Vienna Soccer Tournament

Well yesterday was absolutely awesome! I played in a soccer tournament in Vienna with the USI Graz team here that I’ve been practicing with. We left around 8 am, and split up into three cars to drive to Vienna. It’s a beautiful drive there, and so nice to be in a car!  When we got there, we didn’t have much time before our first game. We ran a few laps, stretched a little, and stepped on the field. We played small-sided games, half the field with five people plus a keeper. We won our first game 4-0, against a team from Vienna. Our second game was against Innsbruck and was a little tougher, but we still won 2-0. In our third game, the other team’s coach had been watching us play and knew who our good players were. So they pretty much just double-teamed me every time I got the ball, and packed in the defense, and played for a tie. It was horrible because we would shoot and shoot and shoot but never scored, and the game ended 0-0. Based on the way the bracket was set up, it didn’t matter that we had tied one game, and we went to the championship, against another team from Vienna. They had a girl on their team who plays on the Austrian National Team! In the first half, the ball came to me outside the box, and I hit it to the far post… GOAL!!!  So we went up 1-0, and then played to hold the lead the rest of the game. There were so many close shots, but they never scored, and we got the win!  We were going crazy after the game, so much fun. They also paid all of us 15 Euro’s and provided us with a delicious meal after the games. Good deal if you ask me! Last year, our team got last place in the tournament, and this year we won it! They presented us with a giant trophy, and we took pictures and all that good stuff. Also, Graz will provide us with a celebration buffet and banquet for winning the Austrian tournament! So cool!  The celebration will be the last weekend in June. I am very excited. I got a little beat up during the games, and today I kind of feel like I got hit by a bus. But it was so worth it, what a great day!  It was also fun to meet some new friends and get to know the girls better. It’s funny to listen to “soccer talk” on the field in German. Pretty cool experience!