It was a different week because we had fitness on Monday (jingle 9-21s) and dominated it, and then had one of the coldest practices of the year on Tuesday. We got to go home right after and take a hot shower/bath instead of weights which was great (except that I ran out of hot water and could only fill the tub about a fourth of the way). But anyway, coach (Monaghan)and Johnny (Walker) left on Wednesday to watch the first games of the tournament and scout out our upcoming opponent. So it was all girls at practice on Wednesday, which was weird but kind of nice. After practice we went to weights to keep our abs of steel in tip-top shape (Bodies by Josh), and then made sure to pack and get ready for our trip to Orlando, since we had to be at South Campus at 5:30 in the morning, Thursday.

Thursday consisted of traveling, checking in to the hotel, and, of course, practice where we did most of the usual stuff, like possession, and then straight in to walk-throughs, but we also added a couple pks (just in case). Friday came quick and before we knew it we were back on the field and ready to defend our title. We had a couple of injuries and people dealing with health problems and such, but we pulled it together as a team and took it to 'em. Houston didn't know what hit them, because last time we played them, we didn't play very well, so this time we came out hard. Honestly, I don't remember too much of that game anymore because my memory isn't too great. But I do remember the goal and for all you people who like goals, you would've liked this one because little Christabel (Oduro) jumped about 20 feet in the air and headed in the ball over the goalie's hands. It was pretty sweet. Anyway, after that we didn't score anymore and they didn't either, even though they had a real nice free kick attempt. We really did our job with taking it to the corner at the end of the game and killing it.

Saturday was a nice day. First we got some quality study hall hours in, and then we ditched our coaches and practiced by ourselves. Later, we went to the movies and saw Due Date, which was interesting. Then it was dinner and back to the hotel. Everyone was excited about Sunday, which affected the sleep of some. I roomed with Elise (Kuhar-Pitters) and we both had some crazy dreams. I fought wolves and bears, and she got pickle juice thrown on her by an Asian guy when she was showering. So as you might have guessed our dreams were definitely preparing us for the upcoming battle.

Everyone was wide awake and excited on Sunday morning, and it carried over into warm up. We were focused and ready despite all the interruptions by the cameras. UCF came out really strong and had a lot of chances in the first five minutes, but we were able to regroup and came right back at 'em. The environment was a bit hostile with their many fans yelling at us, but we didn't mind so much because we had our own awesome fans there. Apparently the sun and wind was not favorable to our opponent, but I guess it didn't affect us because our goalie did a great job. Towards the end of the game the score was still 0-0 despite some close chances and a crossbar. We kept up our game, while UCF seemed to get more tired. Then, finally, in the last couple of minutes, Emmaleigh (Davis) decided to strategically get fouled in a perfect spot where B-lo (Lizzy Simonin) could take a nice free kick. Christie (Kline) decided to go up and try to intimidate the keeper with her scary self, and it worked because she didn't get a good hand on B-lo's kick, which then rebounded to Mel. Mel (Melissa Smith) decided it was the perfect time to score since we had been keeping the game interesting long enough, and with 55 seconds left, she kicked the ball into the goal. What she didn't realize was that she would be maliciously attacked and thrown down by Lauf ( Laura Laufenberg) as soon as she tried to run away and celebrate (she probably would have thought twice about scoring had she known). And then the whole team proceeded to jump on top of Mel who was luckily able to withstand the trauma and finish out the game.

So in summary, it was awesome to beat UCF again, especially on their home field in front of all their fans. But of course that is because of how we prepare - dancing the "wakka wakka" before games, drinking only yellow Gatorade, bringing along the lucky underwear, and taking millions of pictures to remember everything. So up next is the NCAA tournament, which we are determined to advance in, and after that, I only have one more problem to deal with, and that is to convince someone to let me play another year. BLOG OVER