Colorado University Athletics
Hello From Chile!
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Colorado junior Nikki Marshall is playing for the U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team at the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Chile. A three-time All-Big 12 Conference and All-Region selection, Marshall will be sharing her experiences throughout the World Cup which can run as long as November 19?December 7 in Chile.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Today we can call ourselves World Champions! We beat North Korea yesterday in regulation time 2-1. We scored both our goals in the first half and battled to hold them off in the second half. It was another tough game. They used a very direct style of play which was difficult to defend. Standing up on the podium after the game was surreal; a feeling I have never felt before. Surprisingly (ha ha) I could not control my emotion and I had tears of joy in my eyes. We sacrificed so much to be here and it all became worth it when that gold medal was placed around us. It was a great a tournament and a great moment in my life.
Overall this has been an incredible journey for me. We have been training for this single event for two years now and the entire experience has been unreal. I have traveled all over the world playing the sport I love and am passionate about. I competed in the final of the Pan American Games where I played against and met some of the best female soccer players in the world. I have been able to experience cultures in places like Brazil, Chile, England, and Mexico. I have made memories that will last me a life time. But perhaps the most remarkable part of this experience has been the people I have met and shared the experience with. I have made a third family here consisting of twenty unbelievable teammates, four impressive coaches, and nine wonderful staff members. Most importantly I have made thirty-three lifelong friends that have each impacted my life in a different way. For all of this I am so thankful and so blessed.
Tuesday will begin our very long trip back to the United States in hopes to be back by early Wednesday. It will be hard to say goodbye because these people have been nothing less than amazing to us. Nonetheless, we have been in Chile for nearly a month now and we are surely ready to come home. It will be strange to say goodbye to my family here as well. We have been living with and playing for each other, off and on, for the last two years and who knows where each of us will go from here. I will miss every one of them.
I want to thank everyone who has supported me through this event; I could not have done it without all of you. A special thanks to my family for being there for me every step of the way. And to my coaches and teammates at Colorado that have supported me and allowed me to take this opportunity in the midst of a great college season. Thank you all for everything. It has truly been a dream. Go Buffs and go USA!
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Friday, December 5, 2008
We are going to the championship! Yesterday we beat Germany 1-0 and are headed to the final. Our game was definitely our toughest one yet, but we scored in the first half and played solid defense to hold them off. They had a couple of dangerous shots but our keeper came up big. Our coaches were proud and we are extremely excited but now we must settle down and focus on the final. We are so close!
Our stay in La Serena has been great. The minute we walked off the plane there were dancers and singers there to greet us and the mayor made a lovely welcoming speech. We were so excited to be here because La Serena is like home to us. We were here, in the same hotel, for three weeks back in February. Maria, the owner of the tiny hotel, is wonderful but a bit overwhelmed as she hosts our team and the German team. In total we occupy every single room. It was strange to be starring across the pool all week at our soon-to-be opponents but everyone was friendly.
Maria has a large fire pit out by the pool that we took complete advantage of last night. Our staff surprised us with a few bags of marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate. We did not hesitate for one minute as we ripped open the mallows and started roasting! As the hotel staff began to peek out of their windows in curiosity, we quickly realized that our Chilean friends had never been exposed to this great American tradition. We shared with everyone and they enjoyed them just as much as we did. That was definitely a moment I will remember forever.
We will be heading to Santiago in the morning for our last game. We will be playing North Korea who beat France 2-1. It will be yet another tough goodbye to these friendly people.
Thank you so much for all of your support. I am living my dream. I cannot wait to step onto the field on Sunday to represent Colorado and to represent my country. GO BUFFS AND GO USA!
USA and North Korea square off on Sunday, December 7 at Estadio Municipal de la Florida in Santiago, Chile. Kickoff time is 2:30 p.m. MST. TV information will be announced at a later date, but fans can follow live coverage at http://www.ussoccer.com/ on their MatchTracker.
Monday, December 1, 2008
We have not done much the last few days. We walk around the town every once in a while just to keep our legs moving. We practice in the morning and relax for the rest of the day. Most of us are busy with home work in our down time. The people in Chillan are still just as friendly as ever; they cheer us on and wish us the best of luck in the rest of the tournament.
Yesterday we advanced to the semifinals! We beat England 3-0. Once again, we came out to a pretty slow start but we finished strong and scored all three goals in the second half. Our coaches were so proud and we were all high on life after the win. Again, it was a bittersweet goodbye to the people of Chillan. We got to hold our sign one more time and run victory lap applauding and thanking the great crowd.
It seems that reality hit us today and we suddenly understand that if we lose we will no longer compete for the gold medal. Through all the excitement I had to take a step back today; I stood at my locker and just took it all in. We are so blessed to have this experience and at that moment it became so real. We are representing our country and competing to be the best in the world. The atmosphere has changed and everyone seems much more focused. The intensity makes me anxious to play again, it is very exciting. We will now be in recovery mode for the next three days but we will still train everyday and prepare to play either Brazil or Germany.
Tomorrow we are headed North to Coquimbo where our semi final match we be held on Thursday. The city is too far away for another road trip so we are packed up and ready to fly. Even if we lose we will stay and play for the bronze medal.
Thank you for all your support. I am so blessed to here. Go Buffs and Go USA.
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Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Today we lost to China. The final score was 2-0. Overall, they just outplayed us. I think they wanted it a little bit more; they were fighting for survival. A loss would have guaranteed their return home. I honestly thought they were the best team we have played so far and I am sad to say that even though they did all they could, they will not be moving on. That being said, we won our pool and France took second. We are pretty disappointed about the loss but we will move on and use it as a learning experience.
