Sept. 19, 2007

DAY 1
The team had the privilege of going to Minnesota to compete in a small tournament, the Gopher Invitational hosted by the Minnesota Gophers. Our trip began on Thursday; we had a late flight and got all of our thrilling classes in! I trekked over to the Frericks Center along with the other freshmen. We had pillows, carry-ons, and our hugely over packed duffle bags in tow just as the campus was buzzing. We evidently didn't learn from the previous trip and from the resulting pain in our shoulders to pack lightly. People gawked at the scene and the looks we got were all but comforting. But, it was all worth it to take off to a new state and play the game we all love and are devoted to. We were greeted by ball bags and laundry bags to carry, but more importantly monstrous calzones comparable to the size of our heads. We sat on the pavement and dove in enjoying every last bite and then flushed it down with homemade cookies compliments of Lindsay Luti's mom. The bus that took us the short 20 minute ride to the Dayton airport resembled a prison bus but we were all thrilled by the idea. The first two rows of seats housed all of our bags and Coach Tucker, who was dangerously close to a head injury from the mass of bags towering overhead. The remainder of the bus ride we entertained ourselves by brainstorming Halloween ideas. The Fruit of the Loom underwear men from the popular commercial seem pretty promising and we got a lot of good feedback. I think the freshmen have it in the bag! We got to the airport and checked our luggage and did all of that fun stuff.

The flight remains a blur from my nap. I woke only to spot the Mall of America with Kelly, my roommate, below us. Girls will be girls! We all were pretty tired from the trip but got a burst of energy upon waiting for our cars. Nikki, Abril, Mandi, and Kristen led a dance party outside of baggage claim. Each car driving by got a free lesson on the "Soldier Boy" dance and "The Cleveland Shuffle," absolutely no bystanders were bored. Finally our three sweet minivans arrived and we climbed in, off to the hotel! We arrived and got our room assignments. We all were starved and ordered room service and hit the sack ready for our game the following day!

DAY 2
The next day we woke up to get a quick breakfast and head out to the fields for a brief practice. We were overwhelmed by the freezing weather and each of us had on layer after layer of clothing. The field was an estimated 9 miles from the hotel. I am sad to report that the trip took about an hour and 45 minutes, we were horribly lost. Thank God for detours! Had we not took a wrong turn we wouldn't have been able to witness the tragic scene of the collapsed Minnesota bridge. We were traveling on a bridge parallel to the sight of the tragedy and were shocked to notice the display beside us. We were able to see the beginning of the bridge, where it left the land, and the point at which it cracked and went towering down. There was a substantial break off point. The other side of the bridge, where it reached land again was a mess of debris and clutter. The experience was amazing and very humbling. People coated the sidewalks and took pictures of the site. I think we were all made very aware of how fortunate we were to be alive and well and experience such privileges as traveling to play soccer among friends and peers. We finally arrived at practice which went fairly well, we put a lot of emphasis on getting our muscles loose and practicing in a way that would result in a great performance that night. We worked on the basics and began to develop a game mentality. We traveled home while naturally having a dance party and belting out songs. Then it was time for FOOD! We have really great appetites. We walked in the freezing cold to Champps. I dined on a yummy tuna melt while occasionally snacking on some of Kelly's tortellini when she wasn't looking. Joining us, we had many parents and the Associate Vice President for Athletics, Mr. Wabler, all of whom were fun and entertaining to talk to and spend time with.

We headed off to our game and, upon arriving, headed straight for the locker room to keep warm. We didn't have any music to pump us up so Nikki stepped up to the plate and got the party started. Game mode began and we hit the field to warm-up with our teams goals imbedded in our minds. The game was very intense and went into overtime after landing at a tie at the end of regulation. Amanda Gallow was responsible for our first great goal, scored off of a rebound from a drilled shot at the goal by Colleen. The team immediately went back to work. Before our second goal we were down 2-1 to the Gophers. Mandi hit a great ball to me out on the left side and I managed to hit the ball above the goalie and into the far right upper corner. The team rejoiced again though in a different way... by chasing after me. Here I learned that the team had discovered a trend I exhibit. I have a tendency, when celebrating a goal, to scream really loud and thrust my hands towards my side as if pulling something really hard towards me. I then proceed to run towards the half-line and away from the rest of my team. This is no good. I think the former screaming and hand movements give me character but I intend to work on fleeing from my team. This took us into our first overtime of the weekend. In the 14th minute of overtime Stephanie played a beautiful ball into the box and Caitlin did a great job of putting it in the back of the next. WE WON! We celebrated with pizza and were granted with the exciting news of our trip to the Mall of America the next day.

DAY 3
We woke up around 10 a.m. the following morning to get some food in our stomachs. Everyone dreamed up the things we wanted to get at the mall and made game plans to spend a short but sufficient 15 minutes in each store. We got in our stylish minivans and took off. We pulled up and our stomachs fluttered as we saw the large Mall of America sign adorning the side of Sears. As soon as we were given our deadlines we rushed through the golden doors and sprinted in our separate directions. There were hundreds of stores some familiar and some not. Some whole stores were dedicated to things like magnets and ornaments or trendy accessories. But, what was most exciting was the scene of the rollercoaster in the middle of the mall towering up to the highest story and the kid's dance team performing on the stage nearby. There were several roller coasters and thrill rides packed with kids and even adults. We took pictures of everything, especially of the dinosaurs at Legoland. The mall was very exciting and it fulfilled one of my most cherished dreams, I do shopping very very well. For example, I left with a pair of brand new shoes, a few shirts, a dress, and a new pair of jeans to accompany my other 15 pairs. It's a beautiful thing when you leave with more than you started with. After the mall we had the opportunity to go to church before leaving to go to dinner at Buca di Beppo, a delicious Italian restaurant. Each table ordered a few entrees to share and a salad or two. The food was amazing and despite being stuffed we went in for cheesecake and chocolate. While at dinner two traditions were carried out with the freshman and girls that hadn't done it previous years. I will say that one tradition involved dinnerware while the other involved a ton of horses and a running commentary, both equally funny. When we got home from dinner we dispersed and took showers or finished up some late night homework and hit the sack to prepare for tomorrow's game.

DAY 4 
Our last and final game was earlier in the day at the Minnesota field versus the Iowa State Cyclones. With a win, our team would take the tournament title. This game was the second of our double overtime experiences that weekend. We had been losing the game 1-0 but shortly before the half Mandi pulls through, winning a ball in the opposing team's box and after beating two defenders slotted it away in the back of the net. For the remainder of the game we struggled to see the goal and the final whistle blew as the score was still tied at one-a-piece. Shortly before the end of the second overtime Mandi showcased her skill again in dribbling through the defense again and shooting to the far right corner, scoring her second goal of the game. It is a great achievement to be able to thrive in overtime playing after having played a full game, and twice at that. It shows great character, discipline, determination, and heart. Where we recognize this achievement we plan on setting forth a goal to bring the heat and come out victorious in the first 90 minutes. Overall, we played pretty well and can be proud of our team performance while celebrating our Gopher Invitational title! After the game we chowed down on sandwiches and headed back to the hotel to quickly take showers as not to offend anyone on the airplanes. We went to the airport and departed with our prized minivans and did the routine checking in. Later we ate and slept through our two flights eager to get home and back on campus. Our prison bus picked us up and we sang songs until we arrived at good old UD. It was good to be home!