From Nov. 13-16, I had the amazing opportunity to be a part of a rare experience, which was going to the NCAA tournament as a part of the University of Maine women’s soccer team. After winning the America East Championship and securing a spot in the tournament, we gathered anxiously the next day to see who we would be competing against, and ended up drawing the fifth-seeded University of Wisconsin (UW) for the first round of the tournament.
This called for a quick turnaround for the trip to Madison, leaving a day after we drew them. There was a thoughtful send-off from the other athletic teams and President of the University Joan Ferrini-Mundy. This gave us a new sense of purpose because we didn’t want to do our best only for each other, but also for all of the teams, families and people that supported us along the way, cheering us on at every game.
Our bus rolled onto the tarmac at the airport, revealing a chartered plane all to ourselves. Jaws dropped, eyes wide open and screams inside the bus from 29 girls happened all at once. We were all thankful that we didn’t have three layovers or have to drag the overweight duffel bags and equipment through security. It was the only time I wasn’t stressed at the airport, and the easiest three-hour flight I’ve ever been on.
Without difficulty, we arrived at the gorgeous hotel with a view over Lake Mendota, and right across from the Wisconsin State Capitol Building. I was eager to explore this new place that no one on the team had been to either. I took the time to wander the streets of Madison and walk around the sizable UW campus, which may be more than 10 times the size of UMaine in population and size. It was surreal to be at a campus like UW and have the time to walk around and take it all in.
The day before the game, we had a meeting before our morning practice to discuss the scouting report and keys to the game, which the coaches implemented into our training session. After our ritual pre-game practice, everyone spent the rest of the day at their own pace – exploring more of Madison, getting a better feel of the game field or in most people’s cases, stuck inside doing homework and watching lectures from all the classes we’d be missing. At the end of the day, we went out to dinner, which is always my favorite part on team trips because we come together and share stories from our day or week and have a laugh. It’s a time to take our minds off of the big game for a minute and enjoy each other’s company.
Finally on Friday Nov. 15, the day arrived for us to play the Badgers at the McClimon Soccer Complex. The game wasn’t until 7 p.m. I spent most of the day anxiously waiting for kickoff. We walked the field once again as a team in the morning, and Coach gave us a motivating and heartfelt talk at center field. He made it clear that he loved us all and to not let the “big-name” school intimidate us because we not only deserved to be where we were, we were meant to be there. I think this moment of just us on the field calmed a lot of nerves because we knew our coach was proud of us and how far we came no matter what happens.
We arrived at the pitch two hours before game time. Our locker room was a small tent with no lights, heat or a bathroom. Still, the team’s energy was high with excitement and nerves heading into the game. We took the five minutes we had before the game to huddle together and take a deep breath, solidifying that we will fight for each other on the field tonight, and give it everything we have because of how far we fought to get to this point, this game, this moment.
The whistle blew for kickoff, and just four minutes later, we were down 2-0. It was a hard battle the first half, but we came out flying early in the second half to make it 2-1 from a goal by our fourth-year midfielder and captain Lara Kirkby. We had hope again after the brutal four minutes in the first half, but it was quickly diminished as a third goal was scored late into the second half, ending the game as 3-1.
We gave it everything we had and left our heart on the field. It was an emotional and teary ending to an amazing record-breaking season. For most girls, that was their last collegiate soccer game, and their final game wearing the Maine jersey with pride. And for the rest of us, we will be losing sisters that gave everything to this program and created a legacy that we will carry on in honor of them.
