Off the Field with Brooks and McKinsey
Tuesday, August 20, 2005<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
This last Thursday we left <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Miami at around 2:30 p.m. and arrived in Atlanta, Georgia at about 4:30 p.m. We then drove an hour and a half to La Grange, Georgia where we ate and stayed the night. The next morning, Friday, we ate breakfast and had a light stretch and jog to get our legs loose for the game that evening. To kill time during the day we walked around a ridiculously small mall that consisted of about ten stores and ate gumballs the size of my fist. We finally left for Auburn, Alabama for our game that was at seven. However, it felt like an eight o’clock game because we drove from east coast time to central time.
I was pumped for the game because like I’ve said before I get a rush when playing under the lights. To add to this excitement, Auburn was having a “Cram the Complex” night, they wanted to beat their attendance record of about 2,500 for this game. It felt good to know they were using us as their marketing tool. Auburn got on the score board first but we put them in their place when we came through with two more goals to win the game. It felt extremely good to beat a sweet sixteen team, meaning they made it to the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament and nothing feels better than beating a team on their home field.
The next morning, Saturday, we left our hotel in La Grange and drove four and a half hours to Columbia, South Carolina, where we went straight to practice. After practice we went back to our hotel to watch the Miami football game against Clemson. Unfortunately we thought we were going to miss the end of the game because we had to leave for dinner. When we arrived at the restaurant we noticed they had a bar where the game was on. We all piled in the room to catch what we thought was the last five minutes of the game. The restaurant owner was kind enough to set up at TV at our table, where we ate and watched, in suspense, the game go into triple overtime. We held back screams, in consideration of the other guests, when the Hurricanes finally won.
Sunday came and we packed up and left the hotel for our game against USC (South Carolina). It was a long, tedious game that we ended up losing 2-1. It’s frustrating because we know we are a good team but we’ve struggled with the Sunday games. However, we’re putting a stop to it because this Thursday is our conference opener versus NC State and on Sunday we play UNC. Anyway, it’ll be a busy weekend with two conference games, a football game, and recruits so I’ll keep you posted!
Wednesday, August 21, 2005
Our playing week started off with a tough game against local rival FIU on Wednesday night. Despite dominating the game in possession, corners, and shots we were not able to put the ball in the back of the net. We fought through two sudden death over time periods and the game was called a tie after 110 minutes of scoreless play.
We left Thursday for our last weekend of out-of-conference games against Auburn and South Carolina. Somehow, we managed to visit four different states in one weekend.
First we started off by flying to Atlanta, Ga., then driving to our hotel in LaGrange, Ga. (We were not able to get a hotel closer to Auburn due to Auburn having a home football game). We played Friday night at AuburnUniversity in Alabama, and then drove back to LaGrange, Ga, to stay the night. We got up early Saturday morning to drive to Columbia, S.C. We were able to get a light practice in and then headed back to our hotel to enjoy the exciting Miami-Clemson football game. Sunday, we played the University of South Carolina and then drove to Charlotte, N.C. for a flight back to Miami Sunday night. I never thought I would travel so much in one weekend!! Needless to say, we had plenty of time to catch up on some sleep, watch the OC and some people even studied a little.
Now that we are done with non-conference play, the ACC schedule has games on Thursdays and Sundays to allow a few days rest in between games. This schedule is really nice for soccer, but not so nice for school. When we play away games on Thursdays we miss classes Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. If we play away on a Wednesday night, we miss classes Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Professors generally do not like when you miss this much class. Being an Exercise Physiology major, most of my classes have labs that go with the lectures. It is extremely difficult to try to catch up in missed science classes because not only do I miss lecture notes, I miss the labs which provide hands on experience in what the lecture is covering. I have had to meet with my professors to make up missed assignments and to go over things I missed in class. Luckily, most of my professors understand our crazy schedule and are willing to work with me as much as possible to help make sure I understand the information and am ready for the exams.
At least I will have some fun distractions from studying this weekend, as we host NC State and UNC in our first ACC matches of the season. Please come out and support us and watch some exciting ACC soccer!!
#3 Julie Brooks
Go Canes!!
