Shut Outs

It's the 6th lap of the timed two mile. You can't imagine being finished. You have over two laps to go and you feel like you may just collapse at any point. You're a little dizzy and worried that you won't be able to keep the pace. You're about to set a personal record, but can you keep the pace up? You look at your watch. Your sixth lap is too slow. You started off great, then got a little shaky because you let your head get the best of you. You convinced yourself you couldn't do it and slowed down. You didn't stick with your teammates because you didn't believe you could keep up. It's a mental test more than a physical test at this point. You finish the sixth lap. Shoot, six seconds too slow. That's a lot. You let yourself down a bit. This means you have to push twice as hard in the next two laps. You're catching up to your running partner now. The pace is fast. Your teammate says it's too fast but you encourage her and you continue together...

The Blue have improved to an overall record of 7-6-2 and 4-1-2 in the conference. A 3-0 win over Smith College and a double overtime tie against number one MIT. More impressive than the three goals against Smith are the shut outs in both games. Defensively, as a team, the Blue have improved their organization from the backline all the way to the forward line. This past Tuesday's match against MIT was arguably the most complete game of soccer the Blue have played all season. The Blue are in a good spot now as they head to WPI this Saturday for their second to last conference game.

500

The Blue were defeated last night by Fitchburg State 1-0 at home. This brings Wellesley to a 6-6-1 record. Despite outshooting our opponents 19-9 we couldn't finish our chances. Fitchburg's goal was off an unfortunate penalty kick rewarded in the 32nd minute after a trip in the box.

Next up...away game at Smith College(conference game!) this Saturday.

Ups and Downs

The blog write ups have taken a several week break, but rest assure that the Blue have continued to work hard and fight tough competition.

Let's start where we left off after beating Mt. Holyoke 3-0...

After a Wellesley Soccer dramatic over time win last year over Brandeis, the Judges came back ready to rally squeezing out a 1-0 win. Despite the loss, the Blue was proud of their performance against the then 15th nationally ranked team. Next up was a HUGE double over time win against conference rival, Springfield. Gaining two points out of this game was a necessity as Springfield currently sits with 8 points in the NEWMAC (unbeaten by all, except the Blue). Unfortunately, the glory didn't remain for the Blue as Wheaton College won 5-1 with three goals in the span of eight minutes... Let's look past this game and consider it a fluke! Lastly, over the weekend we gained two more conference points beating USCG 2-1. Of course we had to do it in Wellesley fashion with a Megan Turchi rip 20 yards out in double over time. For those keeping stats, that would be our FIFTH DOUBLE OVER TIME (we have yet to be defeated in over time....knock on wood!).

Up next... Fitchburg State at 4 pm today at Wellesley!

Wellesley College Down Under

It's official...the Blue will be taking a 12 day trip to Australia in 2012! After much debate the team has decided to begin their fundraising efforts to travel to Sydney, Cairns, and the Great Barrier Reef. Here's a quick description of our tentative itinerary:

Day 1:
Depart from Logan Airport

Day 2:
IN TRANSIT

Day 3:
Arrive in Sydney and meet tour manager
Intro tour of Sydney, stop at beach, brunch, Darling Harbour, team dinner, shopping!

Day 4:
Breakfast at hotel, Circular Quay, ferry to Manly, lunch in Manly, team surf lesson, return to hotel by Ferry and Train, free evening and dinner

Day 5:
Breakfast at hotel, morning intro to Cricket Clinic, Roosters vs. Sharks Rugby

Day 6:
Breakfast at hotel, youth clinic with NSW juniors, game vs. New South Wales, meal with New South Wales, evening free and dinner on own or optional activity to attend concert at Operahouse

Day 7:
Breakfast at hotel, game vs. local club, meal at club, bridgewalk in Sydney, dinner at Meat and Wine and enjoy final evening in Sydney

Day 8:
Breakfast, fly to Cairns, check into hotel, dinner

Day 9:
Complimentary morning tea/coffee on cruise, Outer Barrier Reef (marine biologist presentation is show on the vessel monitors 30 min. after departure), snorkelling demonstration, swimming, fish feeding, tropical buffet for lunch, Port Douglas, dinner

Day 10:
Breakfast and free morning, rafting on Baron River, walk to Dundees (experience eating crocodile, emu, kangaroo), evening free

Day 11:
Breakfast at hotel, visit Aboriginal School for a socer exhibition and sharing of Aboriginal culture, meal, Koala park and village visit (holding of a koala!), game vs. local club, meal with opposing team, enjoy last even free in Australia!

Day 12:
Depart for USA

Bouncing Back as a Team

After a hard loss against Bates College last week the Blue bounced back just in time for Mt. Holyoke. The Blue dominated the game scoring three goals and earning a second shut out for the season. Although Wellesley has an unbeaten streak against Mt. Holyoke for several years now, the win was an impressive overall team effort.

Goals were scored by Chelsea Patry, Jen Marble, and Ariel Chao (goal #7 for the season). Chelsea also earned her second assist for the season.

Overall, the team looked more organized and it was clear they wanted to fix the mistakes from previous matches. Defensively we played as a unit which contributed to things coming together on the offensive side of things.

The win places the Blue at second place in the conference with 1 win and 1 tie for a total of 4 points and 4-3-1 for the season. Check out the NEWMAC website for scores/updates on our competitors: http://www.newmacsports.com/sports/wsoc/index

Next up: Wednesday @ home against Brandeis!

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Wellesley's "quote of the season"...

"There are plenty of teams in every sport that have great players and never win titles. Most of the time, those players aren't willing to sacrifice for the greater good of the team. The funny thing is, in the end, their unwillingness to sacrifice only makes individual goals more difficult to achieve. One thing I believe to the fullest is that if you think and achieve as a team, the individual accolades will take care of themselves. Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”
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One Point for the Weekend

After 110 minutes of play the Blue tied their first game of the conference against Babson College. Despite the lack of goals scored in the game there were many chances from both ends.

The Blue came out a bit flat to start the game but improved tremendously in the last 20 minutes of the second half and into overtime. Consistent crosses from Chelsea Patry provided the Blue with several opportunities but finishing on goal was an issue all game. On the defensive end the Blue came out with strong performances by the entire back line and looked more organized than in previous games.

Last year Wellesley beat Babson 1-0 in overtime but this year only managed to squeeze out one point for the day.

Tomorrow the Blue head to Maine to play Bates College of the NESCAC. Last year Wellesley lost 1-0 to Bates and hope to have revenge this year! Check out twitter and/or facebook for game updates.

1-1 for the Weekend

Over the weekend we hosted our fourth annual Wellesley Invitational Tournament which we finished 1-1. Unfortunately, this was the first time since the tournament's inception that the Blue did not come out on top.

Saturday's game was a double over time win against UMass Boston in which Megan Turchi scored another one of her free kicks just outside the box. Although we were happy to pull off the win, at the end of the day we played nearly 110 min. of soccer and had to play less than 24 hours later against a fresh St. Lawrence team. Also scoring against UMass Boston was Ariel Chao, her fifth goal of the season!

Sunday's game was a much a faster pace that took a little getting used to but the Blue held their own for the most part. A few mental lapses and sore muscles caused the two goals to be scored. The first goal was scored in the first half and the game held at 1-0 for 86 minutes of play, until the Saints got their second goal of the match. Erin Simons, a junior defender and captain, controlled the back line all game and had a strong weekend overall.

Next up, Babson at home. First conference game of the year!