The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Women's Soccer: Danielle Blair Blog
10/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Hey Blazer fans,
Sorry it's been so long, it's about that time for midterms and I've been swamped.
Last week we were on the road to play No. 20 UCF and Southern Miss. We flew to Orlando on Thursday afternoon and stayed at the Radisson. I must say, we had a pretty good sleep. On Friday, we did the usual pregame routine. We ate breakfast at the hotel, got smoothies in the afternoon and had Jason's Deli before the game.
UCF is always a big game for us. The last two years they have been ranked and we were able to dominate the game. This year though, we were at their house and didn't start the game well. We allowed two goals in the first 10 minutes of the game. It took us a while to actually start playing, and it wasn't until the second half that we actually started playing like ourselves. Then half way through the second half, I scored the second goal of my collegiate career. The keeper had cleared the ball right in my path, and when I realized she was out of the net, I hit the ball from 45 yards out and scored.
So the score was 2-1. To help us out, UCF's midfielder got a red card for elbowing Ayana Russell in the face. Even though we were a man up, we didn't take advantage of it. Late in the game we were pushed up trying to get a last minute goal. With about 10 seconds left, UCF stole the ball at midfield, and since everyone was up, including our keeper, she had a free path to the goal and scored with only six seconds left on the clock. It was a sad way to lose, but we had to pick our heads up and prepare for Southern Miss.
The last two years we have lost to Southern Miss, despite outshooting them 30-1. We were not going to let that happen on Sunday. The weather was really nice Sunday afternoon, but the field conditions were very wet due to the recent rain. We came out against Southern Miss, trying a new formation and dominated majority of the game. Again, we outshot them and had many opportunities but were unable to score any goals. Finally, late in the game, Tiffini Turpin was able to get a cross in to Laura McCalla and Laura finished it in the back of the net. We finished game 1-0 and both Kate Blankenship and Alexis Braziel recorded a clean sheet in goal. It had been a long weekend and we were ready to go home. Now we are 7-3, with our three losses against ranked opponents.
Our next two games against Colorado College and UTEP will be just as challenging, but I believe in our team and we will find a way to win, especially because we are at home! Please come out and support us.
Go Blazers!
