SU reflections of a split in Utah

GOALSeattle.com welcomes Bellevue native and Seattle Prep graduate Maryann Boddy and the Seattle University Redhawks Women to our blog! Maryann will be 'guest blogging' all about the Redhawks Women for Seattle soccer fans this Fall.Our season opener came too early, 5a.m. in fact. To offset the cost of a dominant away schedule, we’ve opted for the early bird specials. As we boarded the plane bound for Ogden, Utah, everyone was dreaming (literally) of our first D1 win. Never underestimate the power of mental preparation - our visions of victory pulled us through a tight game against the Weber State Wildcats. Unaccustomed to the 5,000 foot elevation, and uncomfortable with the 85 degree heat (but fortunate to have been playing in a “cold front”), we jogged off the field at halftime in a scoreless game.

UPDATE: Redhawks draw 1:1 with Sacramento State

Already hyped up from sucking down some “energy Gu” at the break, the Wildcats’ goal 5 minutes into the second half fired us up even more. Less than two minutes later freshman Kassandra Riozzi opened SU’s D1 record books with her first goal in her first collegiate game. More important is the fact that her celebration is going down in my record books as one of the best I’ve ever seen - out of excitement I think she would have jumped on someone from the other team if Madison Collins wasn’t closer. Not long after Kara Kuttler snaked through the Wildcat defense to unselfishly gift wrap the ball to Jamie Coe’s right foot.

Our next game against the Utah State Aggies was a little more painstaking. Not even the halftime Gu could offset the temperature jump of about 10 degrees or the weary legs. Though we had more corners and more shots on goal the ball didn’t want to bounce our way. Home field advantage pulled through as the Aggies were awarded a PK for a questionable hand ball in the box. We responded by shifting to a more attacking formation, which understandably left us more vulnerable in the back. Unfortunately they were able to capitalize on the situation and lengthen their lead. However, unwilling to accept defeat we fought to the bitter end and managed to squash their goose egg with Coe’s goal in the 88^th minute.

Last weekend exemplified the heart of SU soccer for me. For as long as I’ve been around, and that’s a very long time, the team’s motto has been “never quit”. Going under in such a hyped-up first game can make anyone lose confidence, and it would have been really easy to throw in the towel when that second shot hit the back of the net in the 86^th minute. However, in both games we showed the true SU blue-collar fight to the end mentality. We’re proud for the way we responded to being scored on, and as disappointing as the loss was, we’re proud that we played to win. As excited as I am to be a part of this transition year, I’m glad to see that some things never change.