For an athlete, it's a memory that will last a lifetime. For the teams gathered this weekend in Cary, N.C., for the College Cup, it's within reach, the moment when the final whistle blows and there are no more practices, no more games, no more opponents standing in the way of a championship. The only obstacle that remains in that moment is the grass that separates you from the celebration.

All four programs in Cary are attempting to win a title for the first time. Virginia Tech's Kelly Conheeney has been in that moment before, though. Not just as one among the rush of bodies sprinting across a field toward a point of celebration but at its epicenter. She had a championship resting on her foot during the summer of 2012.

Kelly Conheeney now counts at least four or five likely concussions during her career. Dave Knachel/Virginia Tech

In that year between the demise of Women's Professional Soccer and the launch of the National Women's Soccer League, the semiprofessional W-League championship match between the Ottawa Fury and the Pali Blues featured some of the best talent then playing in North America. After 90 minutes of regular time, two overtime periods and four rounds of a penalty shootout, Conheeney's kick finally clinched the title for the Fury. It was the last time she put the ball in the back of the net in a competitive game.

Conheeney will be on the sideline when Virginia Tech takes the field Friday against Florida State (ESPNU, 5 p.m. ET) in its first-ever College Cup. The fifth-year senior has been on hand all season, slipping into the familiar fall routines, packing a bag for a road trip or trying to get a little work done on the bus or plane. She is part of the team; she still puts on her jersey each game day. But when the whistle blows this weekend, one of the best players in the history of the program will stand and watch as she has for most of the past two seasons, ever since the headaches, dizziness and other post-concussion symptoms proved too much to ignore.

"For me, it's been like an emotional roller coaster," Conheeney said. "Just not being able to play with this team, knowing how far this team was going to get. It's probably the best team we've had here at Virginia Tech, so not being able to play with them is obviously heartbreaking.

"But I've gotten used to the fact that I won't be on the field. It is bittersweet, in a way, that this is going to be the end."

It is in its own way remarkable that Virginia Tech is here without Conheeney on the field. With essentially a season of eligibility left on the table, having played zero games this season and just four before a redshirt last fall, she is nonetheless the school's all-time leader in points. She amassed those 75 points through an array of skills that rank her second in assists and third in goals.