Boston College Athletics
BC Weekly Diary With Lauren Vanni
September 18, 2001 | Women's Soccer
September 4, 2001
I believe that things happen for a reason, but after our first game it's hard to accept. This past Saturday we opened up our season at UMass-Amherst, but we did not get the result we expected. The game was played at Agawam High School with over a thousand fans ready for an exciting game ... and believe me, they got one!
As the game began, it was clear that we were out of our rhythm. Passes were being picked off, we were losing every ball in the air, and we were NOT the team with the most intensity. No one could understand it, but everyone was feeling frustrated and, by halftime, it was like we were in a nightmare because we were down 2-0.
During our halftime talk, we got reorganized and realized that we had dug ourselves a hole, but we could get out of it. At the start of the second half, we had more intensity and were playing with some passion. We were not just going to give up because we were down by two goals. We knew that we could come back, but after about eight minutes, we found ourselves down 3-0.
As frustrated as were, WE DID NOT GIVE UP. We were flying to balls, stringing together passes and it was starting to look like Boston College soccer that everyone was familiar with. After knocking on their door, we ended up getting ourselves a goal. Now we were only down two goals and there were 30 minutes left in the game. Something was driving each one of us NOT to give up and before we knew it, we had ourselves another goal and another and it was all tied up.
The fans were certainly getting a taste of the type of players on this team. Most times when teams are down 3-0, they give up and get it into their heads that the game is over. Not us, we found a way to get ourselves back into the game and to force two overtime periods. Of course, we didn't get the result we wanted because a goal was given up in the second overtime.
However, what we did get out of the game was a huge lesson. We understand that not always does the better team win. Each time you step on the field, ANYTHING can happen. Things did not go in our favor on Saturday night, but there are two ways we can deal with it. We can hang our heads and mope around about it for days or we can learn from it and make sure that we don't put ourselves in that position again. I think you can guess which way we are going to deal with it.
I am extremely proud of my team for coming back from a 3-0 deficit. I think it showed a lot of character to not give up and let the game just go the way it was heading.
Right now, we are working extremely hard and looking forward to our tournament at UConn this weekend. We aren't dwelling on the past, just looking ahead and keeping our heads high. ,)
