August 18, 2008
Women's Soccer Embarks on 10 Day European Preseason Tour
Syracuse, N.Y. - Third year women's soccer head coach Jimmy Riverso and his squad are spending 10 days of their preseason in Belgium, Germany and Holland. The team will play four matches against European club teams to prepare for the 2008 season.
Below is a note from Riverso on the team's trip thus far:
We arrived Friday at Dusseldorf airport in Germany and went directly to tour the beautiful city of Aachen, home to one of the most well known cathedrals in all of Germany. We tried the water from their sulfur springs, which are said to keep the residents of Aachen healthier and younger. We sampled the local cuisine and had a walking tour of the city and then transferred to our hotel located in Valkenburg (Netherlands). It was a long day of traveling and touring, but all in all everyone had a great experience!
Saturday was our first full day here in Valkenburg and we began the day with one of the coolest experiences our team has ever had. We were taken to the Valkenburg caves for Adventure Day. They are a series of caves that span 70 kilometers beneath the village of Valkenburg! We were split into two groups and taken on a team building course and then ended with a 4 mile bike ride through the darkened caves. It was a long, tiring morning, but one none of us will forget anytime soon! After the experience in the caves, it was back to the hotel to get lunch. After lunch was our first training session of the trip and it was good to have the team get out and stretch their legs after a long couple of days. The evening was free for the girls to explore all the little shopping communities within Valkenburg.
Sunday started with a free morning for us all to go out again and explore Valkenburg. There are so many options here in Valkenburg and some of us chose to go to the ruins of an old castle that overlooks all of Valkenburg. At noon we left for our first game of the tour against the women's team of one of the biggest clubs in Belgium, Standard Liege. The level of play was unbelievable as we were playing against many young women who represent their countries at the youth level. Despite losing the match, we more than held our own at times and freshman Rachel Farneti scored her first ever goal in a Le Moyne uniform. It was an unbelievable experience and one that all of us involved will remember for years to come. After our match, we transferred back to our hotel for the team to shower and change because we were headed to a professional match. We transferred to Genk where we were fortunate enough to see KRC Genk vs. Germinal Beerschot, both of whom play in the highest level of professional soccer in Belgium. Some of our team had never seen a professional match, let alone one in one of the best leagues in Europe. It was an exciting game that ended in a 1-1 draw, but the experience that all the team members took away from the game was a win for everyone involved.
