The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Caitlin Marple Blog
10/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Hey Fans!
Sorry for the delay on this week's blog. It's getting towards the end of the semester and around the time when school work starts to pile on. After all, I am a student-athlete!
Last week, everyone on the team learned that life has sudden twists and turns and can change drastically in a single moment. On Wednesday afternoon, we were very sad to find out that freshman Natalie Watkins's father had passed away unexpectedly. Although it is unimaginable for most people on our team to know what it feels in Natalie's situation, we did our best to support her after hearing the news. I hope that you will join the team in praying for Natalie and her family during this tough time.
As far as soccer goes, this past weekend turned out to be another successful one! Friday night's game was at home against the number one team in the conference, East Carolina. We did our typical game day routine and ate bagels for breakfast and Subway for pregame.
For the game, we had a moment of silence and each wore a black armband in memory of Natalie's father. Laura McCalla scored for us in the eighth minute of play. Unfortunately, it wasn't much later when ECU scored on us to tie the game at 1-1. At halftime, we were able to regroup and started the second half with a lot of determination. Tiffini Turpin scored a goal about midway through the half to give us the lead again. Although we were playing really well, we gave up a second goal to tie the score 2-2. After two overtime periods, the game ended in a tie. Although I would have preferred a win, we battled with ECU for the entire game and have nothing to be ashamed of.
We woke up early on Saturday morning to begin our journey to Marshall in Huntington, W. Va. About halfway through the trip, we stopped near Knoxville, Tenn. and practiced at a small school called Maryville College. It was so nice to get off of the bus and stretch our legs for a little bit. We only practiced for an hour though because we had to get back on the road. That evening, we arrived in Huntington and went out to eat at Chili's before heading to bed for the night.
On Sunday, we came back from being behind by one goal to win the game 2-1. We did not play as well as we have been playing, but the most important thing is the result. I think that we can use that game as a reminder that we cannot get complacent at this point in the season. It is going to be really important for us to play the rest of our games at the highest level possible, because if not then it may be our last.
This week we will be playing on Thursday night instead of Friday because Friday is Halloween. We don't want our game to conflict with the trick-or-treating of our young fans! Of course, last year some of my teammates went trick-or-treating in Coach Harbin's neighborhood, so I guess I can't say that it's only the young fans that trick-or-treat!
Thursday night is "Senior Night" for Nadine Liverpool and I - the only two seniors on the team. It will be a big night for us because we will be playing our rival, Memphis. I have been looking forward to this game because two of my cousins, my grandma, and my parents will be in town to watch me play. I hope to see you out at the field to help us win on this special night!
Thanks for reading and GO BLAZERS!
Caitlin
