Let The Good Times Roll!

Hi everyone!! The 2016 soccer season (and blogging season) is officially in full swing!! My name is Lucy Wedge and I will be taking care of this lovely blog for one last season :( I know I'm a little delayed but here is what we have been up to so far :) The lady Cards started off this year with a great preseason where everyone worked and played their tails off everyday.  It was great seeing new and old faces on the pitch after being apart for the summer. To end a fairly hot preseason, we cooled off and took a white water rafting day trip with the volleyball team!

Team GoPro selfie!

Ash with all her friends!!!

This year we were also fortunate to travel to Montreal for a preseason scrimmage! It was a great game and we also ate some pretty awesome poutine to end the trip. We traveled in creepy white vans that Coach Tania, Frantzy and Gene drove as we followed each other in a creepy line to and from Montreal.  There may or may not have been a race to get home but we all know who the winner was at heart (not Frantzy's van) .........

The coolest van

Downtown Montreal!

The first day of school is always exciting .. but our first game day is even better!! We started our season off with a great home opener and a 10-0 victory over Medaille College. Our second game was definitely a nail-biter with a 2-1 overtime win against Union.  Sarah Haight scored the prettiest goal that, in my book, should be on ESPN.  I think I watched the video of her scoring about 20 times the next day!!!!  Later, Mad Sac would put the final goal away for the W in extra time! We also collected a W from Sage College where Anissa scored a lovely hat trick, and another win from Lyndon State! During our game against Lyndon State, we wore t-shirts and collected donations in order to raise awareness for Cystic Fibrosis.  It's always great to win but even better when we do it for a great cause!

Yesterday, we traveled across the lake to play Middlebury.  It was a very competitive match and although it did not end in our favor, I think we all learned something from it.  Two conversations I previously had popped into my head as the game ended yesterday.  One was during this past preseason, Cammey Keyser aka Gram Cam asked which one I felt more: hating to lose or loving to win?  I answered hating to lose. I think I can speak for many people when I say losing is not fun and it stinks.  But we also learn greater lessons when we lose, which I think is very important.  The other conversation that popped into my head was one I had, in a very,very similar situation, 2 years ago with my Dad after we had lost to Middlebury in another extremely close game.  He said:

Yes, you may think it's weird that I still have this but ever since sophomore year I have always kept this conversation close to me.  It shows how you must constantly work hard everyday in order to achieve something great.  Things do not always go your way and that is a part of life but this message reminds me of what to do next time to get things to go the right way.  Games you lose show you how you never want to feel this way again and exemplifies your character in how you pick yourself up to keep moving forward. Okay guys I'm trying to be inspirational and I hope it's working at least a little :)  Although this game is behind us, keep the fire inside you to hate losing.  We are so fortunate to be on this team and many people do not get this opportunity.  As coach says all the time, "We are all here for a reason."  While we are so lucky to have this opportunity, we must take advantage of it.  It goes by so fast (trust me) and to make the most of it we need to give everything we have.  We still have so much of the season left ladies and I cannot wait to watch us grow as a team together.  Give it your all in every practice, inspire each other to be the very best and always have fun doing it! This is our year and it is only the beginning! Of course I must add a little inspirational video!!!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0AxpHoRpNQ

P.S. Happy belated birthday shout out to Vina Win not Lose!!!!!!!