Oct. 17, 2007

Thursday , October 11
While everyone else was packing up for a road trip home for mid-term break, we were packing up for a road trip to Pittsburgh! We were leaving at 10:00 am, but like my teammate Kim Sacher and I always try to do on a morning off, we went to Bob Evans! So the morning started off well. We were especially excited this morning because we were getting our sweet new sweats that we had ordered! We had been talking about those things since August, and they were finally here! The bus managed to pull out of Frericks Center around 10:20 which was pretty good for us! That was also about the time that I realized I had forgotten my phone! Thank goodness for awesome teammates and free night and weekend minutes! So the bus was on the move! Mostly everyone slept and we watched a few movies; pretty standard for us. We got there that afternoon, checked in, and had a light practice. That night we went to one of our favorite team restaurants, Bucca Di Beppo! We love that place. The food is soooo good, and there is always so much of it! We went back to the hotel on overly full stomachs and then it was off to bed!

Friday, October 12
Game day! Woooh! This morning was a little on the strange side. We started off by getting lost trying to go to Einstein Brother's Bagels and considering we left at 9:00, we figured we would be done by 10:00, but it was 40 minutes away, and whipping that big bus around can be a little difficult. After all was said and done we made it to breakfast and back, and had a little time for a nap.

There was a salon in our hotel, and I was contemplating a manicure, but opted not to. I knew if I looked too good that the Duquesne girls might not be scared. For lunch we went home-style. We went to a little deli down the street. It was a neat little place, and their food was pretty good too. I like the look on people's faces when we walk in, even if they know we are coming. It's like dang, so they really do have thirty people! Back to the hotel for some TV/ should be doing homework time with my weekend roomie Abril! Soon it was time for the game.

It was pretty chilly or maybe it just seemed like it since it had been 90 degrees the week before in Dayton, so the Under Armor was coming out! We got our bus driver Joe to turn on the radio on the bus, we had that thing shaken! Our team likes nothing better than a good jam session, teaching Kristin how to dance, and winning soccer games! Music and dancing (as some people call it) definitely gets us pumped. After warm ups it was game time. We all knew it would be a different game since it was on turf, but we knew we could get it done. Duquesne was definitely a good team, but we fought. A sprained ankle, a cut eye lid, and two over times later we came out with a win. Two minutes left in overtime and we scored. It was an awesome feeling getting the assist on that goal, but it was even more awesome that as a team we had left it on the field. Everyone did all they could. We are notorious for these last minute overtime wins. I've just decided we like a good challenge.

Saturday, October 13
These are the days that my body hates me. The day after a game, I generally attempt to crawl out of bed, and then reach for some Advil. This day was no different. We were leaving that morning at 9:00 am, so our team pretty much invaded the Starbucks that was in the hotel, and then proceeded to creep our way out to the bus. We have some pretty devoted Starbucks patrons on this team, a.k.a Niki Reed. I had a gift certificate, so I joined in on the fun! Those not on caffeine high slept and drooled almost the whole way to Olean, NY. Eventually we stopped at one of our favorite places, the gas station! We grabbed our bottled waters and our standard candy, and headed back to the bus to finish up the trip. Getting to Olean was kind of like arriving in one of those little towns by the beach. Very random, but very cute and real. We stayed at an amazing hotel. One of my favorites out of all our trips. It was a Hampton Inn, and not the fanciest, but the most comfortable and cozy. They had a pumpkin decorating contest you could vote on and one of those giant checkerboards (which I beat Sergio at several times...actually that's a lie, lol), and they even called a few hours after we had got there to see if we were enjoying our stay! It was very personable! We went on jog through the neighborhood nearby, and it was like something out of a movie. Quaint and beautiful, and lots of animals on the porches! And since I'm the crazy cat lady that made my day! We went to dinner at a local Italian restaurant. The food was amazing, and once again I was stuffed! After rolling myself back to the hotel, me and Sergio played checkers, and then Abril and I searched for a good movie. Soon, I was snoring!

Sunday, October 14
Today is game day. This game is a little different though, because it's against one of our old coaches which makes it a little more personal than normal. We had an early breakfast, and then back to our rooms. Some people studied, some people watched TV, but most slept! For lunch we walked across the street to the "mall", more like four stores in a group, and hit up the Subway. This was my favorite meal of the whole trip. It was cheap, healthy, and I could get jalapenos! After lunch me and Abril walked around the "mall" and checked out the Halloween store and the Hallmark store. We just wanted to kill some time before we left. Then we headed back to the hotel and packed it all up. As we were heading out to the bus, we heard Tucker say to avoid getting on the bus until you have to. He said that it smelled terrible. We figured the coaches were just messing with us, and so we didn't really listen to them. So we actually got on the bus, and I'm pretty sure I vomited a little in my mouth. Somehow the toilet had gotten stopped up and so it was like straight sewage. Me and Steph got the hotel to give us some Febreeze and Glade, which helped for like five minutes, and then it was horrible again.

Eventually we all got on, held our noses, and headed to the game. When we got there we noticed that the field was pretty bad, but we were optimistic. Everyone was pretty serious, and very ready to play. We knew this game was important. When the game started, it was clear right away that it was going to be tough. We had opportunities, but we couldn't get it done. As we headed into overtime I thought we would for sure take home a win. We had done this so many times, and been victorious each time. However, they packed it in, and as the clock got down to 30 seconds, 20 seconds, etc...we fought, but it was over. As a team we were disgusted. For us it might have been a loss. We hold ourselves to higher standards, and we failed.

We cooled down and then got out of there pretty quick. Like some of us are accustomed to, we would rather leave and get home than shower. I know we are gross! The mood was pretty sour for a while, and then we began to talk through stuff, and reassure each other that we have to move on. We know we can't dwell on a game like that, our season isn't over, and the only game to worry about is the next one.

We are a close team, and so we can pick each other up. The only way to get through games like that is with the help and support of teammates. Each person picking the other up. That's why UD is special and I have seen it more this year than any other year. After arriving back at campus around 1:30, we called it a weekend and went home. Sad, but optimistic about the future.