Tracy Ducar's final WUSA diary
By Tracy Ducar
Boston, 16 June 2001
Hey! Back again for my final diary entry.
Last week was a long and tiring week. We played Atlanta on Wednesday and battled to a 1-1 tie. Karina played in goal and did well, while I had the evening off. We went down a goal in the first half and it was looking like much of the same for the Breakers, but we rallied and Maren scored a great goal on a free kick in the second half to secure the tie. We didn't get the win, but it was nice to finally get a point on the board after two previous losses. It was a good sign going into our weekend game versus the Spirit.
Then the following day the players who played in the game just did a light jog and stretch on their own to expedite their recovery while the rest of us trained. That evening we made the long flight out to San Diego. I think the Boston to San Diego direct flight may be one of the longest continental flights that exists and when you add on top of that numerous delays, it makes for a very long evening. Lucky for me I sat with the only other player who couldn't sleep on that flight, Jen Tissue. So we chatted, watched the movie, and played games.
On Friday in San Diego we trained and then had the afternoon off. Their home field, Torero Stadium, at the University of San Diego is beautiful. The grass is perfect and plush and the stands come right up to the field on three sides creating a perfect playing environment. There is one major drawback to their field though, (this seems to be an unfortunate trend in many of the WUSA stadiums), it is too narrow. A narrow field tends to cramp play and thus games sometimes become a bit sloppier. It is harder to possess a ball with 22 players vying for it in a smaller area. Also, as a goalkeeper facing Shannon MacMillan's laser corner kicks, I hate having the corner kicks so much closer. She can really drive that ball across on corner kicks and make a goalkeeper's life miserable. :-)
Most of our players spent the afternoon shopping at the local mall, but a few of us decided to head for something we couldn't get back in Boston....Jamba Juice!!!!!
Jamba Juice is the best smoothie bar in the whole United States.....trust me I have tried most and no one even comes close. Every time I go to California I have to hit a Jamba. Jamba Juice is to California what Starbucks is to Seattle. They are on every corner. I wish it was like that back here on the East side! Okay, I'll admit I have found the one lone, small Jamba Juice mini-stand inside a Whole Foods Market in Cambridge. It is the only one in Massachusetts and there are none in North Carolina. Unfortunately, we are a bit slow to accept this healthy, delicious trend back here on the east coast. Bummer! I do know that "if you build it they will come" though....so if any of you out there are entrepreneurs, this is a jackpot just waiting to be tapped into.
One of the nice things that the San Diego team did for us, while we were in their neck of the woods, was to provide us with a team liaison, Alice. The job of the liaison is to meet, greet, and host the visiting team. Alice was with us for our entire stay and was at our disposal. She was super nice and extremely helpful. She drove us wherever we needed to go and brought us fun snacks everyday, as well as making sure our buses were on time and all the other little details. Thanks, Alice! We have not had liaisons on our other road trips, (or not that I have noticed), and I am not even sure that we provide a liaison for visiting teams when they come to Boston. I thought it was a nice touch....thanks San Diego for being so well organized.
Unfortunately, game day wasn't as fun as Jamba Juice day. It was a typical, beautiful, sunny, So. Cal day and the crowd was great, but the Breakers were not. We lost 3-1. :-( San Diego played a great game. At the time they were trying to overcome a losing streak as well as us and they came out with much more desire to win than we did. And that was what it came down to....they played harder and with more passion than we did.
I'm not going to lie, it is hard to lose so many games in a row, but we have to find a way out of this rut. We had two team meetings after the game in San Diego and hopefully we will find the cure by this weekend. We are training hard and giving it our best effort in every game, but we need to find that killer instinct in all of us. And on top of that we will need to do it without the help of our foreigners.
Maren, Bettina, Dagny, and Karina have left us to play with their national teams. Karina, who plays for Canada, will only miss one game, but the others will be gone a month and miss three games. OUCH, that hurts! Maybe this is just the spur we need to kick us into gear! We have some solid reserve players who are looking to make their mark and prove themselves, so that might just be the key!
In life beyond soccer this week, a group of Breakers trekked out to the new Six Flags New England in Springfield, Mass., on Monday. Keri Raygor, Meotis Ericson, Jen Tissue, and Mary Hustwayte, (our super equipment manager), took advantage of our day off and hit all the good rides. Their favorite was the "Superman" coaster. Apparently, according to Jen, it rises 200+ feet before dropping almost straight down, or as she described it, "beyond vertical...negatively", but Jen is that possible? Sounds pretty extreme to me. :-) I think I am going to have to drag my husband, Chris, out there one of these days.
Finally, to wrap up my last diary I'll end with another 'little known fact' about myself. Not only am I super competitive on the field, but off the field I may be worse! I love to play any and all games. Cards, liar's dice, Taboo, Scrabble, Pictionary, Trivial Pursuit, Outburst, Catch Phrase, Upwords, Backgammon, you name it--we have them all and play them regularly. Chris and I are the ultimate gaming couple. We have game nights regularly with our neighbors in Durham and have a great time. But look out if Chris and I are on opposite teams! Neither of us handles losing very well, so it gets ugly sometimes. :-) I think our favorite game has to be Taboo. If you've never played it, you need to. It is non-stop laughter.
And now that I am up here in Boston away from my husband and neighbors I have found some new game junkies on our team. In fact this Friday when Chris gets in from N.C. we are going to Jen Tissue and Kim Calkin's apartment for dinner and games. Look out "Team Spokane" here comes the "Dynamic Durham Ducar Duo". :-) Game on!