Former Bellbrook soccer player Abby Judge finding success with Piedmont Lions
BELLBROOK, Ohio — Abby Judge began playing soccer at 4 years old with the Bellbrook Soccer Association. Her older brothers played, and she wanted to play the same sport as them.
Today, Abby is a Junior at Piedmont University in Demorest, Georgia.
Last fall she had a successful season. She played in 20 games, starting in 17 as a center back. The Lions won the聽USA South regular-season championship. The team鈥檚 defense was able to have 13 shutouts this聽season. Abby scored a game-winning goal in double overtime against conference opponent Covenant College. She also had two assists in their 3-2 overtime win against conference opponent Huntingdon College. Abby has quite a few Accolades from this past season. She was named USA South defender of the聽week for the聽week of 10/18/21 and was named 1st team All-USA South and 1st team USA Southwest division. In addition, she was named to the USA South All-Academic Team and to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team.
When Abby visited Piedmont for the first time, she was聽talking with Timmy McCormack,聽her head coach. He mentioned that he lived in Dayton and one of the things that he missed was that he no longer could go to Bob Evans. In high school, it was聽a tradition that Abby鈥檚 team would always go to Bob Evans as a team, and it was always one of her favorite聽restaurants. 鈥淚t made me laugh so much that Bob Evans was the one thing he missed and from that moment on, I knew I had to play for him.鈥�
Abby stays in shape for soccer by alternating between lifting and cardio. She also takes any chance to have the ball at her feet, whether in her garage or on the field. When mentally preparing for competitions, Abby tries not to think too much about the game. She normally spends pregame joking with teammates and singing to the music that is being played.
Abby loves being on a team and seeing each member work hard for each other so they聽can reach their goals. Through this, she has learned that the most important thing in life is to have good people around you. 鈥淎lthough I have won many games and championships, the thing I will always remember is how supportive my team is and the fun memories we have shared off the field.鈥�
She is most proud of her academic accolades. 鈥淐ollege sports take a lot of time and effort, and I am proud to be able to handle all of that and聽have the ability to do well in nursing school.鈥�
In her free time, Abby enjoys listening to music aa she is a huge聽fan of Taylor Swift and The Lumineers. She also has a golden retriever named Ellie, so I spend a lot of time playing with her.
Abby has recently had surgery to repair a damaged ligament in her foot. 鈥淢y greatest challenge would not only be dealing with the injury but also keeping a positive mindset while being sidelined from my sport.鈥� She hopes to see her team win the conference championship and compete in the NCAA tournament.
After she graduates next year with her nursing degree, she hopes to become an ICU nurse as well as continue her education to become a nurse anesthetist.
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