Welcome back for the 2010 season!

As always the summer seemed just a little too short but I think all of us players were excited to be back playing together again. Preseason’s two-a-days went well and some early exhibition games made for some good preparation for the tough schedule ahead. We got things started with scoreless ties against Creighton and the Alumni before uncovering our goal-scoring ability in a 4-0 win over Northern Illinois in our last exhibition match.

We always find ourselves facing a tough out-of-conference schedule and this year would be no different beginning with our season opener against Ohio State. Going into the game Ohio State had been receiving votes for the Top 25 in the nation. A win against the Buckeyes would mean putting ourselves on the radar early on. We drove to Columbus on Thursday night and had a good training session. Friday was spent resting in the hotel and preparing for the game. For some of us this meant several hours playing our new favourite card game, Shanghai Knights (Rummy), courtesy of Helen Steinhauser. When we finally arrived at the field for game time and warmed up there was definitely an air of confidence among the team. We were all ready to go out and get a result. This was evident on the field when Apple scored within the first two minutes for us to take a 1-0 lead. Ohio State tied it up in the eighth minute off of a corner kick but for the rest of the game we really seemed to control the play. When we did have breakdowns, Deebach and Forbes each came up with some big saves. Finally in the last ten minutes the ball popped free to Sperl with the Ohio State goalkeeper off of her line. Sperl sent a great chip over the goalie’s head and into the net. Final score: 2-1 Milwaukee, a great way to start the season.

The following day we drove to South Bend for a game against Notre Dame on Sunday. We had another training session after dinner at Olive Garden in which Mary set a new record for the amount of food consumed (6 breadsticks, really?). Sunday morning we were all anxious for a chance to play against the #4 team in the nation and to really prove ourselves. Last year when we played Notre Dame they scored in the first ten minutes and we never really looked settled against them. This year was a very different story. We came out and controlled the first half of the game, generating a number of quality chances. Going into halftime the score was still tied at 0-0. The second half started out similar to the first until a Notre Dame shot took an unlucky deflection and ended up in our net. Notre Dame then scored a second goal off of another redirection, followed by a third and final goal. It was a disappointing loss but the score was not entirely reflective of the game. We controlled much of the play and generated the same number of shots.

This last weekend took us to Valley Fields for the Milwaukee Cup with New Mexico, Auburn and Marquette. Friday night’s game was against New Mexico. The first half of the game was not one of our best performances and we are definitely capable of better. Despite this, the score heading into the second half was tied at 0-0. New Mexico then scored early on in the second half and lit a bit of a fire under our butts. We still lacked the same play we showed during our first two games but managed to score an opportune goal to bring the score level. Mary sent a ball in off of a free kick and after a bit of chaos in the box, Laurel finished it off. The score remained at 1-1 through the rest of the second half and two overtime periods.

We then met Auburn on Sunday. Our possession throughout the first half was not as good as what we’re capable of, lacking crispness and quality of passes. We entered halftime down 1-0. We stepped things up a little bit in the second half and took control of the game a bit more. Then in the 68th minute, Laurel sent a ball to me in Auburn’s box. I played it off to Mel and, after a deflection of an Auburn player; I sent it into the net. Unfortunately, against the run of play, Auburn scored a second goal and the game finished 2-1.

Looking back at the weekend it’s frustrating not to have come away with two wins against teams we are capable of beating. We have a week of quality training ahead of us before trying to earn some redemption in the three tough games ahead in the next two weeks.