Ute Trip Rewind: Finally to the Beach and Back to Argentina

Well, after the game and barbecue hosted by the Uruguayan team yesterday. We headed to the beach. The players were very excited to finally get to work on their tans. They had been talking about it since we left Salt Lake City. A few of them played a pick up game of soccer in the sand with some local guys. Our tour guide, Dario Stawski, joined in and helped the girls kick some behind.

Dario has done a fantastic job of working to make this a once in a lifetime experience. Dario is from Argentina. However, he played college soccer in New York at Adelphi University. And he lived in Miami for five years after that. Thanks, Dario!

After the beach, we took the boat back to Buenos Aires. The weather turned ugly and the boat ride was very bumpy. We didn't get back to the hotel until 1:30 in the morning.

Utes in Uruguay: Post-game reaction

We were able to catch up with some folks after the match today to get some reaction...First, we have senior Melissa Crespo's thoughts.



We also caught up with junior Katy Reineke and her father, Lawrence.

Utes in Uruguay: Now That is Some Hospitality!

After the game was over and a quick clean up, the team headed to CA River Plate, a local 1st Division club. The Uruguayan federation was very kind to hold a parillada, or BBQ. We went to the club meeting room and were greeted by the Uruguayan players, coaches, representatives of the federation and the staff of the River Plate club. The players sat at long tables across from each other and immediately hit it off. There was lots of laughing and joking, some trading of jerseys and back packs, etc. And some stories about life in each other's country. After a wonderful meal, Jorge Burgell, the president of the Uruguayan women's soccer federation, presented a uniform to our team and handed it to Paolo Marsenaro, our very own Uruguayan! He thanked us for the game and wished us well in the future. We had a traditional dessert, which had some citrus fruit covered with ice cream and pastry covering on the outside.

Then, Katie Brower, had to get up and do a dance as she had forgotten the soccer balls at the hotel before the first game. Katie got up to do her dance and asked for some music. Alyssa Toomey volunteered to help her out. Alyssa did her best imitation of Shakira and belted out "Hips Don't Lie" as she and Katie danced away! We have video footage of it all!

After dessert, both teams headed out to the field for some last photos and said "Ciao". We couldn't have had more gracious hosts!
Some other notes from the day:

Finally, A Home Game
The match marked only the third time ever that the Uruguayan women have hosted a game against a foreign team. The had greeted a select team from Venezuela and a club team from Argentina before this match. They were so excited to have the home game they made it a first-class affair. We played in the 2nd best stadium...and, in fact, almost got to play in the Centenario Stadium...the sight of the first World Cup...but a concert last week had ruined the field at the Centenario.

Training for the game
One of the most special things of the day was to see how seriously the Uruguayan team took the whole affair. They are in the middle of the summer break. Many of the players are working jobs. Their soccer clubs are not in season until April. So they trained for 5 weeks (on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings) just for this game.

Might As Well Help Out the Air Force Academy In My Spare Time
The Uruguayan coach, Alejandro Delatorre, has many hats to wear. He is a math teacher in the mornings. He coaches the women's team three evenings a week. And in his spare time, he coaches the Air Force Academy's university team on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Busy guy!

Can You Spare Some Players?
Uruguay is definitely up against it, both on the men's and women's side of soccer, when it comes to competing with the powers in South America. Uruguay has a population of 3 million people...very similar to that of Utah. Contrast that with Brazil, which has 250 million, or Argentina, with over 38 million...might be an explanation of some of the challenges the Urugayans face in growing their women's program.

Paola's Big Day

Ute senior midfielder, Paola Marsenaro, had a day to remember (as did all of us). Paola was born in Uruguay but moved with her family to the U.S. at age 5 in 1988. She finally returned and got to play in front of her grandmother, cousins, and family friends who all shouted loudly each time she touched the ball. Paola has been hampered a bit by a knee strain suffered late last fall, but started the game and played about 65 minutes of good soccer.

After the game, she was warmly welcomed by the members of the Uruguay team....she was interviewed by the local newspaper and TV station. She met with family and friends and became the "bell of the ball". We have some photos and a video with Paola and her family.
OLE P!

