Scrimmage vs. Upper Iowa University

We had a good showing Saturday afternoon in our first preseason action-scrimmaging the Peacocks on the pitch at Upper Iowa University. It was a beautiful day, on a beautiful pitch (comparatively) and we played... well almost beautifully!

For our first outing, only three days into our preseason-we played beautifully. (How's that for a qualifying statement?)

Our defense (including gk) was strong,
our midfield was accurate
and our forwards were dangerous.
We played three 30-minute periods, starting three (almost completely) different squads. After coming off a shattered leg (last year's-first ER trip) Hannah Wright came out to play! We were all feeling a little cautious for her... but after coming off her line once... we couldn't stop her. It was great!UIU scored first. The Peacocks were quick and moved really well for each other. We could tell right off the bat that they have been practicing with each other for much longer than we have.

However, it didn't take long for us to find our rhythm... and when we did the rhythm was a fast-paced, upbeat tempo! So junior Kelsey Balk answered the Peacock call on a finish assisted by sophomore Dani Meirick. Thus ended the first period, 1-1.In the second period UIU scored first again, but sophomore Kendra Ledel lit up the scoreboard with two second-period goals to cap the scoring for the day. Ledel's patient, well-placed goals were assisted by sophomore Renee Weeks and first-year Molly "Mo" Ford.
Neither team scored in the third period, finalizing the score at 3-2 in favor of the Norse. The team looked good, and the gals felt good after the bout. All-in-all it was a beautiful day.

PRESEASON 2009

So the first few days of preseason are underway... and we already have some seriously memorable moments! Here are a few pics of the first day-from the wake up mile ...

with Dani Meirick running a 5:30 mile...

to our first ER trip of the season...
(FIFTEEN stitches and four hours later... her ear was good as new-well almost.)