Tomorrow we will get to enjoy Thanksgiving. The hotel has been kind enough to allow us to borrow their kitchen and some of our staff members are going to cook us a huge American Thanksgiving feast. They are so wonderful. Each one of us was allowed to request our favorite Thanksgiving dish. I chose green bean casserole! One of the mothers that will be arriving today has packed a pumpkin pie and stuffing in her suit case! We are so thankful and so excited for the meal tomorrow.
Temuco has been great to us. There are two little roosters living at the house behind the hotel and each morning at 6 o’clock on the dot they are proudly “cock-a-doodle-doing.” My roommate and I have decided that one of them may be sick because not only does he sound a bit squeaky, but he is “cock-a-doodle-do” happy and sends his wake up call out about every two minutes throughout the entire day! On Friday, we will say goodbye to our friends here and head back to Chillan for the quarter finals.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving; we all have so much to be thankful for. Thank you for all of your support! Go Buffs and go USA.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Yesterday we recorded our second win of the tournament against Argentina. This was another competitive game but we scored early this time and put the game away in the second half. The final score was 3-0. Argentina played with a lot of passion and they never stopped fighting; it was definitely not an easy game. As two teams will move on out of each pool, this win has guaranteed us a position in the quarter finals. We are extremely excited about the win, as is the local crowd.
We get a great deal of media attention here and we have a blast with it. We walk outside and get to live the life of a rock star; we sign tons of autographs and people are always asking for pictures, handshakes, and kisses on the cheek. This morning’s newspaper here in Chillan featured our leading goal scorer, Alex Morgan. There was a full page picture of her celebrating a goal and the rather large caption read Al Reina hay una Sola, which means, There is only one Queen. She was very embarrassed at breakfast this morning but it was very cool.
US Soccer made us a huge banner that said Gracias Chillan and because this was our last game in this city we held the sign up as we walked around the stadium after the game. The people have been great to us here and it was a bittersweet thank you and goodbye.
Tomorrow we have a three hour bus ride South to Temuco, Chile where we play our last pool game against China on Wednesday. The quarter finals will be back in Chillan and the semifinal, final, and 3rd and 4th place games will all be held in Santiago. Hopefully we will end up in Santiago but we are still taking this one day at a time.
Thank you so much for all of your support. Go Buffs and Go USA.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Yesterday we played our first game against France and we could not have been more excited to record our first win. France was just as good as we expected them to be and we did not net a goal until the second half. I think we were all very anxious and a bit panicked in the first half as our possession was not great. As we began to relax and move the ball we became much more comfortable. Overall it was a competitive game, both teams played with a lot of heart. The final score was 3-0. We walked off the field proud and excited to play again. The crowd was great. The culture has taught them to be appreciative of good soccer and so it was a great compliment to hear them cheering for the USA. We played well but now must look to Saturday. We will be playing Argentina who cannot be taken lightly. Argentina has proven to be a solid team as they tied China on Wednesday. We cannot wait to get back onto the field.
Until Saturday we are recovering in Chillan. It is summer here and the weather is definitely loyal to the season; it is very hot. The afternoon games are the hardest on our bodies so we must take care of ourselves and stay healthy. We continue to have light training sessions on the off days and during our down time we just relax in the hotel. We are lucky enough to have our own massage therapist who works with us everyday so that we recover faster. We also spend a lot of time ice bath, which is personally not one of my favorite things to do but it really helps.
Thanks so much for all of your support! Go Buffs and Go USA!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Nikki will be wearing No. 17 for
Team USA
After a 13 hour plane ride we finally arrived in Santiago, Chile on Saturday! We stayed in a great little hotel in the middle of the city for two nights and then took a five hour bus ride to Chillan where we will be playing our first two matches. The people in Chillan are extremely friendly and they quickly welcomed us to their city. Although we cannot speak much Spanish, we did not hesitate in showing them our best dance moves in the plaza across the street. In the evenings there are live bands and hundreds of people to watch and during the day the same plaza becomes a busy market. As everyone knows, I love food and the food here is great. We eat tons of meat, fish, and potatoes. We are having a blast we are definitely making the most of our experience!
On a more serious note, it’s time to get down to business. Our first match, against France, will be held tomorrow at 3PM. We have trained hard every day since we have been here and we could not be more ready. They have built brand new stadium for the World Cup here in Chillan and we are lucky enough to be the first two teams to ever play there. Our plan is to take this tournament one day at a time. Every team here is a great team and every game will be very competitive. We are expecting France to be a strong team.
Even though we are part of an awesome experience, we still miss home. We all agree that leaving our college teams has been one of the toughest things we have ever had to do, especially at this time of year. We struggle with not being with our teams but that is also what brings us together. We represent 17 different colleges around the nation and everyone eagerly watches “game tracker” on the weekends to see how their teams are doing in the NCAA Tournament.
I am as proud as ever to call myself a Colorado Buffalo. It is a privilege to get to represent my college and my country! I am anxious to get on the field tomorrow and see how things go! Thank you so much for all your support. Go Buffs and Go USA!
U.S. U-20 WNT World Cup Schedule
Date Opponent Venue Time (Local/MST)
Nov. 19 France Estadio Nelson Oyarzun; Chillan, Chile 3 p.m. / 11 a.m.
Nov. 21 Argentina Estadio Nelson Oyarzun; Chillan, Chile 12 p.m. / 8 a.m.
Nov. 24 China Estadio German Becker; Temuco, Chile 4 p.m. / 12 p.m.
Every U.S. game at the World Cup will be broadcast live on ESPN2. Check your local listings for broadcast times and game replays. Also, check out the latest team blog entries on the Youth National Team’s official blog site: http://ynt-ussoccer.blogspot.com/
