Terrier Tribune: Shannon Keefe Chapter 2 – “We Will”
Dear BU soccer fans,
After two hard-fought games at Michigan and Michigan State, the 2018 season is officially underway. Although neither game ended in our favor, there are a lot of takeaways that will help us heading towards Patriot League play.
We touched down in Detroit on Wednesday afternoon, just 36 hours before kickoff. The pregame jitters and excitement had already begun setting in as we loaded the bus for the hotel.
The Michigan and Michigan State trip was something pretty special not only because it was our first games of the season, but a lot of parents and family members would be road-tripping or flying out for the weekend. For some of my teammates, this was the first time they would see their families since they left home.
The day before an away game is pretty much the same every time. We have scout meeting at the hotel, pregame practice and a quick turn around for team dinner.
By quick turn around I mean a really quick turn around. There have been times we only had fifteen minutes to shower, change and be back on the bus for dinner; and it really is an accomplishment getting all thirty girls ready to go in less than 20 minutes! Chicken parmesan is usually mine, and half the team’s favorite go-to meal the night before a game.
Before we knew it, the most anticipated day of the year was upon us – Game day.
Everything we had worked for since last November would be put into this game, and what’s better than a season opener under the lights? Earlier in the day, we were fortunate to tour Michigan’s athletic facilities; including “The Big House.” Did you know Michigan Football makes anywhere between 5 and 8 million dollars every home game?
Since I have been on the team, University of Michigan would be the first Big 10 squad that we have played against. They were composed and very technical as a team, we fought hard and gave them a tough game. The final score was 3-1. Although we had come up short, the score was not an accurate reflection of how well we played against a very good team.
We regrouped and shifted our focus onto our next opponent: Michigan State. Coach expressed that it was going to be a much more physical battle and that all 30 of us needed to stay tuned in mentally in order to be successful. After a day off in Ann Arbor, we headed to East Lansing for another pregame practice before our second game of the weekend.
Our Sunday afternoon match was set for 1 p.m. and we were determined to put a couple goals up on Michigan State. Our mentality going in was to get the ball on the ground and move the defense to create attacking chances. Which we did, but State was able to convert their sole two chances at goal, and we struggled to finish any. The final score was 2-0.
The Michigan – Michigan State trip was a good experience for us as a team because it showed that we could run with two very good Big 10 teams, but we need to find the will to finish our chances and stay defensively sound. Our team mantra this year is “We Will” – and we will find a way to win, you can best believe that.
This Sunday, Sept. 2nd at 4 p.m. we take on UConn at home for the annual Terrier Tailgate. Hope to see you there!
Shannon Keefe