For my travel reflection, I will be writing about my experience traveling to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to play a soccer game. I am an athlete on the women’s soccer team at Longwood University, and this year we made the three and a half hour bus trip to play UNCC for an out of conference match. I was very excited, as one of my best friends who I hadn’t seen in a while currently attends Charlotte, and my parents were driving up for the game as well.
We left Longwood’s campus bright and early at 6am, in order to arrive with plenty of time to spare before our 12:30pm game. I, along with most of my teammates, slept through the whole ride there to make up for having to get up so early. We arrived in Charlotte around 9:30, and stopped at Einstein Bagels for a pre-game breakfast. While I did enjoy my delicious egg and sausage bagel, my mood was slightly dampened by the fact that it was cold and rainy outside. I usually love the rain, but it is certainly not the most pleasant weather for an outdoor soccer match.
After our delectable breakfast stop, we loaded back onto the team bus to drive to the UNCC campus to begin preparing for our game. When we arrived, we were led to where we were supposed to change and get ready, which oddly enough ended up being the men’s cross country locker room. After a motivational speech from Coach Dyer, we filed out of the locker room and onto the field to warm up for the game. It was still cold and rainy, but the weather could do little to dampen the electric energy and anticipation in the air preceding the match. Finally, it was time to play.
The starters took their positions on the field, the ref blew the whistle, and the action began. While we ended up losing 2-0, we played with the most grit and determination our team had shown all season. Charlotte, being a much bigger school and athletics program, was expected to blow us out of the water. However, they weren’t expecting the resilient Longwood team that they encountered on the pitch, and the UNCC coach even came up to us after the game to compliment us on our pure drive and urge to compete. While we may have lost, all of us, including our coaches, were proud of the performance we had shown.
After the game, I rushed to change into my travel suit and pack up my bag so that I would have time to say hi to my friends and family that had come to watch the game. My friends Kensley (my best friend in the whole world), Leila, and Anabel had come to the match, along with my parents. I hadn’t seen them since July, so I was extremely excited. Unfortunately, we only had time to quickly catch up and snap a couple pictures before I had to leave, but I was so happy I got to see them.
Finally, it was time to board the bus and start the long haul back to Longwood. While travel trips are exhausting, I am so grateful to have the ability to compete for my school and experience new cities and universities. Soccer has given me so many opportunities that I never expected, and even though we lost the match, I would not change anything about this experience.
