Aug. 26, 2009

Marist Women's Soccer Blog Photos - UPDATED 8:04 P.M. PT - SATURDAY

Fans can follow the Marist women's soccer team's road trip to California from Wednesday, Aug. 26 - Monday, Aug. 31. The blog will include commentary from each day in San Francisco and Davis, Calif. The Red Foxes will take on the University of San Francisco on Friday, Aug. 28 at 10 p.m. ET, and will take on the UC Davis Aggies on Sunday, Aug. 30 at 3 p.m. ET. Both games will be covered on GoRedFoxes.com with a Live Blog.

During the blog I will try to keep in mind the time change and indicate eastern time/pacific time. As always, feel free to send any comments or questions which can be answered in the blog to Marist Assistant Sports Information Director Andy Alongi at Andrew.Alongi@Marist.edu.

4:07 a.m. ET/1:07 a.m. PT - We have departed from the Beck Place parking lot, and good news, everybody from the team showed up on time.

After a quiet bus ride, which I slept most of the way, we arrived at JFK airport at 6:26 a.m. ET. There was some confusion about which terminal Jet Blue, our flight provider, was located in. After a tour of terminals 1-6 we found our way to the terminal.

7:45 a.m. ET/4:45 a.m. PT - Check-in went smooth and we are now sitting at the gate. While I have a moment I will give you some insight into today's itinerary.

3:12 p.m. ET/12:12 p.m. PT Arrival to San Francisco

5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT Arrival Holiday Inn Express at Fisherman's Wharf

6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT Team run at Crissy Field

8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT Dinner

So it is shaping up to be a day of travel. As for the rest of the day, the San Francisco Giants are amidst a six-game homestand and are in game two of a three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks. My goal is to get to AT&T Park for one of the two games with the D-Backs.

We'll talk again from San Fran.

2:16 p.m. ET/11:16 a.m. PT - The team has landed in San Francisco. It wasn't a terrible flight, kind of enjoyable actually. Jet Blue offers Direct TV and satellite radio in every seat, so everyone took full advantage of that, after taking naps.

We boarded our bus, and our driver Henry brought us to the Holiday Inn Express at Fisherman's Wharf. As we pulled up, we were quite surprised to find a protest at the Hyatt right across the street. As the players got off the bus Kate Fox was bobbing her head, looked at me and said that the protest jingles were quite catchy.

The team placed its orders for dinner at a local sandwich shop. Assistant coach Brendan Lawler is on the way to drop them off before the team run/practice.

That's where we are off to now.

I'll check back later with some photos from practice and the protest if possible.

6:16 p.m. ET/3:16 PT - The team wrapped up practice at Crissy Park. It was a conditioning workout with sprints and distance running. During the sprints, a dog decided to quit on its walk right in the path where the ladies were running. After a few minute delay, the dog realized it was in the way and moved on with its day and owner. While the team was on the 20-minute run I noticed a collection of random events at the park, which was right on the bay.

There was a group of about 30-40 people playing frisbee, and when I turned around just a minute or two later, athletic trainer Diana Preistmann noticed that all of the players were gone. Also there were about a dozen dogs that were unattended, all leash free (I guess things are different on the west coast). The thing I found most peculiar was the fact that there were children riding bikes that were not being supervised by adults. To each his own I guess.

We are back on the bus now, heading towards the hotel. Trying to get to that Giants game next. I'll bring the camera when I get there and take some pics.

THURSDAY

I woke up to some comments from former MCTV president Dan Carruthers and sports director Sean Fox. It appears they are looking for video from the trip. While I agree this would be a great addition to the blog, we are working on adding the technology to our department, and therefore do not have a camera on this trip. For now, stick to the photo gallery for your images from the trip.

10:03 a.m. ET/7:03 a.m. PT - Well last night I didn't make it to the Giants game, all the travel caught up with me after dinner. But today is a day of sightseeing in San Francisco. Breakfast is coming up in an hour, and then we are off for the day. Here is the outline for today (All times PT):

8:00am Breakfast 10:00am SF Trolley Tour 12:30/1:00pm Lunch 2:30pm Depart for USF Field - Negoesco Stadium

3-5pm Training at Negoesco Stadium 7:00pm Dinner

I'll have the camera with me all day. I will post pictures whenever I get the chance, adding to the same gallery.

3:29 p.m. ET/12:29 p.m. PT - I have returned to the hotel from a morning of seeing the sights of San Francisco. After breakfast the entire team took a trolley tour through many of the notable spots in San Fran. We went through Little Italy, Chinatown and the financial district to name a few places.

Before the trolley left, there was a pair of street performers on the sidewalk by the station. With "Thriller" by Michael Jackson playing in the background, Alexandra Lauterborn took it upon herself to challenge the silver street performer to a "dance off." At that point the street performer broke character and began speaking. Ali continued to "thriller dance" about the square with no concern for the silver man's comments. The silver man did not partake in the dance off. (Photos to come later).

