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Hello again...I just got back from our third training game, and I figured I would use my downtown to write a new post! Today we played Mallbacken, a good team from Division 1 South. Four years ago, Mallbacken was in the Top Division for Swedish women's football, but in recent years they haven't been able to return to top form!

Today's match was a lot tougher than our previous two scrimmages, but we were able to pull out a 3-1 win! Believe it or not, I scored the first goal of the match! The ball was bouncing around in the box after a corner kick, and I finished it with my left foot in the top right corner...I think the last time I scored a goal was two years ago, so this one felt GOOD! Unfortunately, my goal scoring abilities were too strong this game, because I tapped in their only goal of the match off of a cross. I tried to clear the ball off the goal line, but somehow the ball ended up going into our net :(. So technically I scored two goals today, but only one was for the right team!!

We went into halftime tied 1-1...the second half was a little better on our end. We passed the ball smoother and connected more opportunities, and we were able to pull out a 3-1 win. Elin Nyman, a young player from Leksand, scored both of our goals in the second half.

Our next training match is on March 28th, against Tyreso FF, a top division club! That game will be a great test to see where we stand before our season officially starts on April 17th.

On a side note, instead of training on Thursday, our coach decided it would be a good idea to go curling as a team bonding activity instead! It was a lot of fun, and we definitely had our share of a few laughs! Check out some pictures below!

Vi ses senere :)

Moles

Hej Hej my fellow football lovers...Here are some pictures from my first training game and some shots of my apartment.  Hope you like them!

Warm-up, the temperature at kickoff was 25 degrees F.

After the game, both teams go to the center of the field and the captain of each team says a few words.

Right before kickoff, I am the player all the way to the left...centerback!

My living room

My kitchen :)

Hejsan!

Well, I have now been in Sweden for over a week, and I'm getting used to my new environment more and more everyday! The soccer is going extremely well, we have had 2 training games so far and won both of them! Yesterday, we traveled over an hour to play Gävle. We won 5-0, so there wasn't much to do in the defensive third, but our performance was better than it was last week, which is always good during preseason! Darcel Mollon, one of our players from Trinidad, arrived this Wednesday, and her arrival proved to be helpful since she scored 2 goals and assisted on another! Our other players that scored were Madde, Mia, and Elin.

So far I have started both games as a centerback! I felt much more comfortable during the game this week, and hopefully, if I keep working hard, I will have a starting spot next week as well!

Other than soccer, not much is new. I will finally get a bike this weekend, so I will now have a new means of transportation besides my own two feet :). Everything in the city is pretty much in biking distance, which is great, because I just got a gym membership to a facility in the centrum area of Borlange (downtown). There is also a bowling alley, a billiards room, a movie theatre, and many restaurants in the centrum, so hopefully I will get down there shortly to check out the best spots in town!

I have been talking to Chelsea White and Sarah Elnicky, the other two Americans who will be joining me in April. Apparently this city transforms once spring/summer rolls around, so I am anxious for them to get here so we can explore the area together! 

Last night after our game, Olle (the team's manager and club chairman) invited me over to watch the Swedish Eurovision Final. Every year European countries compete in a music competition in which they send one singer to try to take the crown. The Swedish competition was last night and they chose Anna Bergendahl's song "This is My Life." Check out her song on youtube below...and yes it's in English :) !!!

I hope you liked it...hopefully I will be able to upload some pictures of my apartment and the team in the weeks to come!

Hej då!

Sarra

Hej!

It's been a wild first couple of days in Sweden! The first day I got here we had a training session at 6pm...I arrived in Stockholm around 9:30am and had to drive 2.5 hours to Borlange. I then met up with Olle, the team's manager and club chairman, who brought me to my apartment and set me up with some groceries!  At 5:30pm it was time to get ready for training...I was able to get a nap in before I had to leave, so I was somewhat energized for the session :).  On Saturday we had a training game (scrimmage) against a Div. II team...we played okay, won 3-2, but there is definitely room for improvement during preseason! If you didn't already know this, its FREEZING cold here in Sweden! Unlike the US, the Swedes play soccer in any temperature, whether its 20 degrees or 80, they are out there no matter what! Yesterday, the temperature was about 25 degrees at kickoff...pretty cold for a wimpy American like me, but just something else I have to get used to while I'm over here :).

All of the girls on the team have been extremely helpful with the language barrier.  Most of the girls speak very good English, and the trainers speak English very well too.  Of course, they speak to each other in Swedish, but its nice that they can translate for me whenever I don't understand something (which is quite often :) ).

Other than soccer, I've just been unpacking and trying to get settled into my new life! Of course its been hard adjusting to the time difference, and I admit, I am a little homesick, but that will all pass once I find a routine and get to know my teammates!  I'm extremely excited for the season to start, and I can't wait to improve my game in the process!

Well tomorrow is the big day!!!

After two LONG months of waiting and preparing for my big move, the day is finally here, and I cannot be more excited!  I managed to fit all my clothes and belongings into two huge duffel bags, a backpack, and a small carry-on. Like most girls, I definitely overpacked, but you can't have too many clothes right :)?

My flight leaves tomorrow around 5:30pm.  We are flying out of Newark, NJ and stopping over in Copenhagen before we reach Stockholm at around 9:30 in the morning.  Up until today, I wasn't nervous at all, just anxious to start my new journey, but the nerves finally got to me, and a million things are racing through my mind!  The manager at Kvarnsveden, Olle, called me this afternoon, so hearing his voice reassured me that everything is going to be fine!  

These past couple of weeks have been extremely busy for me.  It was hard trying to fit in training, a job, and saying goodbye to all my family and friends.  My Loyola team actually threw me a surprise party before I left, and gave me an incredible going away present. They are a great group of girls and I am really going to miss them...I wish them nothing but the best in the future, and you heard it here first, I'm predicting a second round NCAA birth for 2010! Besides my players, my roommates in Baltimore have been extremely great these past six months, and I am going to miss them tremendously. I won't forget our nights out on the town in fed hill at the famous stalking horse...one of our favorite places to go to.  I even got to see my friends from HS a few days ago...they took me out to a great Mexican restaurant, and we just reminisced on old times like we always do when we get together!  Last but not least, I will probably miss my family the most. They have been there for me throughout my entire soccer career, and I couldn't have gotten to this point without them. My mom is actually cooking one of my favorite meals tonight...salmon with a baked potato and green beans, and you can be sure that I'll miss her cooking skills while I'm overseas!

Soccer starts right away for me, which is awesome!  It'll be nice to meet my teammates and coaches when I first arrive, and I'm sure they will help me get adjusted to my new lifestyle. We have training the first night I get there, and then a scrimmage on Saturday!

It's going to be a crazy ride, but I'm ready for the adventure! 

Vi ses senere

Moles