Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Goal Post by Brian Dooley
11/1/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 1, 2002
I'm Baaaaaaaack
It has been two weeks since I last wrote in the Goal Post. Time has become a casualty in our lives with the season coming to an end and the games flowing just one after the other. I managed to see my 3 ? year old son (Ciaran) play a peewee league game. He scored six goals. Four for his team and two for the other. I hope this is not a sign of things to come.
Our team has been on a tremendous tear the past few weeks. It is just fun to watch things fall into place. We have won seven in a row and 11 of the last twelve games. We managed to go for six games without giving up a goal until last night vs. Miami. Since my last entry into this literary collection, we have a 3-0 win over Stetson, a hard-fought 1-0 win over Samford and a 3-0 win over Jacksonville State.
Last Saturday we had a 1-0 victory over previously unbeaten Jacksonville. Trina Maso de Moya finished a great pass from Lisa Rife with 11 minutes to go for the win. This win put us tied for first place in the conference with Central Florida. Everyone is battling for a good seed in the tournament and this win gave us at least a second place finish. It was our first win over Jacksonville since I have been here.
This was also our Parents Weekend. The kids were excited and our play showed a great intensity. The next day we had our annual luncheon with the parents and the freshmen players have to come up with some gag gifts for the seniors. Last year we didn't have any seniors, so this year it was an interesting presentation to say the least. The girls game up with an individual poem for each of the seniors and had it framed. Melissa Cancio received a personalized sailor's hat to commemorate her family's trek to the US from Cuba. She now wears that hat with regularity. Tamea Wimmer was given a collection of Barbie items to go with her nickname of Big Barb. Trina Maso de Moya was given a stuffed animal and an actual game photo showing why she is known as the Jamaican Giraffe. Keep the tongue in Trina! There were a few other items that I am sure have some other meaning but I am not in the know, thankfully. The parents brought many dishes to eat and I went home with a full belly. If you who have seen me lately you know what I mean.
Last Monday was yet another first for our program. We had a win over a Big East opponent, University of Miami. It was a big step in our program. Trina scored a beautiful goal (I seem to say this all the time) in the 17th minute and we defended the lead until UM scored off a corner with about 16 left in the game. I haven't said that very much because that was the first goal we have given up in over 500 minutes! I thought we were in trouble because our legs were tired from the battle against JU two days earlier. It was at this time that our leaders took control and settled the game. We played our best 15 minutes of the game. We created three great scoring opportunities that forced the UM keeper to come up with three big saves. Then a free kick from 40 allowed us to set up a play. Dee Dee Castro sends another dangerous ball in the box and Trina gets bowled over from the defender and the ball bounces to Janine Aylward who calmly puts the ball in the back of the net with 2 minutes left. Molly Keating makes a great save with 20 seconds left to preserve the win. It was a tremendous team effort. The will to win was inspiring. The effort to win was amazing. This team has something special.
We are leaving this morning for our last game for the regular season. We are traveling again. This time to Gardner-Webb. They will be a difficult game. They have been very competitive and can score goals. We will be without Lauren Lucena and Tamea Wimmer. They were injured against Miami and we hope to have them back in time for the tournament next week. It never gets easier. I am sure that the girls who come in for them will make the best of this opportunity. Having said that, I can't wait for tomorrow.