Marist Women's Soccer Team 1, San Francisco street performers 0.

Out tour guide and bus driver Devin educated us about the roads and San Francisco, and how us New Yorkers could not handle driving on the west coast because they had "too many rules here." I was moderately offended by his comments.

The tour began by telling us about many of the notable sights we would see throughout the tour including the house from the film "Mrs. Doubtfire." Devin never pointed the house to us. The trolley came to its first stop across the street from the country's largest Macy's. Four players got off to explore what I will call the shopping district of San Francisco. They were Jennifer Orlando, Merrilynn Esteve, Teresa Ferraro and one other player went to explore the stores. I hope they make it back in time for practice this afternoon.

When the tour ended I took a walk to Pier 39 to catch a glimpse of the seals. A couple seal fights later, I had my fill of the animal. What I couldn't wrap my head around while I was there was how the seal came to be. I guess what I am asking is, what is the origin of the seal? Feedback on this would be appreciated.

I walked through Pier 41 all in anticipation of lunch at my favorite west coast burger joint. You guessed it. In & Out Burger. I had lunch there, a cheeseburger and fries and an x-large Coca-Cola. It's a two-handed beverage due to its size.

Well that's where we are at now. Practice is coming up fast, only an hour or so away. I'm going to update the photo gallery now with new photos so be sure to take a look when its down.

Talk to you after practice. Oh and by the way, I'm going to the Giants game tonight. So get back here at the latest tomorrow morning for those pictures too.

9:15 p.m. ET/6:15 p.m. PT - We have returned from practice and the team is beginning to get ready for dinner. On the other hand, I am getting ready to head out for the Giants and Diamondbacks game at AT&T Park.

During practice the team worked on its defense. They warmed up with some short passing drills and worked into some games that were about ½ the width of the field. Then they played on a 40-yard field that was narrowed as a means to create scoring opportunities and commotion in front of the net. Throughout the course of the games, Coach Roper played in the central midfield and the athletic training staff and I met a few new friends.

About half way through practice, a man walked in who obviously did not look familiar to us. He sat down near a few of our injured players and began to watch practice. At about 4:30 p.m. PT, we found out that he played rugby in some capacity at the University of San Francisco. A slew of other guys showed up and the bunch began warming up for some sort of physical activity with a rugby ball. The group of people that appeared on the field did not have the most athletic builds, but they appeared to have the effort which is always a plus.

Minutes before 5 o'clock, the coach showed up and began to instruct the beginners on how to pass a rugby, starting with the most basic of skills. He said "you have to crawl before you walk." When we left practice the group was still "crawling along" on the field.

Upon boarding the bus, our new driver Troy took us on a slight detour on the way back to the hotel. We drove by the house that was displayed as the home on "Full House," which sparked the most excitement I have seen or heard in a long time. Kathryn Hannis even said she was going to take her last two pictures of the trip of the house (because her memory card was full).

We returned safe and sound and will regroup with our very credible bus driver Troy tomorrow afternoon. I'm off to the Giants game. I'll post some pictures from practice and the game in the morning, along with a preview for the weekend (as a separate release).

FRIDAY

11:38 a.m. ET/8:38 a.m. PT - We have reached the proverbial "hump day" of our trip on Friday morning. Its game day here in San Francisco as Marist will take on the San Francisco Dons at 7 p.m. PT (10 p.m. back home). Here is today's itinerary for the team and then I will give you a run down on what you can expect from GoRedFoxes.com all day long (all times PT).

8:30am Breakfast (at hotel), time to walk around area 12:20pm Depart for USF Field 1-2:30pm Training at Negoesco Stadium 3:00pm Pre-game meal 5:20pm Depart hotel for Negoesco Stadium 7:00pm Game v USF 10:00pm Dinner

As for me I will be posting a weekend preview online shortly, and preparing the Live Blog for tonight's match. The blog will begin at approximately 9:45 p.m. ET/ 6:45 p.m. PT. Stay up and follow the match right here on GoRedFoxes.com.

On a completely different front, I did get to the Giants game last night and sat in the center field bleachers. When I left in the top of the eighth, the Giants were down 9-0 to the Arizona Diamondbacks. All told, it was a very nice ball park with many similarities to CitiField back in New York. In the outfield they had a lot of activities geared towards children, including a wiffleball field and a playground with slides.

With that said, let me get started on all these other things so you can have all the information you need leading up to tonight's Marist vs. USF women's soccer match.

6:50 p.m. ET/3:50 p.m. PT - We have returned from our walk through before tonight's match and are about to start eating our pre-game meal from Boudin Sourdough. Sandwiches all around. Jennifer Orlando and Melanie Matera are trying to get everyone's pickles.

Earlier in the morning the team went to Sausalito, a Mediterranean village just over the Golden Gate Bridge. One notable sighting as I was told: the team bumped into Marist alum Dan Mahoney '69.

