Road to Victory: Winning the D2 Eastern Regional

It was finally here. After a long wait, the D2 Eastern Regionals had finally arrived. Day 1 started with me, my teammate Russell Gregory, and my dad (and coach) loading up in our van and making our way down to Lucky Shoals Park in Norcross, GA. On the way, we listened to some music to try and get pumped up, especially a song by Muse called "Uprising", which has the line "We will be victorious!" We got to the gym early and started getting our guards on so we could warm-up. The butterflies were already flying around at a mile a minute even though I felt like we were the team to beat. After everyone was ready, our coaches gathered us up for a quick talk. We had no idea that they had a surprise for us...NEW JERSEYS (a red one & a blue one). They're AWESOME! I liked our old jerseys, but we had used them for 3 1/2 years so it was time for some new ones. So we put on the new jerseys and were ready to play. First, we played at 10:15 against the Chattanooga Speeders, a very talented team who have been our rivals for 3 years.

We got off to a fast start & when the final whistle had been blown we had won 4-1. Next, we played at 12:45 against the Orlando Hurricanes, a physical team. We won 2-0. After that, we played against the Carroll County Dominators, an up and coming team at 3:15. We knew going it would be a tough game, but thankfully we won 3-2. This was our last game of the 1st day so we were glad we ended the day on a good note. At the end of the day we were in 1st place.

Day 2 started on Saturday with us keeping the same routine as the first day, listening to the same music on our drive down (for good luck). First up were the Sheperd Strikers, a veteran team. We scored some quick goals & won 5-0. For the second game on the 2nd day we played the Lakeshore Power, a team with 2 players that can spin kick very well. Our goalie Carlin played great & as a result we won 3-1. In our final game of the round- robin stage, we played the Charlotte Power Surge, who had the best defense we had played so far. With only minutes left, neither team had scored. We kept up the attack though and scored in the final minutes to win 1-0. Undefeated after 6 games and guaranteed a spot in the Championship Game!

Now it was time to relax and have a good time at the celebration banquet on Saturday night. I speak for myself & my teammates when I say we had a BLAST listening to music, catching up with friends, and showing off some dance moves.

Day 3 was here. We were going to play in the Championship Game in a rematch with our longtime friendly rival, the Chattanooga Speeders. They always play their best soccer at Regionals so we knew we had our work cut out for us. I woke up super nervous, so my dad/coach tried to of a way to help me get rid of my nerves & boy did he. He had bought face paint for my little brothers to wear at the game, but decided that our team should also put it on as WAR PAINT. So we put our team colors on our faces red, white, & blue. That sure got us pumped up and helped me relax. Now it was GAME TIME. There was a huge crowd watching, so that was cool to see. The nerves were still there though and I was nervous for about the 10 minutes before I started to calm down. The first 10 minutes were very hard fought around the middle of the field. The Speeders got a few offensive chances early, but our goalie, Carlin Camp, was at the top of his game all weekend and stopped them cold. Near the end of the 1st half, the Speeders were called for a 2 on 1 near the top of the box. Russell took the kick and drilled it towards the left post where I was set-up. I moved towards the ball as if I were going to kick it back to the right, but I let it go through, and the ball scored just inside the left post. GOAL! That really got us fired up and released some pressure. We put our offensive attack into overdrive, trying to score again before the half. With just a couple of minutes left in the first half, the Speeders were called for 3 in the box. On our set play, Russell took the kick and hit the ball towards me. Just when I thought I was about to score, the Speeders were called for a ramming foul on me, setting up a penalty kick. Russell took the penalty kick and calmly knocked it in. We were up 2-0 at the break & had all the momentum. Now all we had to do was play smart defense. In the second half, we played good team defense and Carlin really played incredible in goal. When the final whistle blew we had done it, we WOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was our first ever East Regional championship! I still find it hard to describe the joy & pride I felt that day. I'm now excited for Nationals, but before we can go to Indy we'll have to fundraise. I'm very excited that Chattanooga Speeders & Carroll County Dominators qualified because we're very good friends. I hope to see everyone soon at Nationals!