Ute Tripe Rewind: Utah 3 Uruguay 1 (Wednesday, March 19)

The Utes defeated la "Seleccion" Uruguay, 3-1 today at el Estadio Charrua in Montevideo before an enthusiastic crowd of about 400 people today. We fell behind after an unfortunate own goal in the 5th minute and trailed at the half, 1-0. Erin Dalley scored two second half goals and Chelsea Card scored one as we rallied for the win. The game was well played. The setting was fantastic. The Uruguayan team played hard and skillfully. The crowd was appreciative...and....we won!


Game Report

Starting Lineup:
Goalkeeper: Emalee Rogers (Amy Edman played the second half)
Defenders: Melissa Crespo, Amanda Sanchez, Christine Quinn, Nicole Cardon
Midfielders: Kiley Jones, Kelly Isleib, Paola Marsenaro
Forwards: Jen Christoffers, Erin Dalley, Lauren Hair

Substitutions: Addie Hair, Katy Reineke, Jena Roberts, Chelsea Card, Katie Brower, Danielle Sample

Did not play: Morgan Skeen, Alyssa Toomey (injured)

Goals:
Uruguay - 5' (own goal)
Utah - 52' Erin Dalley (Katy Reineke)
65' Chelsea Card (Jen Christoffers)
75' Erin Dalley (Lauren Hair)

The Utah soccer team scored 3 goals in the second half to erase a halftime deficit and defeat the national team of Uruguay, 3-1, in the second game of its South American tour. The game was played before 400 fans at the Charrua Stadium in Montevideo. The game marked a homecoming for Ute senior midfielder, Paola Marsenaro, who was born in Uruguay but had not been back since she left in 1988 at the age of five. Paola and the Utes were cheered on by her grandmother and other relatives on a very emotional day.

The Utes got off to a rough start as a ball that was crossed into the middle of the penalty box caromed off Nicole Cardon and into the net for an own goal. The early setback seemed to throw Utah off of its rhythm for a while. In the 13th minute, Erin Dalley got behind the defense but her shot was saved by the Uruguayan goalkeeper. In the 21st minute, a dangerous ball was sent in by Uruguay from a free kick, but Emalee Rogers did well to grab it in a crowd.
One minute later, Jen Christoffers had a good crack from 25 yards out, but it was knocked out for a corner kick. The Utes trailed, 1-0, at the break.

The Utes started quickly after the break. Katy Reineke smashed a free kick off the post from 20 yards out just one minute into the half. And just two minutes later, Erin Dalley headed a Kelly Isleib free kick into the goalkeeper's arms. In the 52nd minute, the Utes broke through as Reineke send a ball behind the defense from the left side. Dalley latched onto it and pushed it past the onrushing 'keeper for a 1-1 tie.

Utah played much better in the second half than the first period and seemed to wear down the hosts as the game progressed. An opportunistic play by Jen Christoffers in the 65th minute broke the tie. Christoffers stole the ball from a Uruguayan defender about 30 yards from the hosts' goal and sent it into the penalty box for Chelsea Card. Card took to swipes at it. The first was blocked by a defender and the second crawled into the near post for a 2-1 Utah lead.

Just ten minutes later, some nifty work by Lauren Hair along the right wing led to a third goal. Hair received the ball with her back to goal, then turned a played a beautiful through pass to Erin Dalley. Dalley got to the ball and lofted it over the goalkeeper and into the roof of the net for a 3-1 lead.

The hosts did not give up and had two nice chances to close the gap. In the 86th minute, a forward got behind the defense only to shoot wide. And in the 88th, Ute 'keeper, Amy Edman, came off her line to block another shot from point-blank range. Marsenaro had a chance to score in front of her family, but hit a free kick over the bar in the final minute.

The game ended with both teams happy to get the competition in. Women's soccer is just catching on in Uruguay. The players are in the middle of summer break. They had trained for five weeks just to prepare for this game, which marked only the third time a team had come to play in their country.

QUOTES:
Coach Manning - "What a special day for us! The game was very competitive and I was pleased with the way we finished the game. I thought we found a great rhythm throughout the second half and scored some very good goals. However, this was much more than a game for us. To see how important the game was for the Uruguay team...to have a home game is very rare for them... And to see how starved they are to improve their opportunities on the women's side..and to see how they welcomed Paola, their "sister" was unforgettable. We learned a lot about appreciating what we have here. And we are very motivated to help the Uruguayans to improve their team and the opportunities for women's soccer players in their country...truly unforgettable!"