Sept. 4, 2007

PHOTO GALLERY

DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Dayton women's soccer team started the 2007 campaign picking up two big wins against Cal Poly and Loyola Marymount this past weekend as the team traveled out west. Freshman Kelly Blumenschein recaps the team's travels to sunny California and their run in with a popular celebrity in her online journal.

Day 1: Thursday Aug. 30
They say that the early bird catches the worm. Well, let's put it this way... I wasn't exactly looking to catch any worms during the walk to Frericks Center this morning at 4:30 a.m. to catch the bus. (I also realized during that walk that I seriously over packed my gigantic blue duffle bag). Aside from the drowsiness and slight shoulder pain I was feeling, I was totally excited to be going to California!! And, I must add, we looked sweet in our new warm-ups.

I'm not really sure what happened during our bus ride to Columbus. I used that time for a quick cat nap. We got to the airport, got checked in, and headed for our gate. The first plane took us to Salt Lake City where we had about an hour and a half layover before heading to the Santa Barbara airport. This was probably the most exciting layover I have had (and will ever have) in my entire life! Our assistant coach Amy (Berbary) saw Mike the plumber from Desperate Housewives! He was even nice enough to let each of us get a picture with him!! We made it to Santa Barbara and then had about a two hour drive to San Luis Obispo. We had time for a team dinner at Café Roma, and then we all headed to bed the time change was definitely starting to sink in!

Day 2: Friday Aug. 31
We woke up this morning at about 8 a.m. for breakfast at the hotel, and then headed out to Cal Poly to have a short practice to get our legs moving. Unfortunately it took us a little longer than expected... Jimmy our bus driver dropped us off at what we thought was the right field, and then he left! It took a good half hour for us to get a hold of him, but we eventually made it to the new stadium at Cal Poly for training. After that we headed back to the hotel to hang out and rest and at around 3 p.m. we had a team lunch at Applebee's. We had a little bit of time after that at the hotel again, and then left for the game around 5:30.

The game was so exciting!! Their fans were probably some of the craziest fans I have ever heard during a match. Cal Poly was a solid team. It seemed like their average height was about 6'5". Nonetheless we didn't let ourselves get intimidated. Jerica (DeWolfe) cored off of a free kick outside the 18 to put us up 1-0 pretty early in the game. Mandi (Back) also had a nice goal which solidified the win. With about 20 minutes left they had some great shots and a few corners in a row that were a bit nerve-racking, but Niki (Reed) pulled through with some amazing saves! We ended up winning 2-0 in front of a HUGE crowd because it was the inaugural game for their new stadium. After the game we all went our separate ways some people went with their parents and others stayed at the hotel. I had a nice pancake dinner at the IHOP to celebrate the win!

Day 3: Saturday Sept. 1
We met for breakfast again this morning around 8:30 a.m. After we ate we headed for Los Angeles around 10:00. The main highway on the way there was right next to the pacific ocean- what an awesome view! After we checked in to our hotel, we had a few hours before dinner. Jerica (DeWolfe) and I went to Robertson Street to do some shopping. We passed the Hollywood sign and Rodeo Drive! VERY cool!!

Our team went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, which also happened to be right on the water  the atmosphere was great and I think it was one of the oldest Cheesecake Factory's. The portions there are big enough to feed about three people, so naturally I finished mine and then got cheesecake to top it off. After dinner we had a team meeting to go over Sunday's game and schedule. Everyone went to bed after that --- we had to get good sleep for game No. 2!

Day 4: Sunday Sept. 2
Wakeup call this morning was around 9:15 a.m., with a team breakfast right after down in the hotel restaurant. We left for Loyola Marymount around 11:30. LMU is such a nice campus! Unfortunately we were playing in extreme heat. Definite emphasis on the sunscreen! The game was intense both of our teams played well considering the heat. It went all the way into the 108th minute with no score- FINALLY with about 1:57 left in overtime No. 2 Lauren Maybury finished a ball that had been deflected in front of their goal. IT WAS AWESOME!! We were all so pumped! What a great way to start off the season- 2-0 in Cali!

Because we had already checked out of our hotel, we had to take showers at the school right after the game. With wet hair we bussed over to Santa Monica to check out the shops and food scene. It was really crowded but was right on the ocean! And who did Jerica (DeWolfe), Tori (Oelschlager), Alli (Foust) and I see walking the streets of Santa Monica?? AGAIN?? Mike the plumber from Desperate Housewives!! (WHAT ARE THE CHANCES!?) After Santa Monica we went straight to the airport. We had the late flight out. It left at 10:40 Cali time and 1:40 Ohio time. By the time we landed and got home to UD it was 8:00 a.m and all I could focus on then was finding my back to my dorm bed for some much needed sleep!

The trip to California was so much fun! I'm glad that I got a chance to travel with the team and to get to know the girls and to top it off we started off the season 2-0! It was an awesome time that I'll never forget!