By the way, she has been doing this all while driving between New Jersey and Connecticut on a nearly daily basis to finish her degree at the University of Connecticut. That caused her to be pretty busy over the past few weeks, but she is back in the blogosphere to tell fans what it was like to be a part of the grand opening of the Kennesaw State University Soccer Stadium when Sky Blue FC defeated the Atlanta Beat 1-0 Sunday. That was a game that goalkeeper Karen Bardsley, who Taylor calls “KB,” made 13 saves to help Sky Blue FC hold on to the win. Check out what she had to say below:
There’s 12 minutes left, we are winning 1-0, and I can’t even hear my goalie KB trying to yell something to me because there are over 6,000 fans cheering against you.
There is a free kick about 40 yards out, I hear “keeper,” and then KB is flipping over two players and the ball is loose. I drop in to cover behind KB and the forward shoots it . . .
On Mother’s Day, we played our 5th game of the season in the first-ever women’s specific soccer stadium in the world. The atmosphere was incredible, there were thousands of fans and the best part was my family was there! I have cousins that recently moved to Atlanta and I don’t get to see them very often anymore. It was great to be able to be a part of women’s soccer history and get a chance to spend some time with family. That’s the great thing about soccer; it gives people so many opportunities that life may not have offered without it. Soccer has given me an opportunity to go to college and get my Masters Degree; it has given me chances to travel the world; it has given me friends that I would have never met. The crazy thing about it is that soccer is not a living entity that can ask for something in return. The only thing that we can do as players is RESPECT THE GAME.
• Always give everything you have when you play.
• Respect the players that have come before you.
• Respect your jersey and what you represent.
• Respect your coaches and teammates.
• Work as hard as you can.
• Be a good sport.
By the way, when the forward shot the ball it came to me so I cleared it while KB was trying to get back in goal. That’s just what defenders do . . . they have their goalies back!
Check out some inside thoughts into the life of a WPS player through Taylor’s player blog, which periodically appears on The Equalizer, your No. 1 source for WPS news.
