Off the Field With Anik Huffman and Lindsay Curtin
Oct. 2, 2004
Anik and the Hurricanes return to Coral Gables after suffering a disappointing loss to Clemson to find the campus under the national spotlight with the presidential debate.
Tuesday, September 28
Today we left for Clemson, South Carolina. We got the day off to an early start – leaving at 8:45. When we got to the airport we learned that our flight from Atlanta to Greenville, South Carolina was cancelled, so we flew to Atlanta and got on a bus to drive to Greenville. With all the unpredictable events we have encountered this season due to the hurricanes, we are used to having to adjust to situations out of our control.
We got to practice at Furman University, in Greenville, while we waited for our bags, which were still en route, to arrive at the airport. My sister, Ashley, goes to Furman so I was excited to practice there and see her.
After practice we went for dinner at Macaroni Grill, always a favorite for our team because you can draw on the tables (haha). That probably sounds weird, but they have paper laid out on the tables and give you crayons.
Anyway, we finally got our bags and ended up in Clemson, our final destination for the night.
Wednesday, Sept. 29
Game day!! We woke up this morning and had breakfast and practiced at Clemson. Then we had some down time. Most of us took naps or did some much needed catching up on homework.
Road trips are fun, but they are killer on missing classes!! I think everyone is doing the best they can staying on top of things, it is difficult though. A lot of people have to take make up tests on the road to appease their teachers. Since I am pre-med, my teachers think it is crazy for me to miss this much school, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. You only have one chance to play college soccer, and it is an incredible experience.
We ate our pre-game meal in the late afternoon, had pre-game and headed for Clemson at around 5:45.
We did not start the game on the right note, as Clemson scored in their first possession down the field. The first half was not our best performance, and we went into halftime down 3-0.
We refocused after halftime and went out and turned the momentum in our favor. Chappy (Kristen Chapman) scored her first goal of the season, a header, which is very fitting for her.
It gave us the confidence we needed to continue the pressure on Clemson. Andrea (Radice) beat a few players and took a shot from outside the box for her first goal to put us within one at 3-2.
We had a few more chances to score but were unable to put them away. Clemson scored another goal on a corner kick well into the second half and the game finished 4-2.
We were of course disappointed by the loss, it seems we keep coming up short. We are all aware of the talent on our team and our chance to make an impact this year. We have to keep our heads up and look to the upcoming games we have with Duke this Sunday and UNC and Wake Forest next week.
Thursday, Sept. 30
Today we woke up at 4:30 in the a.m. to leave for Miami. We got home around 12:30 and were greeted by all the action going on at our campus with the Presidential Debate.
There had been increasing security before we left, but it was in full force by the time we returned. It was exciting to see all the preparations and see the culmination of all the work that must have gone into planning this.
There were a lot of policemen in packs riding bikes on the campus and a lot of police stationed on the border of the campus and bordering streets. We heard there are snipers on top of some of the buildings to ensure the candidates safety, which is kind of scary but necessary to make sure everything is secure.
I wrote an essay to attend the debate, but I heard they only took like 12 students or something; there wasn’t much space, so I resolved to watch it on TV.
If you walked around campus, it was neat to see all the TV shows set up. We heard that the Today Show was filmed earlier by the lake, and we could see the Hardball show set up by the UC (University Center). It is exciting our campus had the opportunity to host this event!!
They closed a portion of US1 to allow President Bush and John Kerry and each of their parades of cars, personnel, and security to pass through. It all caused a lot of adjustment on the part on UM and the surrounding community, but it is worth it to be the host to the first Presidential debate for this November’s election.
Well, that’s all the updates from here for now. It’s Friday around 6 now, I have to go do a little studying (on Friday???) because I have some makeup tests to take early next week. Then some of us are going the volleyball game at 7. My roommate, Jamie Grass plays volleyball. We are back in action on Sunday against the Duke Blue Devils, so check back later this weekend!!
– Anik
Lindsay focuses on the Hurricanes’ remaining matches against some of the ACC and the nation’s best teams.
Friday, October 1
We had another tough week after our win against Jacksonville. After the game the team spent the next few days getting prepared for an intense match-up with our in-state rival, Florida State.
Everyone was ready to beat them. I was able to relax a little more and concentrate on the game with all my tests and paper out of the way, and let me tell you I was ready. But for the fifth time this year, a hurricane had another idea.
This time it was Jeanne, who pulled a u-turn to come back and hit Florida. Although, fortunately, Miami just got some rain, the storm kept FSU from being able to travel down to Miami for the game. So for the second time, the FSU game would have to be put off. Luckily we were still able to train and get our practices in.
Although we were disappointed, we set our sites on our next game against Clemson, who is ranked 15th in the country.
We left for Clemson Tuesday morning and flew into Atlanta, but our connecting flight was canceled so we took a bus to our hotel. We then had had a light practice, after which we went to dinner and then back to the hotel to relax.
Wednesday morning we had another light practice before our game. We all so anxious to play after being gameless for over a week. We were ready to keep our winning streak alive, but the ending was not as we hoped.
After being down at the half 3-0, we rallied back in the second half with goals by Andrea (Radice) and Chappy (Kristen Chapman). Even though we kept the pressure up and dominated the second half, the Tigers were able to score a goal in the last few minutes of the game leaving it 4-2.
We were disappointed with the result, but we know we are continuing to improve with each game and we are setting our sites on our next game.
When we got home Thursday, campus was electric because Thursday night UM held the first Presidential Debate of 2004!
Even though we were gone for most of the preparations and hoopla, we were home from Clemson in time for the debate. The campus was crazy. There were cops EVERYWHERE. I have never seen so many in my life.
Even though I did not get to attend the debate, the whole scene was very cool, and it was awesome to feel a part of such a historic occasion.
After the debate Thursday night, we are back practicing today and we are ready for our game this weekend with Duke at home on Sunday. Although it is hard to juggle soccer and school I think I am starting to get the hang of it. It is hard when we are missing lots of class, but it is also so exciting to get to travel to so many different places with the team, and play some of the best teams in the country.
I know it will continue to be hard but the reason we are so excited to be in the ACC is because we are getting to play the best competition in the country. We have a tough schedule next week as well.
On Wednesday we are off to North Carolina for matches against UNC and Wake Forest. It should be another exciting trip, hopefully we can come out with two wins. But until then, we are just concentrating on destroying Duke this weekend. Wish us luck and come out and support us on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Cobb Stadium! GO CANES!!
– Lindsay
