Off the Field With Anik Huffman and Lindsay Curtin - Sept. 16
Sept. 16, 2004
Anik and the Hurricanes look to rebound from last weekend’s 2-1 loss to No. 17 Auburn while looking forward to a weekend of matches with NC State and Maryland.
Friday, September 10
Today we played Auburn and unfortunately we lost 2-1. It was such a disappointing loss for us because we looked so composed and in control first half. Our team came out incredibly poised and focused for the first half, but we were unable to maintain that focus for the whole 90 minutes. It was confidence-building for us to gain a glimpse into what we are capable of. We definitely had the opportunity to beat an incredibly talented team ranked in the top 25 in the nation.
The first football game was tonight. We played FSU, and keeping consistent with the past two games we’ve had against FSU, this game lived up to the excitement. A bunch of us went to the game, but we were super tired from the game so we left at halftime. We watched all the exciting action that came at the end of the game though!! What an amazing ending…Go Canes!!!
Our Sunday game was cancelled for this weekend because of the possible threat of Hurricane Ivan. Being a native Floridian, I must say this has been our craziest Hurricane season ever!
Tuesday, September 14
Today we practiced and just focused our efforts for this weekend’s games. This is a huge weekend for us and could put us right back on track in the ACC. We are set to play NC State on Friday night and Maryland on Sunday. Everyone is excited because a lot of our parents will be here this weekend. We’re going to have barbeques this season with the players and parents which should be really fun. Well, that’s about all the updates I can think of at the moment… Wish us luck this weekend!!
– Anik
Lindsay takes a look back at the Hurricanes disappointing 2-1 loss to 17th-ranked Auburn and shares the excitement of the football team’s dramatic win over Florida State in the midst of Hurricanes Frances and Ivan.
Monday, September 13
I know when you go to college everything is a lot different than in high school, but there were certain things I expected such as more school work and a higher level of soccer. But one thing I was not prepared for, being from Virginia, was all of these hurricanes, they are just REALLY weird to me.
I told you last week that we were going to have a game on Wednesday, and we were all so ready for it, but once again, Mother Nature was not on our side. With the aftermath of Frances leaving Stetson in bad shape, they could not come down to play. Therefore, we missed our third game of the season, but at least we were able to get some practices in after a couple of days off from our own run in with Frances.
I personally went home to Virginia because all this hurricane nonsense completely freaks me out. After a nice 4 days in Virginia I was ready to come back and kick some butt, but I was going to have to wait until Friday to play. After a tough week of practice, getting back in shape from our mini break, we were all ready to destroy No. 17 in the country, Auburn.
We came out strong against Auburn, showing them what Miami was made of. We got fouled in the box in the first couple minutes play but no calls was made. Two minutes later another foul occurred in the box, this one was called for a PK and Lindsey Yach put it away for our first goal of the season.
We were all so excited. We kept the pressure up, and Auburn was on their heels the whole first half. We were ready for our first win, but Auburn was not ready for their first loss, because in the second half they came back with two goals.
We were all disappointed to say the least. We came out so hard and played the best soccer we have played all season, but we could just not pull through for the win. I was very upset, because I felt the game was within grasp, and I wanted the win so badly. Despite being really disappointed with outcome of the game, it was great to know that we can play at that level, and we can hold our own. Now we just need to prove it to everyone else!
Even with incredibly sore legs, and a bad loss on the mind, we all rushed home to get ready to see the Miami-FSU football game. (By get ready I mean we all jumped in the shower and put on Miami shirts and soccer shorts).
Despite arriving at the game later than almost all the other students, and with a bad attitude, I had so much fun! It was the first college football game I had ever been to. It was such a big game, and one of the most exciting sporting events I have ever been to. The cheering and adrenaline from the crowd was crazy. I love football and it was so exciting to be in the student section with all of my friends from the soccer team, and cheer on our Miami Hurricanes! I know you are going to think I’m crazy, but we were all so dead from our own game that we left the rocking Orange Bowl with 10 minutes left in the game. I was able to get home just in time to turn on the TV and see Miami score a touchdown to beat FSU in overtime. Even with their incredible come from behind win, the Miami football team was not the only hurricanes being talked about – our newest threat of Ivan was big news too.
Marquette, being skeptical about this new brewing Hurricane, did not want to come down to play us on Sunday. Lucky us, we now had our fourth game canceled, and we got extra practices! But I think Saturday and Sunday were both very intense very competitive practices, and with Ivan staying away from Miami, I think this weekend is going to be ours. We have two tough but winnable games. I believe it is our time to show the ACC what Miami soccer is made of!
All I can say is, this is going to be an intense week of practice, and I can not wait for the games this weekend! GO HURRICANES!
– Lindsay
