selling t-shirts that say, “VT Alumni
for the Cure.” Plus, for the third straight year,
Tiernan and her teammates participated in the
Great Strides fundraising walk in Roanoke,
which takes place each May. This past year,
they raised more than $10,000.
“I don’t look into the future a ton,” Tiernan
admitted. “If I sit there and do think about it,
yeah, it’s kind of scary. It’s not a super positive
future, but it’s getting more and more positive.
I have worried about it before, but I don’t sit
around and think about it. I try not to think
about the future.”
Such a philosophy fits into her breezy
disposition. As John Lennon once said, “Life is
what happens to you while you’re busy making
other plans.”
Tiernan prefers to live her life in the
moment—and that outlook has worked
beautifully so far. She’ll worry about the
future later.
Murielle Tiernan will leave
Virginia Tech with school
records in at least five
categories.