During the work out the team worked on only half the field as the other half was receiving maintenance prior to the first event at Negoesco Field this season. They worked on possession and free kick plays. At the end of the workout as the team went to obtain the balls, it was learned that one had gone over the fence into a patron's yard. When Coach Roper crawled under the fence to rustle the ball from the trees, she was met with some less than desirable comments from the homeowner. They ranged from paraphrased comments such as I will sick my dogs on you, and get out of my yard to others. In the end she got the ball back. The action shot can be seen in the photo gallery, picture #43.

I leave you to eat and follow the rest of the Marist women's volleyball live blog presented by my colleague Mike Haase.

12:54 a.m. ET/9:54 p.m. PT - We are leaving Negoesco field after the game, a 2-0 loss. Check out the recap if you didn't have the chance to follow the live blog: http://goredfoxes.cstv.com/sports/w-soccer/recaps/082909aaa.html.

After the game I met Kate Fox family, and they asked me a variety of questions about the new coverage provided by GoRedFoxes.com. They were thrilled with all the coverage and the fact that they "got to meet the blogger!" We spoke about the website's newest additions including CoverItLive Blogs and the B-Line. It turned into the discussion of where are you from and how my hometown has a stellar badminton program. I then proceeded to give Mr. Fox a lesson on the tactics of the backhand serve. From here the details would just be boring, so the rest will remain between him and I.

The whole family was a bunch of Marist alums; needless to say the most welcoming people you will ever find. It was great to see a number of families made the trip out to support the team thousands of miles from home.

Sights are now set on breakfast tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. local time. Training is scheduled after and then a trip to Marist women's soccer class of 2006 Kat Murray's home in Plesanton, Calif.

SATURDAY

12:52 p.m. ET/9:52 a.m. PT - We have a pretty nice little Saturday planned. Here is today's itinerary:

9:00am Breakfast 11:30am Depart for training

12:00-2:00pm Training

3pm Arrival at Kat Murray's Home, Class of 2006

Not sure how much more we will get to post today. But at least you have the outline for what is planned. The only other thing that might get added is a quick stop at Treasure Island, so we can see the city lit up at night. According to Troy the credible bus driver, it is a pretty cool thing to see. Should we get there I'll be bringing back the photos later on.

Time to get this Saturday started...

10:39 p.m. ET/7:39 p.m. PT - The team wrapped up training around 2:45 local time and we took the short trip over to the Murray home. It is in a very nice residential area in Pleasanton, Calif. As we pulled up in the cul-de-sac, there were balloons in the front yard. As we were all welcomed to their home, we walked into the living room and saw there were a wide array of appetizers on the dining room table. Everyone began eating right away.

A group went out into the back yard, while others remained in the living room in the air conditioning. That's where I set up shop. I had my seat, food and drinks. I was all set for a nice afternoon.

As the time went by, I noticed that some of the heads were beginning to drop as the players were taking some cat naps in shifts. Around 4 p.m., we put the TV on to find our best option on VH1 Classic: a four-and-a-half hour movie about the Jackson 5. I would sum it up as a horrible epic film.

After an hour of the flick, the main course was served, which consisted of ravioli, chicken, salad, bread and a few other dishes which I am drawing a blank on. Throughout dinner, I couldn't take my eyes off the TV because the movie was quite entertaining. Kate Fox, Jamie Balzarini, and Johnny the student trainer were also in and out during the course of the afternoon.

Right now we are on the bus travelling towards Treasure Island to check out the night skyline of San Francisco. To say the energy level is high would be an understatement. I guess that's what you get for giving college kids sugar and putting them on a bus. Be back later with some pics...

10:51 p.m. ET/7:51 p.m. PT - Our travels have come to a close in the bay area as we have arrived at the San Francisco International Airport. We are stationed at Gate A12 as we wait for our plane to leave. The scheduled departure time is 10:30 p.m. PT.

We got through another quick and efficient check-in. When I was on the second moving walkway, an announcement came over the PA system. It said, "Jaclynn Sabia please return to security, Jaclynn Sabia to security."

Turns out she forgot her government issued photo ID. She went back with Johnny and Nicole Kuhar to pick it up.

As our travels have come to a close a lot of the girls who were not mentioned in the blog asked what they had to do to get it. So I hope I don't forget anyone, but here goes nothing...

Kate Fox, Brendan Lawler, and Annie Goor.

I want to take this time to thank each of you for this trip. It was truly memorable and I am looking forward to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships at the end of October.

I will let you know when we have landed at JFK tomorrow morning.

MONDAY

7:40 a.m. ET - We have landed safely at JFK in Queens and are en route back to the Hudson River Valley aboard our JTR bus. I can't really say I know what went on during the flight because I slept most of the way. Thinking about it now, it's about 5 a.m., and I think many people out there are still sleeping. The team is attempting to make the transition back to east coast time.

This will be my last post for the trip. At this time I would like to thank the team and coaches, for bringing me with them on the trip, the fans who made the trip out to California, and the fans for reading the blog.

Good luck to the team on the first day of class, and thank-you for reading.