The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Women's Soccer: Danielle Blair Blog
10/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Hey Blazer fans,
We are off to Rice and Houston this weekend, looking to pick up two more wins. Last week we split another C-USA weekend, beating UTEP and losing to Colorado College. We are now 2-2 and are in a three way tie for fifth place in the league right behind the leaders that are tied for first with a 3-1 record.
Last Friday night we played Colorado College at home. We started strong and played pretty well the first half of the game, but both teams were unable to finish any chances with the score being 0-0 at half. Half way through the second half we had a mental lapse and they scored two back-to-back goals. Despite our slip up, we still had many chances, but were just unable to finish. The game ended 2-0 in favor of Colorado College and we suffered our first loss at West Campus Field this season.
On Saturday night, the girls did a little team bonding and we all went over to Carolyn Polcari's house for a game night. We played Pictionary, Apples to Apples, and Catch Phrase. It was good to take a little time off from soccer and to get the chance to have fun with the team.
Sunday morning we did our usual pre-game jog in Homewood and then went to Crestline for breakfast. We were really pumped for our game against UTEP. They are a very physical team, and after our loss on Friday, we felt we had something to prove. The first half of the UTEP game we played to their style, more focused on the emotion of the game than playing with our skill. As the weather went from a cool Sunday afternoon to pouring, freezing rain at half, we decided to turn our game around. We played to our style by possessing and moving the ball, and dominated the second half. However, like the Colorado College game, we could not finish. At the end of regulation, we went into overtime. We brought the same momentum into overtime and we could feel a goal was coming. The game-winning goal came early in overtime when Marie Yempuku played the ball through to Tiffini Turpin, setting her up for a break away. It was just Tiffini and the goalkeeper, and to win the game, Tiffini place the ball in the top corner of the net.
The win against UTEP, and the fact that Memphis beat Colorado College on Sunday, helps us because no team in our conference is undefeated. Our RPI ranking is 25th in the nation, which is very good, and we look to maintain this by winning the rest of our games. As simple as it sounds, it won't be that easy, but it starts this weekend with Rice and Houston. So wish us luck and Go Blazers!
