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RHIAN'S SOCCER JOURNALS:

COQUITLAM CROWD & COMPLICATIONS: Women's squad in action

23rd November 2007

Well, the National Women's squad played a game in Coquitlam tonight against a Men's side, and it was not a pretty sight. We lost the game 2-0, but honestly, we could have been beaten by much more. These young men really dominated us.

The first half was just that we played bad soccer. We were literally beaten in every position on the field. Not good at all. We were trying out a new formation, but there is no excuse for the performance we put together. This was a match to forget.

We came out stronger in the second, and at least made a game of it. It was the least we could do to entertain the huge crowd who braved the cold to come out and watch. Unfortunately, there were no goals, for or against, in the second period; so, we will take this as an improvement in our performance, a slight positive, and run with it.

I thought it very interesting how many people came out to watch the game which was only advertised through a small entry on the Coquitlam Soccer website. This was the only notice that we were playing. The size of the crowd seems to show that there is still a good fan base for us, and let's hope they stay. Will they remain interested if we do not play some internationals at home?

I wish those people (no names), who don't think we are able to draw a crowd at home could have been in Port Coquitlam last evening. There were people surrounding the whole field, some spectators having to sit inside the fenced-in area just to have a view. This attendance would have been impressive on its own, but given the fact it was -5 Celsius outside, the crowd was just incredible - thank you to everyone who came to support us.

Before I leave the topic of last night's practice match, I need to give credit to the young men who played against us. They are a very good team. I am not sure the age group of their team, but I think that as Brit once babysat one of them, this may say it all. She's not that old herself!!

For the National Women's Team squad which played last night, there were many new faces out on the field. It was clear that each of them gave their all. With so many of Team Canada's core players out injured or studying at school, it is exciting to see some younger talent coming through the ranks. However, we are still at the baby step stages of our preparation for the Olympic Qualifiers, and thank goodness for that.

We will take what we can from this game, and throw the rest away- YUK!