Back to the National Championship

I was up early.  bc i went to bed early. bc i was beat from riding all day yest (Taos, NM). and bc the time is 2 hrs behind here in the west.  Unfortunately, i was unable to watch MWS' nail biter win (1-0)  yesterday afternoon.  but fortunately, i was receiving updates via text from a teammate.  (I heard they dominated).  I shouldn't have been so nervous, but i was, based on the 0-0 tie earlier in the season.  the win put MWS back in the NCAA final.  ..and back in the final with Wheaton College, IL.  woo.  this is so great.  playing this team in the final is ideal, bc you know you will be playing a quality, clean team.  MWS got to play wheaton one time when i was playing on the team ('02, i think). and it was a great experience, not only because they were a great soccer team and had quality athletes, but the fact that after the game (which btw, we won), we circled and prayed together, as teams, individuals, but also sisters in Christ.  Although, we were opponents; we were more importantly bonded in JC.  when does that ever happen in NCAA?  So while no doubt this will be a battle with the 2 best D3 Wsoccer teams in the country, i think there will be a mutual respect for 2 great programs, and respect for each player. and at the end of the day, the loser will love the winner and the winner will love the loser, each and collectively playing for an audience of ONE. 

oh and btw, here's the NCAA link to the highlights of the game.  game winner was siiiick, starting at 0:32.  i already watched it like 6 times consecutively.  

NCAA Rankings National Women D-III {10.27.10}

I realize you already knew that I am obsessed with MWS, but just in case you doubted the program's superiority and awesomeness, below are the rankings for 10.26.10:

NCAA Rankings National Women Division III

Rank School W-L-T
1 Messiah (Pa.) 15 - 0 - 0
2 Hardin-Simmons (Texas) 15 - 0 - 0
3 Illinois Wesleyan 15 - 0 - 1
4 Otterbein (Ohio) 14 - 0 - 1
5 Loras (Iowa) 16 - 1 - 0
6 Emory (Ga.) 12 - 1 - 2
7 Trinity (Texas) 13 - 1 - 0
8 William Smith (N.Y.) 12 - 2 - 2
9 Wheaton (Ill.) 15 - 2 - 0
10 Eastern Connecticut State 13 - 0 - 3
11 Ithaca (N.Y.) 11 - 2 - 1
12 Wisconsin-Stevens Point 14 - 1 - 1
13 Dickinson (Pa.) 12 - 2 - 1 [beat 6-0]
14 Williams (Mass.) 8 - 3 - 2
15 Augustana (Ill.) 12 - 1 - 3
16 William Paterson (N.J.) 11 - 2 - 4
17 Johns Hopkins (Md.) 13 - 3 - 0 [beat 2-1]
18 Stevens Institute of Technology (N.J.) 14 - 2 - 1
19 Rowan (N.J.) 14 - 1 - 1
20 California Lutheran 16 - 1 - 1
20 Thomas More (Ky.) 12 - 0 - 3
22 College of New Jersey 13 - 2 - 1
23 Carleton (Minn.) 11 - 2 - 1
24 Rochester (N.Y.), University of 10 - 3 - 2
25 Centre (Ky.) 14 - 2 - 0

Also receiving votes: Brandeis (Mass.), Lynchburg (Va.), Puget Sound (Wash.), University of Chicago, Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.)

Of course I am right! In two weeks I'll be up for the conference final. More on that to come.

the smell of soccer

The air is crisp and grass is green. I feel a change in seasons and smell…soccer! One can only know what I mean if you are a soccer player/parent/referee, etc. It is a feeling within that takes you back to the days that you played, as a kid for fun and a young adult competitively. The way you felt when you laced up your boots and made sure your guards were straight, the way the air smelled and the sky looked, the green grass and painted white lines; the feeling as if you were unstoppable; focused – it just brings you back.

I have such an excitement for this fall/soccer season despite being somewhat uninvolved on the collegiate front this year. It stems from a combination of things: 1) the Messiah College women are at the top (again) and a strong contender for another national title http://www.messiah.edu/athletics/sports/womens_soccer/; 2) I am not coaching this season, which gives me the liberty and flexibility to watch great soccer anytime I want, train for a marathon www.thebaltimoremarathon.com/ and play some soccer for myself; 3) There are many great matchups this season in the local Baltimore area, which include Navy Men’s soccer and top ranked Johns Hopkins University Women. Hopkins has a great schedule, with many competitions played on their home turf against nationally ranked teams (TCNJ, Washington Mo, and Lynchburg), http://www.hopkinssports.com/sports/w-soccer/sched/jhop-w-soccer-sched.html (not to mention playing #1 Messiah in Grantham early on in the season). Participating in the Hopkins tournament, William Smith also plays in town Labor Day weekend. Brandt’s Navy team plays at Loyola MD 10/6 http://www.navysports.com/sports/m-soccer/sched/navy-m-soccer-sched.html and of course, there is my former College of Notre Dame of MD gators who also play a significant amount of home games this year http://www.ndm.edu/Athletics/Soccer/Schedule.cfm (all fields within running distance from my house) …and yes, I do check the official online scoreboard on a daily basis, color code games and schedules on my outlook calendar, and update my online bookmarks to the team sites in order by rankings (d3-w) – awesome.

So my goals are several for this season: 1) keep an updated blog here; 2) attend two or three Messiah women’s games, including Homecoming (my first!) and hopefully playoffs; and, 3) attend as many local D3 games that I am able this fall. Further, I am running a marathon on 10/10 and play an average of 2 times per week with various teams, varying in competitive level. To all players and coaches, good luck this season and know that it is always just a great day to play.