Tracy Ducar's first WUSA diary
By Tracy Ducar
May 22, 2001
Hello WUSA fans! Tracy Ducar here in the first of four diary entries.
I am currently in flight from San Jose to Raleigh/Durham. Yup, I am heading home to North Carolina for the weekend! Our team doesn't play again until May 27th, so Coach Hoffman granted us a few days off!
Last night we played the CyberRays and unloaded with four goals to win 4-2! We were very happy with our performance as a team and thrilled to come away with four critical points on this road trip, (one point from our 2-2 tie versus DC and three points for the win over the CyberRays).
We have generated quality scoring chances in all of our games so far this season except in our game versus Atlanta, but just haven't been able to find the back of the net....until last night. Finally, it seemed like everything was clicking on offense for us. We did a good job of pressuring their backs and forcing turnovers as well as finding the seams in their flat-back three.
It was also a plus for us to have four different players score, Bartling, Hucles, Lilly, and Mellgren! And we were able to come up with this win without two of our best players, our two Germans, Bettina Wiegmann and Maren Meinert. Everyone knew it would take a team effort to win without them and stepped up to fill the void.
In regards to the CyberRays....I was most impressed by their unrelenting effort. They were down 4-0 at one point and never died. Remarkable! That is a testament to their character and team pride. They could have easily packed it in for the day and given up, but they didn't. It was a fun game to watch with both teams having lots of quality scoring chances in both halves.
Karina LeBlanc was solid in goal for us and made several good saves on dangerous crosses and they were also a bit unlucky hitting the post a few times and had a few near misses. However, they never stopped attacking and late in the second half finally broke through and Brandi stuck a nice header in on us from a corner kick.
Then the last 15 minutes got even more interesting! Karina went down with cramps in her calves, so I was subbed in with no warning just when the CyberRays were surging. Our team was starting to look a bit frazzled and shaky under their pressure and the crowd helped fuel the CyberRays' fire with their cheers. In my brief stint I had several saves and we hardly made it into their half. And once again their pressure forced us to crack and Sissi got into our box and drew a PK. I had a strong feeling that Brandi was going to shoot to my left, so I went left, but she calmly placed her shot to my right off the post and in. Final score 4-2.
Now it is on to our break! Almost all of our players are heading to their homes to visit family and friends before heading back to Boston to resume training on Monday. This is our first break since the beginning of April and I think it will give everyone's bodies a much needed break and everyone should come back refreshed and ready to head into our upcoming three-game home stand. Next up Philly, New York, and the Atlanta rematch!
So what am I going to do on my break? Well, I am looking forward to returning to my home and spending some quality time with my husband! :-) Actually, I have been very fortunate thus far and Chris has been able to come to four of our five games. He is my #1 fan and I love having him at my games. He helps me stay positive, cheers for me, supports me, and even helps coach me. I am lucky to have such a great husband who will travel all across the country to watch his wife play! Instead of the NFL, NHL, MLB, or MLS "Wives Club" we have the "WUSA Husbands Club". Now that's a role reversal! :-)
My big plans for the weekend? To start, I will definitely will be reclining comfortably tonight on our huge sofa watching the season finales on "Must See TV". I am a huge "ER" fan, so count on me being glued to the set. Tomorrow I will head to my old gym at UNC and get in a hard cardio and lifting workout. Just because we are on break doesn't mean I don't workout! Gotta stay fit! I will follow that with a much needed massage for my decrepit back and then some gardening.
Yep....you heard me right, gardening! You may find it hard to believe but I am an avid gardener. Since I haven't been home in over a month there will be lots to do....trimming, weeding, pruning, Miracle-Growing, etc. Go ahead and laugh, everyone does. No one expects that this hard-core goalkeeper has a softer side. Yes, under those grimy goalkeeper gloves is a green thumb! Just one of my many hidden talents.
Saturday will start with a solid run through the neighborhood and then Chris and I are going to go take in the Carolina / DC rematch at Fetzer Field. Plus I am sure I will have to get my fill of good Chapel Hill cuisine and somehow find a way go to all my favorite digs.....411 West, Pepper's Pizza, Crook's Corner, Squids, Pyewacket, Wellspring.....I don't think there will be enough time for all the eating I need to do! There are just too many good restaurants in Chapel Hill!
And Sunday? A day of pure rest before flying back to Boston.
Coming up in diary #2: Once practices start up again I will have more fun stories about my talented teammates....the "Splash Sisters", the "Germs", the "Spokane Duo", etc., instead of boring you with my stories of gardening. :-) And we will play Philadelphia on the 27th, so I will be sure to tell you all about our first encounter with the Charge!