Sept. 3, 2011
As the UCF women's soccer team heads to San Diego for a two-match weekend senior Katie Jackson will help keep Knights' fans up-to-date will a daily journal. Jackson will inform the Black and Gold family of all the exciting games and outings the team will enjoy to give fans the feeling as if they were there.
Thursday night Aug. 1: After a long flight to San Diego we checked into our downtown hotel to change into our practice gear and then headed to the SDSU field which is actually on top of a parking garage. After a team jog on the field we did some fun "trust" exercises which included running and diving into our teammates linked arms. From practice we drove straight to dinner and then to the hotel. We all passed out early after the long day.
Friday Morning Aug. 2: This morning we woke up and went downstairs to breakfast. After breakfast we did a walk around downtown San Diego to get our legs moving. The sights were beautiful and the weather was a very nice change from the Florida humidity. Lots of people on the streets were happy to see "athletes from the University of Central Florida." We made fans along the walk and were surprised at how many people had family members and friends that went to UCF. It was great to know we are UKnighted with the west coast and have support 2,500 miles away. Once we returned to our hotel we split up into offense and defense to chat about the upcoming game. Next up, we're walking a few blocks to a sandwich shop for pregame meal before some relaxing back at the hotel. Then it's game time...or KNIGHT TIME as our team calls it.
Friday Night Aug. 2: Wow! We ended the game in a 4-4 tie after two ten minute overtimes; the fans sure got their money's worth today. A-Rod scored the first goal of the game and we felt it was the perfect time to incorporate our newly learned 'trust jump' as our celebration dance. Nicolette finished another, bringing us into the half up 2-1 but that all changed quickly. In the second half, Bianca scored a goal to give us a 3-1 lead before they made a PK and made it 3-2. Later in the game they scored two goals in about a minute and all the sudden we found ourselves down 4-3. Things were flipped around as our stable two goal lead turned into an intense down a goal battle. However, we all kept working hard and were determined to put another one in the back of the net. Sure enough, in the last 5 minutes of the game Marissa headed one in. We played two ten minute overtimes but ended the game in a draw. Overall we were bummed that we didn't win after having had the lead for most of the game, but were happy that we were able to come together and grind it out for the tie.
After the game, we showered at the school and then headed to a rooftop high rise overlooking downtown. We had food catered in and we all sat and enjoyed the view. San Diego looked great at night when the city was all lit up. At one point the sky was lit with fireworks shooting off out of the Padre's Baseball Stadium. We had a good time talking, laughing, and relaxing with one another before heading back to our hotel to get some rest. We all have our eyes set on Sunday's game and are determined to leave California with a win and a tie.