Intern on the road with the Breakers (Part II)

Blog written by Boston Breakers media relations intern Jess Lander.

The remainder of my trip…

Here’s a little more that I learned from a few other players, mostly through dinner:

Sofia doesn’t like lemon cake and is one of those people at the restaurant that you’re embarrassed to be with because she asks a million questions and angers the server. At first I figured everyone was maybe exaggerating a little bit, but then this happened two out of two times I was around her. Everyone still loves her though, and the girl’s not ashamed, because end of the meal, she’s satisfied.

Abby is big into desserts, like myself.

Schmedes doesn’t like scary movies, and I don’t think she’s big on the rap/hip-hop scene. She’s got that small-town Texas sweetheart vibe, and you can tell she’s going to a really good mom one day. But then she breaks out this whole other ‘I don’t play nice’ side on the soccer field. It’s kind of awesome.

Nancy and I bonded over the fact that we’re city girls that need our sun. Sorry, Boston, but you just haven’t been up to par on the whole, warmth thing this season.

Mary-Frances Monroe, who’s already pretty tiny, is too sweet to get all bent out of shape when people ask her if she’s on a high school team because she has braces. I also give her a lot of credit for balancing like Lilly, for she spends a lot of her free time gearing up for her coaching season.

Christine Latham takes what we call “getting a taste of your own medicine” very well. The following paragraph explains:

After dinner, on the same day Latham and Alex had been going around jumping out of closets to scare people, a few of the girls schemed to get them back. This was mainly Sophia and Abby, aided by myself (I supplied the camera) and Becca. Mary-Frances and Luckenbill came along for the ride.

We decided to get back to the hotel early from dinner before the rest of the team. We went to the front desk, where Sophia proceeded to tell the desk attendant she was Alex Scott and lost her room key. (Note: Alex and Latham were rooming together). Becca and I helped because we had both actually forgotten ours in the room, and needed new ones anyway. Sophia had also conveniently forgotten her ID. I’m not sure what it says about the security of the hotel because Sophia got what she needed and we proceeded to the floor the team was on and tried different doors until one opened. Abby and Sophia hid in the shower while the rest of us lurked in the hall way, quite suspiciously, and waited for them to get back. Latham was the lucky one who went to the room first, and well they scared the pants off of her. Maybe, I’ll post the video. She took it pretty well, I think we must have replayed it like thirty times, for her reaction turned out to be better than any of the ones she and Alex had gotten earlier that day.

The next day was game day. I got out to see a bit of Saint Louis, which I thought was kind of a cool city. The game itself was again, disappointing. It’s never fun to watch the other team celebrate and pour water on each other when they clinch the playoff spot you thought you would walk away with that night. It’s amazing how invested you can get in a team you don’t even play for. It’s also exhausting. The staff spent the rest of the night discussing the team for hours, and figuring out every possible scenario to determine our chances to make play-offs. For you fans who are wondering, here’s a breakdown:

If we beat L.A. on Sunday, we’re automatically in.

If we lose to L.A. on Sunday, we’re out unless Sky Blue FC miraculously loses both of their last games, or loses one and ties one.

If we tie, things get very complicated and depend a lot on other results.

We’re lucky because Sky Blue FC and the Freedom (the two teams in the running still with us) play each other. That can only work to our advantage, but all we can control is Sunday’s game. The results of the other two teams can alter whether or not we can home field advantage for the first game if we do win on Sunday.

Not following? Don’t feel bad, it’s very confusing. Just hope for a win on Sunday. The really good news, is they’ve beaten L.A. at home before, so there is no reason they can’t do it again.

This week at practice is going to be pretty intense. Tony is under more pressure than ever to find a line-up that will click. The Breakers biggest problem is finishing. They played well this weekend, but couldn’t ultimately find the back of the net. Without goals, you can’t win games. Ironically, they haven’t won since the National Team players were gone and the bench players really gutted it out. I have a feeling a lot of positions will be up in the air for Sunday’s game, so let the in practice battles begin! Be ready for some surprises.

There isn’t much else to talk about except my personal vent to Boston’s Logan Airport, which I swear I never leave on time or arrive to on time. My flight to Washington was delayed an hour, and our flight back was the same. Then once we were on the plane, we were delayed another hour on the ground. Bored, I called my mom and then got yelled at by a very angry flight attendant for holding up the flight when it was finally ready to leave. Go figure.