UAA Double Header Hallo-weekend

contributed by Frannie Hogan '11 (Columbus, Ohio)

This past weekend, the Case Women’s Soccer team went 1-1 in UAA play. On Friday, we went up against Carnegie Mellon, a team whose style of play mirrors our own. We knew it would be a battle, but good energy (and decorations) in the locker room and positivity in the pre-game warm-up gave us the confidence we needed. Before we headed out to the field, coach stuffed us into her office to watch a video she’d made (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wocEN8unzt8). Not only was it inspiring, but it also reminded us we’re a team and we all have something to contribute.

We went out to the field as the men’s game was finishing. Unfortunately, the guys lost to nationally ranked Carnegie 2-0, but as soon as they finished we started warming up. We had business to take care of. The game started out well, and it was clear we were pretty evenly matched (like we are with all the teams in our difficult league). Carnegie took some shots early on, but Anna Kennedy denied them all. We also had some opportunities, but the score was tied at 0 at the half. At half-time, Coach Tiff had the utmost confidence that we would win, and her confidence brought up the team. Instead of worrying about losing, the team was waiting for the goal we knew we’d get.

The second half started out like the first, but with Case taking more shots. We were battling our way through the field when Carnegie drew a foul at the midway line. Then, defender Laura Gabster perfectly executed the shot we’d trained for months – a free kick from 50 yards out that flew with the wings of angels as it slammed over Carnegie’s keeper into the upper right 90 of the net. Obviously, we knew the shot was going in, but the team went crazy anyways. It was Laura’s first goal of the season, and it was awesome. That would be the only goal of the game, and we were able to switch up our positioning afterward to hold on to our win.

After the game, I dragged my roommate Amy Bishara to Qdoba where we polished off a quesadilla and a burrito (respectively), each the size of a small child. As soon as I finished the last bite, I knew I’d made a poor decision. The walk back to the dorm was punctuated by cries of over-stuffedness from Amy, and I was sure I was going to explode from all the cheesy, sour creamy goodness. I managed to squeeze in a few games of Mario Kart on Nintendo 64 before the night was over, though I realized my skills have been slowly deteriorating since middle school.

The next morning, my slumber was disturbed in the early morning hours by a shrill beeping noise. I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter, only to discover the noise was from my suitemate’s alarm clock. Most unfortunately, my suitemate had left for the weekend and her door was locked. Thus, I grumpily endured 2 more hours of the alarm before I drifted back to sleep. At 11am, the team met for breakfast in one of the dorms. Bagels and orange juice were provided by Caroline Garber (many thanks!), and it was nice for the team to just hang out.

After hours of studying, I enjoyed some of the Halloween festivities sponsored by Case. Free food and s’mores, pumpkin carving, student booths and live bands were several of the highlights of the on-campus “Halloween at Home.” I then hiked over to South Side to see the student production of West Side Story with some of the sophomore girls. It was a great show, but I got even more entertainment on my way home. Surprisingly, I saw an inordinate number of fashionable cops, doctors, nurses and German beer wenches wandering campus on all-Hallows eve. I can only speculate that they were needed en masse for some sort of joint collaboration with University Hospital and the German Federation of Scantily Clad People.

On Sunday, we battled against Emory University. They’re very direct, and we’re very possession-oriented. The game started out well, even though Emory had several shots. We got on the board at the 13-minute mark when Ana Arruda chased down a ball headed toward the corner flag, maneuvered herself in typical Brazilian fashion around a defender and found Alex Litofsky open inside the box. Alex had great composure and put the ball away for her second goal of the season. We definitely thought we had the game in the bag, but Emory came back 17 minutes later and tied up the game. Even though we were determined to win, Emory added another goal 5 minutes into the second half. After that, we had trouble keeping our possession game against their powerful, direct play. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find the back of the net again. The loss was definitely a hard one to stomach – everyone on the field and the bench kept going until the clock ran out. If anything, the game has given the team motivation for our final UAA match against Rochester this coming weekend. It’s our senior night and, along with pride, we have an amazing senior class to play for. Come out to the turf on Saturday at 5pm for the Men's game, and 7:30 for ours!