The University of Portland will have four alums competing at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany. PortlandPilots.com is excited to have two of the four on board as World Cup Bloggers throughout the preparations and actual competition this summer. USA National Team and Boston Breakers (WPS) defender Stephanie Cox and Canadian National Team and MagicJack (WPS) defender Sophie Schmidt will share experiences periodically over the next three months, so make sure to bookmark http://www.portlandpilots.com/WorldCupBlog to follow their journey to Germany.
You can send Stephanie and Sophie any questions, comments or feedback that you might have by clicking HERE.
Mexico Sendoff Game: US 1, Mexico 0 (June 7, 2011)
After a week in New Jersey and a solid 1-0 win against Mexico, I am feeling great about our team and where we are at heading to Germany. Sunday’s game against Mexico was very different than our last result against them in Qualifiers where we lost. We had a strong performance from everyone, and despite missed opportunities and great saves by the Mexican keeper, we ended up getting the win. Lauren Cheney had a laser strike from distance in stoppage time that gave us the win! It was the perfect note that we wanted to end on headed to Austria and then to Germany in over a week.
I am really excited about how our team is coming together. We have had our ups and downs trying to get on the same page, but the last several games we have gained a lot of confidence and are feeling in rhythm for Germany! My role has been a bit all over the place, starting, not starting… which has been a bit frustrating. But after not starting today, I was really excited that I got to play in the second half and find some moments to combine with Megan Rapinoe and the other offensive players. My history with Megan definitely makes it easy for us to play with each other and bring out a good performance from one another! I can’t believe that we played club soccer together at Elk Grove, then college soccer at Portland, and now are playing on the left side together for the US! Pretty incredible ride!!
More details about our training… we got stuck in lots of traffic in New Jersey and had a hard time finding good fields that were close to our hotel. So finally on our last bus ride to practice, Amy Rodriguez brought along “She’s the Man”, which has got to be the cheesiest soccer movie ever made. We definitely enjoyed the bus ride a lot more with lots of laughs over how ridiculous and hilarious the movie was. We also got to do a team appearance at Niketown in New York. It was pretty cool and some players got to talk about how they deal with pressure on the field, I was pretty proud of our team’s response…. After that I was a bit shocked, with a proud/embarrassed combo when Pia broke out in song to the crowd about our team. She is truly one of a kind and not shy about her vocal abilities J
So now we are all headed our separate ways for some R&R before the big Cup! I am headed back to my home in Gig Harbor and for some quality time with my husband, Brian. I am really looking forward to my family coming up to visit over the weekend; I haven’t seen my little brothers since New Year’s. This down time will be important for us all to get rejuvenated emotionally and physically as we have a big month ahead of us to win a gold medal!
Here is the Q&A portion of the blog. Thanks for submitting some questions!
What is your pregame nutrition? Usually before a game I try to have something light, like a turkey sandwich. Lately my favorite has been a peanut butter and banana sandwich. I try to have some good carbs in the morning like oatmeal and maybe some eggs. Definitely a lot of water! I don’t want to feel full during the game, because I don’t want to feel heavy out there. And there is always stuff to snack on in the locker room, like fruit and gummy bears for a quick sugar load if I need a little extra.
What are the team goals/expectations for your time in Austria prior to the games in Germany? Pia’s practices have a consistent rhythm to them which we will keep in Austria. But along with that, we will probably be adding more game situational aspects to our practice. Like working on defensive set pieces so we are comfortable and confident with them, and scrimmaging being a goal up or a goal down. I am not sure how much will be specific preparation for our opponent, Pia really like us to focus on our game and what we are going to do out there. But our main goal will be to tidy up on the small things so that we are sharp headed into our group games.
Thanks!
Steph
PREVIOUS ENTRIES
Steph Entry #1: Countdown to Germany (May 26, 2011)
Soph Entry #1: Training in Italy (May 31, 2011)
