Sept. 8, 2008

Captains’ Blog

Every Monday during the 2008 women’s soccer season, one of the three team captains will visit GamecocksOnline.com to give an inside look into what it is like to be a South Carolina women’s soccer student-athlete. Bookmark the Captains’ Blog and check back frequently for the stories told by senior Danila Monteiro and juniors Blakely Mattern and Kim Miller.

Danila Monteiro

Blakely Mattern

Kim Miller

September 8, 2008 – Kim Miller

Coming off a great win against Boston University Sunday night, it was time to prepare for the upcoming week. Having Monday off was huge for us, giving us time to catch up on schoolwork and give our bodies a rest. Tuesdays are our long practices where we watch film, practice and run. Wednesday is where we fix everything that we can control and focus on how to get better for the next game. Thursday is one day closer to gameday! Coaches do a great job of preparing our team for the game. They make us better than we were the day before by pushing us until we pass our limit.

It was finally here…Orange & Purple vs. Garnet & Black; one of the biggest rivalries in the world – and it all went down on Friday, September 5th at Eugene Stone Stadium. I want to thank all of our parents and fans for supporting us at our games and being there for us. It makes it a lot easier for our team to pull out a victory when we have fans screaming for us! It was the game we have been waiting for, revenge from last year, to prove on our home field which team was better. The Clemson game was great for our team. It was a time for the upperclassmen to stand out and the freshman to step up. Lindsay Small (hubba) scored the game-winning goal to give us a win in our first game of the Carolina’s Cup Tournament. I am so happy for Smalls. It was her second career goal and she definitely deserved it. Our team has really come together and we work for each other.

Saturday was a holiday for one of our players – it was Lolly’s birthday! Lolly spent her 19th birthday with the team at practice that morning. It is a good practice for all of the players where those who played a lot jog and stretch and others who want to play, can. The rest of the day we had off to relax, spend time with the families who came and to just have time for ourselves. This weekend was a great family weekend. There were many parents who came to support our team and spend time with their daughters.

Sunday morning we all got together to have a team breakfast put together by the coaches. It is always nice when we can sit together as a team and talk to one another about things besides soccer. After breakfast, some of us went to watch the Clemson vs. Francis Marion game while others went to the locker room to get ready for our game.

We knew this game vs. Furman was not going to be easy but were prepared to fight, willing to do anything to get the win! It was one of the hottest days we have had in a while, but that did not distract us one bit. Kayla Grimsley scored her first career goal off of a great cross from Natalie Aaron, or should I say Canks. Kayla made the run that (associate coach) Jamie has been talking to us about for weeks now. Natalie and I did a give and go, then she took a player on and crossed it and Kayla headed it in the back of the net!!! It was a great goal. The look on her face after she scored was priceless. Second half came and Furman scored, so we then went into OT. During the first overtime, Bonny was going to goal as she was tripped and fouled in the box. It was a great job by Bonny to get where she did; if she wasn’t fouled she would have scored. I then stepped up to take the PK. Very confident I did my routine and put the game on my shoulders, knowing I would lead the team to victory. Scoring that game-winning goal was a great feeling, just knowing I could help my team out in whatever way possible was incredible. It was a great win for our team. We took the championship cup from the Carolina’s Cup Tournament, something that our team definitely worked hard for. Now we will move forward with this win under our belts, preparing and improving for the upcoming weekend. For those who come out and watch us play, thank you – we really appreciate it.

Miller