GSU

After a 3-0 start, we couldn’t wait to head down to Georgia to get our out of region trip started. We knew Georgia State would be a challenge, especially since plane travel and overnight stay traditionally causes some fatigue and discomfort amongst away teams. We flew into Atlanta Friday afternoon in order to practice that night at Georgia state. After a long day of travel, the team was eager to get out onto the pitch and loosen up the legs. GSU had beautiful practice and game fields, which caused excitement level amongst the team to rise even further. Friday night dinner may have been the best part of the trip. We stopped for authentic Atlanta barbeque for some southern cookin’, and even 4 trays of food ran out quicker than expected leaving some of the players disappointed and wanting more. The next day was the day a lot of us had been waiting for since the Holy Cross game. The Holy Cross game wasn’t our best performance and although we won, many of us were anxious to have the opportunity to show how much better we could really play. After the long wait, we arrived at the field an hour early. The field was lined and cut perfectly, and kick off was set for 7pm sharp. We came out strong and aggressive in what ended up being a very back and forth first half. GSU got the first two tallies on the score sheet within the first 30 minutes of play. We then responded with a goal five minutes before the half. At that point many of us watching the game thought we would be going into the half at the mark of 2-1, but we could not have been more wrong. One minute later GSU added a third goal, and one minute before the halftime whistle we answered with a great goal from center forward Will Cross. Conceding three goals in the first half was not what we had hoped for but the two goals we were able to score helped with our confidence. There was still plenty of positive attitude around the team about our opportunity to win the game in the second half. After a couple of adjustments, we came out out of the halftime break with chances and shots on goal coming almost every minute it felt like. GSU really had nothing going offensively for them, but stellar goalkeeping, and a bit of luck managed to keep us off the scorecard for the entirety of the second half. The 3-2 loss for us was very disappointing, but we knew we could take a lot of important lessons away from the game that would definitely benefit us later in the season. Coach reminded us about the importance of staying focused and disciplined early in games, because good division 1 teams will make us pay if we aren’t ready to play, as GSU did. We had to quickly forget about the loss because Clemson is next on the radar…and playing a top 5 team in the country requires our full attention and focus. Go Bruno!