The bright lights illuminate the flawlessly-manicured pitch at Alumni Stadium. A piercing wind amplifies the effects of an already bitter November evening. Scores of screaming, shirtless fanatics provide the saucy soundtrack of another NCAA Tournament game held at Notre Dame.

For Vanesa Abad, November 14th, 2014 was the day she found herself at the intersection of deja vu and a self-fulfilled prophecy.

Abad's journey through her first two years of college was a dizzying and unconventional one. Committed to competing at the highest level from a young age, the Barrington, Illinois native pledged her commitment to Ohio State while a junior at Lake Zurich High School. The Buckeyes were coming off a Sweet 16 appearance and were asserting themselves as a premier program within the fierce Big Ten. 

The allure of Columbus faded, though. 

As determined and driven as Abad is on the pitch, she possesses even more grit in the classroom. Initially a biology major, Abad made the transition to nursing before arriving in Central Ohio. It was a move that posed serious logistical concerns - clinicals coincided with the four-hour block of practice time in the spring.

To Abad's credit, she thought outside the box in an attempt to make it work. She enrolled in night classes at a local community college. Eventually, enough was enough. Nursing and soccer were mutually exclusive.

Abad scrapped the scarlet and gray in favor of brown and gold after the spring of 2013. 

The Chicago native was immediately embraced by her new teammates. Abad credits goalkeeper Sydney Galvez-Daley for her guidance throughout the transition. Galvez-Daley, a transfer from Creighton the year prior, provided the two-time All-Area player with a primer on life at Valpo.    

If there were any first-year jitters, they certainly didn't show.

Time management and an indefatigable work ethic helped Abad ace her way to a 3.893 grade-point average in the classroom last year. On the field, Abad found the back of the net six times for the most dominant team in program history en route to Horizon League Freshman of the Year accolades. 

She has aspirations of becoming an emergency room nurse after obtaining her master's degree at Valparaiso University. Abad said she embraces the split-second decision making necessary in such a high-pressure environment. That same moxie has made her one of the most dependable players on the Crusader roster.

Perhaps more than the awards, Abad cherishes her Valpo. She insists head coach John Marovich and assistant coach Vanessa Vella deserve assists for their support of her studies. So, too, do her classmates for recording lectures when the Brown and Gold are on the road.

"Everyone here is very approachable and helpful. Whether it's nursing or soccer, the faculty and coaches do everything to help you succeed," Abad said.

The only people more elated to have Vanesa back in the Central time zone than the Crusader coaching staff are her parents. Abad spoke at great length about the influence her father, Michael, and mother, Ana, galvanized on the multi-sport athlete growing up.

"My mother never allowed me to lose focus on academics. She's very pragmatic in the sense that she's always made sure I have a back-up plan. My dad has been involved with the soccer side of things from day one," Abad mentioned.

At just under two hours, the drive from Barrington to Brown Field is one that permits her parents to attend home games. The Horizon League's agreement with ESPN has allowed Michael, a chemical engineer, to track Vanesa and the Crusaders while traveling internationally to countries as far east as Lithuania. 

It was Abad's father, after all, who piqued Vanesa's interest in soccer at a young age. Michael would take her and her sisters to Notre Dame for NCAA first-round matches. It was then, while a middle-schooler, that Vanesa conjured up dreams of taking the field at Alumni Stadium. 

Move the needle a decade and there she was. The sights and sounds a touch more vivid in November of 2014 than in November of 2004. Valpo's most magical season to date had its own storybook ending.