Kim Brandão reflects back on her World Cup experience in Germany.

Being in Germany for the World Cup this summer was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. If you ever get a chance to go to a World Cup or European Cup take the opportunity without thinking twice. Being that my parents are both Portuguese, I support Portugal as much as USA.

I was based in Dortmund for most of my stay in Germany, but also sight seed through Nuremburg, Berlin, Gelsenkirchen, Cologne, Leipzig, and Bochum. The atmosphere at the games and in the streets of the host cities was unlike anything you could image.

People crowded the streets almost to a point where it was impossible to get from one end to the other. Everyone wore the jersey and carried the flag of the team they supported and even if you didn’t support a team that was playing that day, you still wore the colors of your country. Read the rest of this entry »

Entry from Kristie Lang.

YOOOOO KARINA!

So we got back from Virginia two weeks ago, and since then, it has been an amazing experience. I can’t even put into words how excited I am to be on this team. I have become so close with all of the girls and they are unbelievably encouraging. They believe in me, when I don’t believe in myself, and they lift my spirits up in tough times.

When we got back from Virginia, we continued with two-a-days, and even though it was really tough, I realized it was totally worth it. We were so prepared to play Drexel when the time came…we even warmed up in the rain for 45 minutes before the game got cancelled, and we were actually upset that we couldn’t play.

The Monday following the cancellation of the game, we had SUCH a good practice. We all came out with amazing energy, and you could tell we were so pumped to play Monmouth and let them know that we own NJ. It was also our first home game, and we definitely set the tone for how we want to play at home. The thing that I liked after the game, was that we still weren’t satisfied. Read the rest of this entry »

Entry from Kim Brandão.

So far it’s been great and I know it will still get better. Before starting our season with a scrimmage against Lehigh – who we beat 2-0 – we went through a tough, but good preseason that prepared us for what will be my last, and hopefully best season since I’ve been here.

The two-a-day sessions were tough but staying in a hotel and spending 24-hours together for two weeks brought us closer together. The fitness was hard and after a long session it became more about being mentally tough than being physically fit. Read the rest of this entry »

Ok, so Rouen was really great. Despite everything that happened before the trip, people seemed to just really stick together and get really close. The whole time people were laughing and also working really hard for one another…This was one of my fave trips with this team, just kind of wish you were there…

Rouen was such a cute little city, barely no one spoke English so I was forced to speak French the whole time, which I secretly enjoyed. There were three huge cathedrals in this one small town. The history in that one city alone was pretty amazing. Joan of Arc was buried there and Monet came from there. He actually did 15 paintings of the Notre Dame of Rouen at different times which are now shown in the Musee D’orseilles in Paris. Read the rest of this entry »