Furman Women's Soccer Europe Diary

Presented By Melissa Turner

ENTRY #5

One word for the day: PIZZA.

We woke up for a "light" jog at 8:00am. We had breakfast at our hotel in London, the Marylebone Jarvis Hotel. Shortly thereafter, we boarded the bus to head to Warwick. For most of the afternoon we toured Warwick Castle. It just so happened to be during the Mediaeval (English spelling) Festival. Some of us heard tales of war from the Red Knight. Katie Carson and Emily Turgeon saw the biggest pile of dung they had ever seen! There's a picture to prove it. Amanda Brackett's favorite part was climbing Guy's Tower. (Ask Kaye Brownlee how many stairs there were. I think she counted). Amanda was also impressed with the "Ratcatcher." She said, "He told us strories and a bit of the history of London. He discussed politics and how the U.S. had not had a female president. He suggested that Turgeon might be a good candidate." Meanwhile, Natalie Muro could be caught doing the "dirty bird" with the falcons (real birds).

We had sandwiches and fruit on the bus for pre-game. We left Warwick to head to Chester, where we would be staying the night. We checked into our rooms at Chester College and had a little time to rest before suiting up for the big match. First of all, we thought the game was going to be played on the fields right next to our dorm. Kev told us it was not there. So, we drove to another field. That was the wrong one, too. We finally arrived at Everton's fields ten minutes before kick-off. It still didn't matter because they didn't show up for another 30 minutes.

We knew Everton would be one of our hardest matches. We were also facing unfamiliar conditions--cold and rain. Due to a back injury, Michelle Muro has been sidelined for much of preseason thus far. She was relieved that she did not have to videotape the game in the rain but was called upon to be a linesman. She observed that "the other team was very organized defensively. We had a tough time getting in behind them and getting good scoring chances." At the final whistle, the score was Everton 2, Furman 0. In general, the team was very disappointed with our first loss. We learned a lot and built some character.

We met the other team at the clubhouse for juice and chip bodies. Chip bodies are pieces of buttered bread with french fries and ketchup on the inside. Next we drove to Pizza Hut for a late dinner. Most of us felt as though there was some confusion--the pizzas just kept coming and coming. Freshman Allie Park was our record-holding champion with five full slices. Allie was pleased with her performance and claimed, "Turgeon will never win an eating contest again!"

Game Results

Everton F.C. 2, Furman 0