As the biggest weekend to date of the 2009 Women’s Soccer season began, I can speak for the team in saying everyone was anxious yet excited. Our first game of the weekend was cross-town foe Marquette, and as most of the girls on our team have grown up playing with a lot of the Marquette players, it is always more of an emotional game than anything. The last few years we came away with bragging rights, and I was definitely hoping that they would stand for another year. Before the game Mike told us that winning the game would depend on which team had the best composure around the goal, and (of course) he was right on the mark.
Marquette scored their first goal soon into the game, and you could tell from the way the girl slid to get her toe on the ball that she really wanted to score. Same thing with the second goal- the player was composed and kept it on frame and all of the sudden we were down 2-0. It’s possibly the worst feeling in the world to be down to the one team you want to beat most, but what I love about our team is that we always believe we can come back and win. I’ll always remember a game in 2006, my freshman year, against Green Bay when we were down 2-1 and scored 46 seconds after the next kickoff, then got a penalty kick in the box to win the game. We have a fight and a drive, and it came out in the second half when we outshot Marquette 15-2. Kate Megna and Sarah Hagen were both so dangerous around the goal, and Wando (Mary) rocketed a shot that the goalie barely got her hands on. We were clearly the better team in that second half-the only thing missing was the composure in front of the goal!
The next day we left for Notre Dame, where we stayed in possibly the nicest hotel ever... the beds and pillows were feather-soft. I slept 10 hours straight and probably could have gone a few more. I guess that Notre Dame puts their competitors into that hotel in an effort to try and lull their competitors into coming to the game still sleeping. That plan was foiled as (unfortunately for those that wanted to sleep after breakfast) Mike made us go for a 45-minute walk to digest our food, which cut out half of our rest time!
All I can say about the Notre Dame game is that I think we missed out on a great opportunity to upset the #2 team in the country. While Notre Dame is a talented team, the thing that separates them from others is their mentality to score when they are near the goal. As Marquette did on Friday, they took advantage of their opportunities well. We left that game unsatisfied and frustrated that we did not play up to our potential, and I think we are all eager to make up for it and prove our talent this coming weekend.
My personal highlight from this weekend was getting to play in my first game since my surgery in July, which was by no means just a little exciting. I think my knee is as good as it will get, and it doesn’t bother me too much unless I make an awkward cut on the ground. Although I did not do much worthwhile while I played, it felt WONDERFUL to be out there with the team again, running around, and I am excited for the rest of the season.
See you all on Friday!
Louise Vraney is a senior with the Panthers. She returned to the pitch last week after an off-season surgery. She is the second Panther to contribute to the player blog this season... she will be back next week.
