Sept. 10, 2001

Senior Debbie Lieberman returns for the second entry of What's Up With Women's Soccer during the regular season.

By Debbie Lieberman

A)Walking up a downward escalator.

B)Running on a tread mill.

C) Taking 17 shots and not scoring a goal.

D)All of the above.

Question: Which of these three events occurred last Thursday night?

If you answered D, you are correct. Well, in a matter of speaking at least.

No, there was no escalator, and No, there was no treadmill involved, but yes, we tried and tried to go somewhere and do something, and it just wasn't happening. All that was expended was a whole lot of effort.

Richmond 1, Maryland 0. That's what the score said after 90 minutes of soccer.

After two solid wins under our belt, we were confident in our team's capabilities. We scored more goals in two games than we scored for most of the games last fall season. A new team was on the field. One not to be reckoned with.

The Soccer Gods, however, were not with us on this warm September evening. The reminder of our loss to them a year ago fueled our hearts. So what happened when we came out in the first half? We stalled? Apparently so. At the end of the first half it was 0-0. Instead of that fuel kicking in right away, it took us until the second half to get the circulation flowing and the rhythm of the game going.

We came into the second half like a totally different team. The ball was knocked around a bit more from player to player. Shots were taken, but no goals.

A stop light found it's way onto our road to victory. Richmond scored midway into the the 2nd half. The ball kicked off again, and the light showed green. Unfortunately, we never reached our destination. Fighting hard, with a whole lot of heart, 90 minutes were up, and we were left unfulfilled. We did not put the ball in the net.

Sometimes things don't work out. We learn from them, grow, and make them work out the next time. I believe this is the case with our team. Next time, there will be no red lights, no stalling, and we will walk away having reached our ultimate destination: victory.