Oh What A Night...

Yesterday, my family arrived in Shenyang for the game. It was fun to get to hang out with them for a little bit and hear about their adventures over to China. They definitely picked the best game to come and see. Our team started off our group play against Norway on a pretty low note, losing 2-0 after giving up two quick goals, but we ended our group play in dominating fashion. Last night, we played New Zealand for our final group match. We knew we needed to come out and get a big win, but we ended up with much more than that. It was probably one of the most exciting soccer games I have been a part of with this team. Soon after the opening kickoff, we scored our first goal of the game, setting a new record for the quickest goal in women’s Olympic soccer history. Once we got that goal, we never looked back. The game ended a very exciting 4-0, but the biggest surprise was when we learned that Japan beat Norway 5-1, putting us in the top spot in our group, and earning us a berth in the quarterfinals against rival Canada. There was a lot of yelling and screaming and hugging and cheering on the field after we realized what we had accomplished.
This morning, we travelled to Shanghai, which is the site of our quarterfinal match. It was a quick two hour plane ride, which was our first in a while, because we have been travelling everywhere by train. It was a smaller plane, basically filled by our entire team and staff. After an hour bus ride to our hotel, we arrived and settled in. The last few minutes of our drive were the most exciting part, as we all eagerly searched for a Starbucks (which to our delight can be found right across the street by the stadium) and we also discovered a few other places of interest, including a Cold Stone.