Postcard from Finland: July 19
After starting in a 1-0 win over Norway in the opening match of the 2007 Nordic Cup in Vassa Finland, U.S. Under-21 youth soccer national team participants Kelsey Carpenter and Stephanie Logterman update the Longhorn faithful on their whereabouts in Finland. Hello Longhorn Fans!!! Good news -- there is so much to update y'all on. We had a scrimmage on Monday against a women's professional club (FC Sport), and we won 5-0. Kelsey had a great goal and we played very well. Tuesday morning we had a light training session and then had the afternoon off. A group of us decided to go and explore the city. We went to the beach, which is about a 25-minute walk from our hotel. While we were there, we saw Santa...wearing a Speedo!! I always wondered what he did all summer long. On our way back, we stopped in an open air market in downtown Vaasa. It was rather empty. I assume it was because it was Tuesday. The only stands open sold fruits and vegetables. Wednesday was our first Nordic Cup game against Norway. While the weather was not ideal -- cold, wet, and windy -- we managed to overcome these obstacles and win 1-0. Norway put up a good fight as it was 0-0 at halftime, but after many chances, we finally put one away. We played in a town about an hour away from Vaasa. After the game, the town gave us boxes of tomatoes and cucumbers. It was probably the most interesting post game gift Kelsey or I have ever received. Today we had another light training session in the rain. Afterwards we got in the pool to do some recovery activities. The afternoon was ours again to do what we wanted. Most of us got massages and took long naps. The nasty weather puts us in kind of a coma...all we want to do is curl up in bed and sleep. After dinner, we had a draft to determine the teams for our mini-golf tournament tomorrow. We are all eagerly awaiting the tournament because we will have the opportunity to get out of the hotel and be competitive at something other than soccer. Look out for our next postcard after we play Sweden on Sunday. Hook 'Em! Kelsey Carpenter and Stephanie Logterman
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