Up for the challenge

This weekend we had an away game verse Jyväskylä. I heard they were a good team but I knew we were ready for the fight!  There was a decent crowd at the game but the weather was crazy! At the start of the game the sun was out and then it started down pouring. Its fun to play in the rain but the field was really slick and the ball was extremly slippery.  The weather did not effect our play; everyone adapted well and I thought we were connecting well and even had some decent chances.

 On another hand I have to say the refs were by far the worst refs I have ever had!  Refs are part of the game and we did have chances to finnish but, I have never seen anything like this.  Tessa (one of our forwards) is from Nigeria was getting bladed and pulled to the ground numerous times throughout the game; she did not get one call.  She had a few breakaways as well and she was clearly onsides but the ref called her offsides.  If we even touched the girls on the other team the whistle was blown.  The ref was not protecting Tessa or anyone on the team.  I have felt like the refs have been against us in every away game ive played in so far.  I asked some of the girls if other people did not like our club and the girls said people are against us because we have so many "foreigners."  It was extremely obvious that the refs were against us during the game.

 

Despite the adversity We played well and we fought hard; overall I felt we dominated the game, had most of the possession and deserved to win. Jyväskylä was a kick and run team that always looked to play the long ball.  In the first half it was 0-0; we had a few good looks and our defense had a strong performance.  In the second half we had to switch some things around because a few of the girls were sick.  In the last 80 minutes Jyväskylä scored two goals in five minutes and then in the last four minutes I took a corner; it slipped through the keepers hands and Kerstin (another american) finished it off.  The game was exciting but we ended up losing 2-1.  It was not the result we wanted and definitely not the result we deserved.

  If the refs and the other teams dont like us because we are foreign then I am up for the challenge! People have been against me and the teams Ive played for all my life.  I could write so many examples from my experiences.  My freshman year at Florida Southern; the coaches in the conference predicted us to place close to last place and we turned it around and ended up making the confernce tournament all four years, two conference final appearances, we made it to the NCAA's three years in a row and we had found ourselves numerous times ranked top 25 in the country. I also cant tell you how many times I have heard you will never make it because "you are to small", "your not strong enough" or " you are not healthy enough" and now I have proved the doubters wrong and I am doing something that I love in Finland.  I feel like people will always be against you no matter who you are or what you do, its all about how you deal with it.  We have a good team here and a really good group of girls; we are all clicking and really starting to bond.  I was proud of how my team fought in the game and I can not wait to play Jyväskylä again. Our next game is on Thurday and it is home.  Im excited for the next game!

Hejda!