EIU men’s soccer senior midfielder and captain Casey Welage and fifth year midfielder Ben Griffis trace their relationship back to their childhood in Ohio. 

Growing up in the suburbs of Cincinnati, Welage and Griffis were separated by just a seven-minute drive. Welage lived in Liberty Township, Ohio, and Griffis was in Monroe, Ohio. 

Welage and Griffis first met playing club soccer after teams began sorting players by birth year. 

“[Griffis] is a grade above me, but we were both born in 2003,” Welage said. “So, when the age group changed, that’s when me and Ben met.” 

The two didn’t become close until Griffis’ senior year of high school, which was Welage’s junior year.  

“We were together every weekend,” Welage said. “We played Xbox together when prime Fortnite was out.” 

“I definitely carried him to some victory royales,” Griffis said. “We would also just get in a car and drive around doing typical high school things.” 

The duo also spent a lot of time together over the summers training, as well as going on trips. 

“We have a personal training program that one of our former coaches made called organic development,” Welage said. “Each summer, we would all go back and train.” 

Welage and Griffis bonded over early wake-up times and after-training meals. 

“We would always go to these early morning sessions at like 6 or 7 a.m., and we built this thing with our coach,” Welage said. 

The two watched the training program grow from a tight-knit group to a popular program in the Cincinnati area that trained multiple Division I athletes. 

After Griffis graduated from high school, the two saw each other less but still kept in touch. 

“[Griffis] redshirted his freshman year,” Welage said. “When the team was traveling, he’d come home and we would hang out when he was back.” 

Griffis played for four years at Bellarmine University and considered not using his final year of eligibility as he was looking for jobs prior to transferring to Eastern.  

“I redshirted my freshman year, so I wanted to get four playing years of college soccer,” Griffis said. “But I’m also super focused on starting my career and starting a family.” 

Despite his long-term goals, Griffis said he still had the itch to play after what he thought would be his final season. 

“I didn’t go out how I wanted to, and I wanted to go out on my own terms, Griffis said.”  

Griffis entered the transfer portal following his senior year but struggled to find any solid choices due to the saturation of athletes that were also looking for a place to play. 

“Everyone was in the portal, so it was difficult to find a place to go,” Griffis said. “I was using every connection I could, but I didn’t really consider EIU at first.”  

Welage on the other hand has played all four years at Eastern and has overseen a couple of coaching changes. He was recruited by the coaching staff prior to Josh Oakley, who was recently replaced with the current head coach Ruy Vaz. 

When Griffis told Welage that he was leaving his previous school, Welage saw the opportunity to make a dream come true. 

“When the idea came into my head that Ben could be here, I was going to force him to come here if I had to,” Welage said. 

“I told [Welage], I don’t know if I want to go here but just keep me updated when you get your new coach,” Griffis said. “He wouldn’t let it go after that.” 

After Welage told Griffis that Vaz’s style would match him well, Griffis sent Vaz an email to try and get to Eastern. 

“After training I went up to [Vaz] and told him that my best friend in the world wants to come here,” Welage said. 

A visit was arranged for Griffis, and Vaz immediately liked what he saw from him. 

“[Vaz] was like ‘you’re already here in my mind’,” Welage said. “After Ben and I left the office, I had the biggest smile on my face.” 

Griffis thought beyond the pitch when deciding where to transfer to, and what he would do if things went south. 

“I started thinking about if soccer goes wrong; if I don’t play, at least I’ll have my best friend,” Griffis said. “We’ve always dreamed about playing with one another.” 

Welage went as far as dissuading Griffis from any other schools he may have been looking at. 

“He talked to a few other schools, and I would tell him, ‘Well they wear Under Armor; you’re not going to wear Under Armor,” Welage said.  

Now that the two are playing on the same team, they hope that the years of chemistry they’ve built will transfer onto the pitch. 

The pair realized throughout the course of the season that the chemistry they built during their childhood translated to the field.  

“It’s honestly very natural,” Welage said. “He knows me so well as a player and I know him so well, we don’t even have to think about it.” 

“I know how [Welage] operates,” Griffis said. “I know how to push his buttons right or get the best out of him.” 

With 25 new players on the men’s soccer team this year, Griffis believes his friendship with Casey created an environment for the team to develop chemistry quickly. 

“I come in, and I’m kicking it off with a guy that’s been here for four years,” Griffis said. “It made it so that there didn’t need to be as much of a warming up period.” 

Griffis said that they value having an escape away from soccer, adding that they frequently play golf or do something to get their mind off the game. 

On top of playing on the same team, Welage and Griffis share a house with five other teammates as well. 

“Sometimes you can live with your best friend and end up disliking them because of how they live, but we haven’t had to deal with that,” Griffis said. 

“We have a couch and a TV in our kitchen,” Welage said. “Just us sitting in our kitchen couch, watching YouTube or chatting soccer, that’s the best for sure.” 

Welage and Griffis have both now completed their final season as college athletes and walk away from the season with fond memories. 

“I’m so blessed in this life, to have the best year of my career at Eastern and being able to do it with my best friend just makes it 10 times better,” Welage said. 

Jacksen Adkins can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].