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GALLERY

Before I start, I would like to dedicate this post to the group "Hoppa's Hotties." You know who you are.

Thursday, August 28

It's 12:15. Time for Becca Howell and I to go to the dorms. We had to meet the freshman before heading to the airport.

When we got to the airport there were no security lines or delays. The plane held 30 passengers, perfect for our team. I couldn't help but think about how blessed our team is to have this opportunity. I had the pleasure of sitting next to Julie King on the flight to Missouri. Some of the girls slept, some read books, and some did homework, Julie and I shared headphones and rocked out to some of our favorite tunes- Jonas Brothers and Afroman.

The flight went smoothly, and before we knew it we were in Missouri. We got on a bus and went to our hotel. We sat in the lobby while everyone found out their roommates for the weekend. Luckily, I got to share a room with two of the coolest girls in the world- Heather Havron and Ashley Marks. Good times.

On every away trip we try to practice at the opponent's fields the day before the game. This helps us to loosen up our muscles and get a feel for the field we are playing on the following night. So, after we got settled in, we went to the Mizzou soccer fields to practice.

Practice went well. We started off with a possession game, and then ended by splitting up into positions- forwards and midfielders worked on finishing and the backs worked on defensive shape.

After practice we went to the hotel, showered and then got on the bus to go to dinner. We ate at the Pasta Factory downtown Columbia. Everyone seemed to be very pleased with their food.

Anyway, we have started a club on our team led by Samantha Towne. These books are amazing! So amazing that in order to be in the club you have at least complete one book...and those people are Sammy Towne, Julie King and Addie Ragsdale. The People currently reading are Caitlin King, Chelsea Yauch, Lydia Townsend and I. People who have made a vow to read the book- Cindy Campbell (our trainer), Amy Berbary (Assistant Coach), Jenni Prescott and Carolyn Cohen. Hahahaha.... The obsession has gotten so bad that Amy found Addie sitting at lunch by herself reading.

Now back to Missouri. After dinner we hung out a little bit and then went to bed at a reasonable hour, preparing for tomorrow's game.

Friday, August 29

The team woke up at 9:30 a.m. and ate breakfast in the hotel. After breakfast we went to Coach Hoppa's room to watch film. Watching film is a great coaching mechanism. It helps us to learn from the mistakes we've made in previous games and encourages us to keep up the good work.

Every girl has their own gameday routine. Most of the time you can find the girls either napping or in the treatment room with our new trainer Cindy Campbell. Finally, it was time to play. We played Mizzou, a top 25 Big 12 team. We played really well and ended up losing 1-0. It was a disappointing loss, but the girls were very encouraged by how excited our coaches were to see how well we played.

That night, after cold tub, we ordered pizza from Shakespeare's and had it delivered to the hotel. Everyone was tired so after dinner we all went to bed.

Saturday, August 30

Travel day number two. After breakfast we got on the bus and made our way to the airport. The flight from Missouri to Kansas was exactly twenty-eight minutes. This was just enough time for us to ascend and then descend. We landed in Kansas and went straight to Jason's deli for lunch. After lunch we went to our hotel, which had a miniature golf course in it, and watched film in the restaurant. When film was through we went on a jog and stretch in the parking lot. This jog and stretch was unlike any other. Coach's college friends were there to see us play. They had two of the cutest little boys. Our second jog was led by their oldest son, Storm. Jenn Johnson couldn't even keep up with him!

We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant Bambinos. It was delicious! After dinner some of the girls and I decided that putting fake tattoos on was the greatest idea in the world! So, Jenni, Chelsea, Sammy, Julie, Addie, Lydia and I bought at least eighteen tattoos and put them on various parts of our bodies. My favorite was the Addie's dolphin tattoo. It looked great! When this fiasco ended it was time for bed.

Sunday, August 31

This day was just like any other gameday. The morning consisted of breakfast, treatment, taping, pre-game talk, restroom breaks and reading Twilight... of course. It was another disappointing loss against Kansas. We lost 2-1. Everyone was upset because we had so many chances and played very well. It was an intense game. After the game Keidane McAlpine (Assistant Coach) shared some encouraging words with us and we left the field to greet our friends and family who came to the game.

We had a huge crowd show up for the game. The Auburn Alumni group in Kansas came to the game to support their Tigers! They had a banner made and everything!! It was so nice to see so much orange and blue. My best friend who attends the University of Oklahoma even drove five hours to come see us play. Thanks for the support. It means the world to us!

We showered, drove to the airport, and got on the plane to go back to Auburn. The flight was about an hour and a half long. The neatest part of the trip was seeing an overhead view of our campus. It is beautiful. All in all it was a great weekend. We had a ton of fun and played very well. It's exciting to think about the future for this team. Next weekend we head to Athens to play Stanford and Virginia. I hope to see all of you there!

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