On Saturday we were all still feeling good from Friday night's game and looking forward to some free time in Boston. We were given the afternoon to explore the city so me, Sarah (Martinez) and Kellye (Joswick) met up with our parents for some sightseeing. We did all of the touristy things like riding the subway, visited Boston yard, walked around little Italy, ate at the famous Cheers bar, but by far the most memorable stop had to be Paul Revere's house. I don't really consider myself a history buff, but I admit that I enjoyed seeing all of the historical landmarks that Boston had to offer. Apparently, Kellye didn't share this same interest because as we set our path towards the home of one of the most famous patriots in American history she unknowingly asked, "Does he still live there?" I can't quite remember if I reacted by laughing or rolling my eyes, I'm sure it was a combination of both, but Sarah and I knew that the historical significance would be lost on our good friend. So, instead we explained that he was a player for the Boston Red Sox. Just in case anyone else skipped out on their American history class Wikipedia can fill you in: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Revere . Sorry to disappoint you Kel, but Paul Revere did not in fact play first base...

After our adventure around downtown Boston our team reconvened for a late practice to prepare us for Sunday night's big game. With a solid training session and a good meal after, everyone went to bed feeling good about the upcoming match. Sunday matches are typically played early in the morning, but because of schedule conflicts with Boston U, our game wasn't to be played until 8 pm that night. Thus, we spent most of Sunday keeping ourselves busy waiting for night to come.

When it was finally game time, I was shocked at the stark contrast in atmosphere compared to Friday's game. Our game happened to fall on the day before school for Boston U, and was to be a tailgating event for the University. In the past our team usual thrives in intense atmospheres and after a sharp warm up we felt confident heading into the match. However, from the first whistle we seemed off. Passes weren't connecting as they were the previous game and we weren't winning balls on defense. We did however, create a few dangerous chances on goal, but weren't able to capitalize. As the half went on and things still weren't going our way, the play became more individual. The clock was winding down to the final minutes when BU was able to take advantage of our defensive breakdown which gave them a 1-0 lead going into half.

As a team we pride ourselves in working hard and never giving up, so when we were faced with the challenge of being a goal down, I think everyone assumed we would bounce back and come out hard for the last 45 minutes. However, we couldn't quite shake the lull we had in the first half and started the second half in a similar fashion. At the time it seemed as if things just weren't going our way but looking back I think everyone realized as a team we had given up. It seemed as if we were going through the motions of playing, but never really putting in full effort to comeback. Unfortunately at this level and against a good team you can never take a break and sit back, which we ended up learning the hard way.

When the whistle blew we gathered up our things and headed back for our hotel, disappointed in the result and our performance that night. Back in the hotel lobby Lesle explained how it wasn't the score or the loss that was upsetting, but watching us as we gave up on a game we should have had. She reminded us that because our season is so short every game is important and that we have to take advantage of every opportunity. Though we will never be able to get this game back, the good thing about opportunities is that they come around again.

While we could dwell on this early loss, our coaches have taught us the importance of learning from our mistakes. It's like anything in life, in order to prevent history from repeating itself you have to learn from the past. So looking forward to our first home game of the season, our Boston trip provided all of us a new learning experience where we all realized that we can't take any games for granted. For me, I realized that you can't change history, but like my favorite Red Sox player Paul Revere has taught me, you can certainly create a new one!