Weekend Away in Colorado

This past weekend, the ONU Men's Soccer team traveled to Colorado for two games against top-ranked teams: Colorado College and the University of Texas at Dallas. Leading into the matches, Colorado College was ranked #7 in the country, and UT at Dallas was fresh off a great season, having made it to the NCAA playoffs. We knew going into these games that we needed a strong week of practice to be successful. Last season, Colorado College ended our season in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA playoffs, so a lot was riding on our first challenge of the weekend. To maintain our national ranking, our coaches stressed the importance of leaving with positive results in both games and reminded us that we couldn't afford a loss to either of these teams.

The trip started bright and early this past Friday as we traveled to the Detroit airport from Ada at approximately 2 a.m. Looking ahead, I knew it was going to be a long day, especially considering we would be playing later that day against Colorado College. After a two-hour drive, we finally arrived at the airport and were ready to take off at 6:30 a.m. Naturally, I took a very uncomfortable but much-needed nap during the flight. Once we landed, we headed straight to a walkthrough on the field and began mentally preparing for the game in just a few hours. Afterward, we had a "mandatory" nap scheduled, and I took full advantage of that opportunity. Around 5:30 p.m., we loaded the sprinter vans and headed to the field for our first test of the weekend versus Colorado College.

The game started off like a heavyweight boxing match, with both teams battling back and forth. They scored first near the end of the first half, but we eventually equalized in the remaining five minutes. The match ended in a tie, 1-1. This was still a significant result for us, as they were highly ranked and hadn't been scored on all year before our game.

On Saturday, we had to shift our focus to UT at Dallas and forget about our result from the day before against Colorado College. Going into the game, we all assumed it would be a cakewalk and that we would win by a significant margin. They had played on Friday as well but had lost to Emory College 4-1, who was not ranked at all. We entered the game overly confident and ended up with another tie after 90 minutes, 1-1. We remain 4-1-2 and left the weekend with two ties that we felt should have been won.

Fortunately, we woke up on Sunday and had the privilege of visiting the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. It was a wonderful way to end our weekend, and I truly enjoyed walking around with my teammates and observing the breathtaking scenery. We managed to complete the entire trail, which is approximately four miles, in about three hours. After hiking the trail, we were all hungry, sore, exhausted, and ready to head back home.

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend, and I had a great time in Colorado with my teammates. Although we didn't get the results we wanted and felt we deserved, we left the weekend with memories that will last a lifetime. Following these results, our team remains nationally ranked #2 in the region and #17 in the country. I look forward to sharing more about our journey as the season progresses!