Diary

Megan
Fox

Past Entries

November 4, 2004

The teams met early on Thursday morning to begin what would prove to be an exciting and rewarding UAA weekend. We began the day with pumpkin cookies which were the first of many delicious Halloween treats.

The first stop in Boston was for, surprise, surprise, food. Sabo enlightened us over the bus intercom about various Bostonian landmarks while the men's team chanted from the back of the bus. After dropping off our bags at the hotel, it was time to eat again. Bundled up in Emory fleeces and sweatshirts the team headed out to find our next meal. We stuffed ourselves with Bertucci's scrumptious Italian cuisine.

Dooley (Mrs. Sanders) and many other parents were present on Friday morning for our game against Brandeis. The game was intense and both teams had multiple opportunities to score. We led early but Brandeis scored two goals and took the lead in the second half.

With only three players in the back, we scored the equalizer late in the second half, which sent us into overtime. After the first scoreless extra period, we picked up the intensity, and our effort was rewarded. Katie O'Brien took a shot from 35 yards out to win the game.

After the game we were given goodie bags and sweets for the ride to New Jersey. All the sugar made us thirsty so the bus stopped at Kmart. We walked away with water, a belly button ring, pretzels, Gatorade and a few fifty cent arm bands.

Saturday we went into New York City, where Sabo continued using the intercom to explain east and west and all the landmarks he knew. We were released on Fifth Avenue by St. Patrick's Cathedral for shopping and sight seeing. H&M, Trump Tower and Wonderful World of Disney filled our hour and a half nicely. We headed to lower Manhattan to see Ground Zero and other sights but the fog obstructed our view. Tired and sick of being in the bus we headed back.

Many players were with their families, so only eight of us ate dinner in the small New Jersey Italian restaurant. We were slightly underdressed but the atmosphere was welcoming and warm. The ostrich was delicious and Ali English made friends with a woman who owned skirts older than we are. When we returned to the hotel, we were informed that Megan Fox was still sick and would not be playing the next day. Despite the bad news, we were still optimistic and ready to face NYU.

As warned, the field we played on was, at best, horrible. "Fuzzy blacktop" was the phrase we decided best captured the conditions. The wind was so strong that the ball blew back at us and there was so little turf on some parts of the field that people were unable to cut without slipping. Everyone played with heart and sacrificed their bodies. Gail Bush broke her arm, Julia received a concussion and many others played through minor injuries.

Going into the weekend we knew that in order to have any chance of winning the UAA we needed to go back to Atlanta with two victories. It was looking like a victory would not come until overtime on Sunday. However with less than a minute left, we were rewarded a free kick, which Jamie English was able to convert into a corner kick. While Lindsay Murphy called out the remaining time in five-second intervals, our entire team pushed forward. Amy Bedford hit a perfect corner to Lauren Hudak for the game winning goal, with only 4.3 seconds remaining on the clock.

As we celebrated, players from the bench could not control themselves and ran onto the field to participate. It was a perfect ending to a long weekend. We came home tired, concerned for our injured teammates but most importantly proud of ourselves and victorious.

Megan Fox is a senior from Atlanta. She would love to answer e-mail questions from Emory recruits and fans.