Tyresö FF, Birthday, and Farewell...sort of...

An early 7 am wake up this morning for our second game against Tyreso FF. Of course, we were totally okay with waking up at that hour because that meant one thing: breakfast. Making sure not to eat too much before the game, but definitely eating enough, we left around 8:30. Mike was ready to load the bus and we had our game face on. Not sure what competition to expect as they had been warned not to underestimate us from the first team we played. We had heard that this team was better than the last, but we were ready for anything. The drive to the field consisted of Emily singing some Hannah Montana while the rest of us either tried to ignore her or sing along. We arrived to the field, put on our gear, and got ready. Warm up was serious and focused, making sure we were on our toes and breaking a sweat. Finally, it was game time. Wearing all white, we stepped onto the field and the game was underway. The first 20 minutes were played pretty close but by halftime we were up 6-2, and it ended 11-2!! We had goals from Emily Jorgens (3), Hannah (2), Michelle (2), Maggie (1), and Kelsey (3). Needless to say, we were pretty excited! Also today was Lance's birthday so it was a great present for him. Once we mingled with the other team for a little bit and took a picture, we were off to the hotel to shower and have some free time before our farewell dinner that night. Some of us went shopping for gifts and souvenirs for friends and family back home while others went to Stockholm's beautiful Vasa Museum. After a couple hours of walking around the busy scene of Stockholm, with sore feet, we headed back to the hotel to rest and get ready dinner that night. Our tour guide had picked an amazing place for this dinner located right next to the docks on the Baltic Sea (where we took amazing pictures with a beautiful sunset background... although some hooligans on jetskis tried to splash us!!). This restaurant was (in my opinion) the best restaurant we went to all trip. We had the choice of chicken, beef or salmon and I think that was the best salmon I've ever had...and I'm a picky eater when it comes to fish. To end the dinner, we had rich ice cream and strawberries, while singing a very, very Happy Birthday to our awesome coach, Lance. After that, Gary Donnan administered the "butt bump," a Canadian tradition where you bounce the birthday person on their bottom the number of times equal to their age. A whole 29 times for Lance! ;) We slowly made our way to the bus, not quite ready to leave the amazing sunset setting over the Baltic Sea. We eventually made it back to the hotel, singing Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls (thanks to Owens iPod) the entire way! :) Tomorrow we'll be attending the Euro Cup Final, Germany vs. Norway! How sweet is that?! -Robin Lipinski, sophomore