• Facility
• 2011 Highlights
• Notes
• Quick Facts
• Fact Book
• Questionnaire
• Camps
• Standings
• Archives

Oct. 14, 2008

by Chelsea Yauch, Jr., MF

Thursday, October 9
Heading to the Auburn Airport Thursday afternoon I stopped to buy some bubble gum for the plane ride. I decided to buy some extra packs for Carolyn Cohen, who we all know is addicted to it. I purchased an extra snack or two. I was a little worried that the paparazzi cameras would be out and snap a quick picture of me. But luckily I wasn¡¦t discovered. (Our team paparazzi are Coach KD and Coach Amy, they somehow always find a way to use their camera phones and snap pictures of us outside of soccer).

I parked and after I walked up to the plane with Lydia Townsend, two cute airport workers grabbed our bags for us and loaded them on the plane. I¡¦m sure Lydia made a witty comment but I can¡¦t remember it exactly. It¡¦s funny even though this whole season we have been flying ¡§charter¡¨ I¡¦m still not used to the luxury of it all. This plane was a little different then the last, instead of blue seats this one had light leather seats and smelled new. I sat next to Lizzie Hamersly on the plane. We both forgot our ipods, so we borrowed Rebecca Howell¡¦s.

I wasn¡¦t paying attention when we got on the bus from the airplane in Baton Rouge so I had no idea what our bus driver looked like. He came over the intercom and welcomed us. He was really nice and told us to call him Larry. So as I got off the bus by the hotel I wanted to thank Larry. I stepped off and looked to my left and saw a man that I thought was Larry. I gave him a huge smile and said, ¡§Thanks Larry!¡¨ As I went to go grab my bags from under the bus Lizzie tapped me on the shoulder and informed me that the man I said ¡§thanks¡¨ to was not Larry at all but just a random man standing outside the hotel. We both burst into laughter and of course my cheeks went from pale pink to fire red.

Thursday afternoon, we headed to practice at LSU. Practice went well . Coach Hoppa and Coach Amy were pretend bribing us with food to score goals in our last finishing drill. Thursday night was filled with a haze of pasta, bread, and tons of water. After dinner, a group of joksters that included, Lydia, Sammy Towne, Monica Afanador, Julie King and our trainer Cindy scared Coach Amy by placing Lydia in a closet. I¡¦m not sure if a clown mask was involved but if you want to scare Coach Amy just use clowns or dolls.

Friday, October 10
Friday morning we woke up to a great breakfast at the hotel. After that, the normal game day routine followed¡Kscouting report review, study hall, and pre-game meal at Jason¡¦s Deli. Jenn Johnson introduced Heather Havron to her twin at lunch. Kara Kasten passed out rubber bracelets on the bus ride back. Each girl had a group she was assigned to by the color of her bracelet and the word on it. The groups were made up of four or five and you were supposed to cheer and support each guy or girl in your group. (Staff were included) All the bracelets also had a number 7 on them for the number of regular season games we have left and as a reminder of our goals.

Afterwards, we returned to the hotel for treatment and taping. Later that night we lost to LSU 2-1 in overtime. It was a heartbreaking game but we came out hard on a Friday night so we were pleased with our progress. The heartache was eased by our former teammate and biggest fan Summer Ragsdale. Her presence and familiar smile at dinner made all of us feel a little bit better.

Saturday, October 11
We ate the delicious hotel breakfast before heading to Arkansas. When we arrived in Fayetteville we ate at Panera. (We eat a lot on road trips, they feed us so well!) We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Fayetteville. The rooms and the beds were huge! We had a light practice on Arkansas¡¦s field later in the afternoon. It was a beautiful day. No humidity, good breeze- a great day for soccer. Later we were treated to a steak dinner at Logan¡¦s Roadhouse. At my table Kara hosted a game of ¡§Are you Smarter than a 5th grader?¡¨ from Addie Ragsdale¡¦s phone. On the bus ride back to the hotel from dinner Lydia with much encouragement from the team, decided to slither under the seats from the back of the bus to the front. This was an attempt to scare Coach Amy again. The attempt was unsuccessful and we all booed. My friend and roommate for the weekend Ashley Marks and I laid in our huge beds for the rest of the night. Ash is a hard core Red Sox fan. I believe she is a member of the Red Sox Nation. So we watched the baseball game for most of the night. That girl knows her baseball! Addie came to join us for a little bit but she missed her roommate Skylar Brienger so she headed back to her room.

Sunday, October 12
Sunday morning the game day routine began without study hall though. fº We wore our navy uniforms (my favorite) for the game. We were tied at 0-0 at halftime. We came out with more passion to win in the second half. Arkansas scored first, so we went down 1-0. We kept fighting and attacking. Katy Frierson put two goals away in the last 11 minutes. We needed/wanted a win and we got it. We all jogged across the field to cool down after the game to wave like we always do. We smiled and laughed to wave to our only fan there, Mr. King. (I know all of our parents were listening/watching and or calling each other for updates too!) The plane ride back was filled with smiles, ipods, homework, and the Twilight series of novels. (*Mary Nicolson just moved from the 3rd book to the 4th-way to join the club Mary!!) This weekend we face Florida and South Carolina. Wish us luck and come watch!

War Eagle!

More Auburn Football Headlines

More Auburn Headlines

SEC Headlines