Furman Women's Soccer Europe Diary

Presented By Melissa Turner

ENTRY #4

One word for the day: RUSH.

We woke at 7:30am (something we're very good at now) and trained at 8:30. Seniors and juniors beat the sophomores and freshmen in a shooting game. We loaded the bus and bid farewell to the Rolduc Monastary. We headed for Maastricht for shopping. We had lunch at a small Italian cafe.

We finally arrived at the site of our match against V.V. Helchteren. They had played Ohio State ten days earlier and won 4-2. We knew they would be good competition. For time purposes, we needed to start the game earlier than 6:00pm, even though most of us didn't put on our uniforms on until 5:40. Regardless of the circumstances, we were able to step up to the occasion. We played 70 minutes of soccer and scored six goals. They didn't score at all; in fact, we limited them to very few shots. The team was very friendly. Ashley Long notes that after the game they gave us t-shirts and other gifts. Ashley also commented that "it was neat that they said we were one of the best teams they had played." We quickly said our thank-you's and boarded the bus. Most girls still had their cleats on.

We had to move quick for we were on a strict schedule to catch our train in Brussels at 9:01pm. Getting all the bags and balls on the train was tough. Hats off to Laura Wise and my mom, Kyle Turner, for doing most of the work. The ride was two hours and 41 minutes but we gained an hour when arriving in London. We passed through France on our way. Our new guide, Kev, met us at the train station. It was very different having to look to the right before crossing the street. And, of course, the bus driver sits on the other side of the bus as well.

It may have been late when we arrived but London was still alive. Andrea Brown said, "London has a magical appeal--even at 11:30 at night after travelling all day. Crossing the Thames River and seeing the images once only mentally visualized from books was a sight that won't fade with time." Everyone began making plans becuase we were all so excited.

We finally got settled in our rooms and asleep by 1:00am. That is quite a late night for us. One highlight for the day was Alice Martin spotting Katie Carson's passport on the train tracks where Katie had accidentally dropped it. Thanks to Laura Wise for jumping down to get it.

Game Results

Furman 6, V.V. Helchteren 0