The women’s soccer team traveled to California this past August to close out preseason and compete in their season opener. While there, sophomore Londyn Feasel ended up starring on “The Price Is Right.”

During the last week of pre-season, the Goshen College women’s soccer team boarded a bus at 3 a.m. to drive to O’Hare and fly on to Los Angeles. This was the first team trip organized under head coach Scott Gloden. Gloden said that he and his wife, assistant coach Anne Gloden, like to take teams on longer trips before the season opens.

“Los Angeles was a natural choice because there is so much to do and so much to see there,” he said.

One of the first stops, at 1 p.m. the same day that they left, was CBS studios.

“‘The Price Is Right’ was always an idea I had,” he said. “I grew up watching the show and I knew it would be such a terrific time with the team.”

After a 4-hour process of filling out forms, taking photos and participating in interviews, Londyn Feasel had an inkling she might get selected to go on the show. Feasel, an elementary education major, transferred to Goshen College from St. Joseph’s College after the school’s closure last year. She committed to the soccer team in mid-July, 3 weeks before pre-season was due to start.

Prior to entering the studio, all audience members were interviewed in groups of twenty by the producer, Stanley Bills. These interviews acted as a screening to select potential contestants. It was after speaking and joking with Bills that Feasel thought she might be chosen.

After the interview, Feasel said, “I’m going on. I gotta start preparing myself.”

Walking into the studio the immediate impression from the whole team was that it was a lot smaller than expected. The room was full of color and music with everyone dancing around and singing. Right at 5 p.m. the cameras started to roll. Feasel still didn’t know for sure if she would be chosen.

Feasel was standing in the audience, along with the rest of team, clapping and dancing to the music when announcer George Gray called her down as the next contestant. At first, none of the team, including Feasel herself, had any idea that she’d been called. “It’s so loud in there, you can’t hear anything,” Feasel said. “I was turning and talking to [teammate] Kaitlin Begley, not paying attention at all.” It wasn’t until the rest of the team started shouting, “Londyn, it’s you!” that she realized.

Feasel turned around and saw her name written on the cue card that listed the audience member who had been picked. Immediately the whole team started jumping and screaming, hugging Feasel as she walked toward the stage to join the other contestants. “I was in pure shock,” she said.

Once on stage, Feasel had to guess the price of six Fitbits. Encouraged by the host to get advice from the audience, Feasel turned around to face Gloden, the head coach, who told her $300. All three other contestants guessed over the actual price of $500, immediately eliminating them and allowing Feasel to advance.

Feasel joined host Drew Carey on stage where he shook her hand and gave her a hug. Feasel then gave the GC women’s soccer team a shout out when he asked who she had come with. Following this, Feasel said she remembers what happened next word for word as Carey asked Gray how she’d be able to get to soccer games from now on. Gray said: “Well I’d say, she shoots, she scores, a brand new car!”

The screen opened and out in front of her stood a brand new Fiat 500. With a little more help from the audience, Feasel heard a “ding” through the speaker, confirming that she had won. “The experience was so surreal,” she said. The camera panned onto the rest of the team who were screaming and jumping in celebration.

Feasel then got the opportunity to spin the show’s famous wheel. “I was really scared, nervous that I wasn’t gonna be strong enough to get the wheel the whole way around,” she said. “It’s really heavy.”

The aim is to spin closest to a dollar (one hundred) as possible. Feasel spun an eighty-five, higher than the other contestants, which put her through to the “showcase showdown,” the main event at the end of the show that gives contestants the chance to win two or three big prizes. In the time between spinning the wheel and the showcase, Feasel said she was “super nervous,” but her teammates helped to calm her nerves throughut the show.

Then the moment finally arrived. The first set of prizes were revealed: a pontoon boat, a four-night and five-day stay at Yosemite National Park, and a camping set consisting of a tent, walking boots, a backpack, fire pit and other goods. The task was to guess the prices of all of these products combined.

Feasel’s opponent had a higher score prior to the showcase from spinning the wheel. This meant that she could either decide to play or pass. She decided to pass and play for the second set of prizes consisting of a Jeep, two iPhone 7’s and a trip to Orlando. Feasel again looked over to Gloden, who told her $18,000.

“I remember making eye-contact with Kaitlin Begley,” Feasel said. “I said, ‘I think I got it, I really think I got it’ she gave me a thumbs up saying ‘yeah, yeah’ and then turns to the rest of the girls and says ‘she hasn’t got it.’” The rest of the team thought she had guessed far too low.

“After Londyn guessed, the whole crowd went ‘ooooh’ because we all thought it was too low. I didn’t think she was going to win it,” said junior Mara Beck.

Carey walked over to Feasel’s podium and pulled out the slip of paper. He revealed that she had guessed under by $9,000 to which the whole audience let out another groan.

He then stepped over to her opponent’s podium to pull out her slip of paper. He paused before informing the anticipating audience that she had guessed under by $11,000, making Feasel the winner.

“I started pushing [teammate] Caro [Carolina Villalobos Palacios] because we were supposed to go up there if she won and Begs [Kaitlin Begley] and Caro were not moving so I kind of gave them a little shove,” said Beck, describing the craze of the aftermath.

The team all sprinted onto the stage to join Feasel. The cameras continued to roll as they all hugged and celebrated, unaware that their teammate had just won a total of over $45,000 worth of prizes. Whilst on stage the team were then invited to climb onto the boat where they continued their celebrations.

“That was my favorite part,” Feasel said. “We can all be on TV and have that moment together.”