So I just got back from Kansas a few days ago, and I was planning to blog the whole trip day by day, but I got very busy with all the soccer games and just hanging out and having a blast with my teammates. So because I didn't blog each day, I'm going to do a recap of the games.
I got to Kansas on Thursday and then we had a game Friday night. We were very nervous because we didn't know what it was going to be like. My team got beaten 4-1 by a very good Kansas team. I think we made too many mistakes when we had possession because we were still getting used to the court size. All of the team except for me had flown in on Friday, so I think they were very exhausted and tired because travel days can make you VERY tired. There was some getting used to do because at regionals (the tournament we played in in order to go to Kansas) the courts were a lot smaller and then we got to the courts in Kansas and they were a lot bigger so we had to get used to the width, and we had to remember to keep wider than usual when we had the ball. Also I think all the teams we played were teams that play Futsal year-round and are a Futsal academy. GPS (my club soccer team) doesn't focus on Futsal a lot, they focus more on outdoor playing, and we hadn't played in any Futsal games that were not in a tournament together, so we hadn't had a lot of practice. Next, our goalie that played with us throughout all of regionals couldn't make it to Kansas, and I didn't think that was going to matter, but it did because my coach just had to keep switching the goalies up, because nobody on my team plays goalie all the time. After that game we knew what it was like to compete in Nationals, so we had to come into the next two games with a different mindset.
Our next game was against a team from Richmond, VA. We lost 7-4, but I wasn't very disappointed in how we played because we had kind of a slower start to the first 5 min., but we quickly turned it around, and was putting more pressure on the other team, and making better decisions when we had the ball. I thought though at some points, we were rushing the ball, and just shooting it wide when we had players wide open to pass to. If we had had a couple more lucky breakaways we could've won the game. I feel this was our best game we played, and we really
showed people what we are capable of and what we can do. I scored 2 goals in this game, but technically 3 because the left forward crossed the ball in, and I kicked it, but it bounced off someone from the other team and went in so it was an own goal by them, but it was kind of me. The first goal I scored was a lucky play because the goalkeeper liked to kick it to the sides instead of throw it, and she didn't kick it hard enough, and went off the wrong part of her foot, so when she tried to kick it to
the defender on the left, and was right there, and simply kicked it into the back of the net. The second goal I scored was also kind of lucky too, because me and the left forward had passed it to each other a couple of times, and she passed it to me, and I kicked it low and at the goalie, and it went right through the middle of her legs.
We were hoping to end our weekend with a win, but unfortunately we lost 2-1 to another team from Kansas. If we had had the same intensity from the second game in the third game, I think we could've won it. The other teams goalie was very talented and she managed to save all but 1 of our shots. In the first half, we had a lot of great 1 on 1s which led to a lot of shots, but again, their goalie knew just what to do in most situations. Towards the last 15 min., we started playing with 1 defender and 3 forwards, so we could have a better chance of shooting and scoring. But what happened a lot is that we were very tired and we were forgetting to come back and help the 1 defender when the other team had possession.
I had a great time participating even though we didn't get the outcome we were looking for, and we had a lot of fun, and made lots of memories. After our last game I said "Well, it's going to be time for payback in New Jersey!" Because in the summer we are going to New Jersey for an outdoor soccer tournament which I'm looking forward to.
After one of our games our whole team went to a restaurant called Jack Stack Barbecue because everyone was recommending it and the Kansas City area is actually known for good BBQ. I got ribs that were really good, I ordered from the adults menu and got more ribs than I could eat and one of my teammates next to me was stealing some of my bbq sauce because it tasted so delicious so I had to ask the waiter for more sauce and everyone at the table shared it. The last day we were in KS there were 2 other girls from my team still there, so we decided that we wanted to go site- seeing and just explore Kansas City together. Unfortunately, a lot of the historical places were closed, so we ended up doing more of a shopping day, which included going skating, eating frozen yogurt, and going to a Hallmark Card place that had a lot of stores. I was so glad that I got to go, and I Had a very fun time!
Enjoy some pics below! If you want to see more I am going to make a slideshow that I could email to you if you send me your email address.
showed people what we are capable of and what we can do. I scored 2 goals in this game, but technically 3 because the left forward crossed the ball in, and I kicked it, but it bounced off someone from the other team and went in so it was an own goal by them, but it was kind of me. The first goal I scored was a lucky play because the goalkeeper liked to kick it to the sides instead of throw it, and she didn't kick it hard enough, and went off the wrong part of her foot, so when she tried to kick it to
the defender on the left, and was right there, and simply kicked it into the back of the net. The second goal I scored was also kind of lucky too, because me and the left forward had passed it to each other a couple of times, and she passed it to me, and I kicked it low and at the goalie, and it went right through the middle of her legs.
We were hoping to end our weekend with a win, but unfortunately we lost 2-1 to another team from Kansas. If we had had the same intensity from the second game in the third game, I think we could've won it. The other teams goalie was very talented and she managed to save all but 1 of our shots. In the first half, we had a lot of great 1 on 1s which led to a lot of shots, but again, their goalie knew just what to do in most situations. Towards the last 15 min., we started playing with 1 defender and 3 forwards, so we could have a better chance of shooting and scoring. But what happened a lot is that we were very tired and we were forgetting to come back and help the 1 defender when the other team had possession.
I had a great time participating even though we didn't get the outcome we were looking for, and we had a lot of fun, and made lots of memories. After our last game I said "Well, it's going to be time for payback in New Jersey!" Because in the summer we are going to New Jersey for an outdoor soccer tournament which I'm looking forward to.
After one of our games our whole team went to a restaurant called Jack Stack Barbecue because everyone was recommending it and the Kansas City area is actually known for good BBQ. I got ribs that were really good, I ordered from the adults menu and got more ribs than I could eat and one of my teammates next to me was stealing some of my bbq sauce because it tasted so delicious so I had to ask the waiter for more sauce and everyone at the table shared it. The last day we were in KS there were 2 other girls from my team still there, so we decided that we wanted to go site- seeing and just explore Kansas City together. Unfortunately, a lot of the historical places were closed, so we ended up doing more of a shopping day, which included going skating, eating frozen yogurt, and going to a Hallmark Card place that had a lot of stores. I was so glad that I got to go, and I Had a very fun time!
Enjoy some pics below! If you want to see more I am going to make a slideshow that I could email to you if you send me your email address.
