"When all is said and done, it's not the shots that won the championship that you remember, but the friendships you made along the way." Unknown

My last game is Finland was great!The whole environment was awesome and there were over 600 people in the stands.  I like the feeling of playing in front of a lot of people. ONS is a good side but we were ready to compete and we set the level of intensity from the start. The game was pretty evenly matched but we created more opportunities throughout the game.  ONS had a few fast, skillful and crafty players but our entire team had a solid defensive performance and shut them down.  In the last five minutes of the game I took a free kick on their end. I took it, my teammates made some good runs, the keeper missed the ball and it ended up in the back of the net. It was not the prettiest goal but a wise person once told me "it doesn't have to be pretty, a goal is a goal."  We did not let up and won the game! It was a great team performance. Everyone all over the field played their role and executed well! Our goal at the beginning of the season was to be top 2 in the league, because of our win verse ONS we achieved our goal and ended up finishing second.  I was very proud of everyone. It was a well deserved!

After the game we went to this local school and had a sauna party.  Finland is famous for their saunas.  There was food at the school, we all took a sauna and swam.  On Sunday we had a going away dinner.  It was really nice and I enjoyed spending time with all my teammates.  Most of the team came to the apartment after dinner.  Goodbyes are never fun but I was so happy I got to meet and play with this group of girls.  This was a really special group.  I know that as time goes on I will not remember the stats or a score to a game, what I will remember is all the great people I met and all the great times I had with all of them. Thank you to my team and everyone I met in Finland who helped me create some amazing memories.

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the road less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." Robert Frost

One practice, one game and five days left in Finland.. I am so excited to see my family again; I can not believe it is so soon.  Time goes by so fast.  I feel like it was just yesterday I was saying goodbye to my family at the Orlando Airport. The whole experience over here has been great.  I have enjoyed every second and really learned a lot both on and off the field. While I have been in Finland off the field I have seen reindeer, moose, gypsies, learned how to speak a lot of swedish, become a coffee drinker, ate salmiakki, become an expert bike rider, juggled in the marketplace, went to swedish school, meet so many great people and so much more.

 On the field I noticed that many players are very technical.  One thing that I think is wild is playing with players that can not speak a word of english.  I was thinking about one of the goals this girl Jenna scored two games ago and I remembered I had slid to get the ball on goal; the ball went off the post and Jenna finished it off.  After the goal she tackled me.  Jenna can not speak any English and we have not had one conversation but when we celebrated the goal we shared so much passion for the game. That passion was better than any conversation we could have had. We have not spoken a word to each other but are in love with the same game. It is bizarre but soccer really is a universal language; it is so much more than a game.

 

I'm looking forward to our last game this Saturday.  We are playing ONS; they are a really good side and if we win we have a chance of finishing second in the league.  There "is no tomorrow" after this game; literally. We have nothing to lose and are fit for the last fight together as a team. After the game on saturday we are having a sauna party with the team.  On Sunday we are having a team farewell dinner.  I am going to miss the girls.  Goodbyes are never fun but I know it will be a great weekend.