"Winning isn't everything, but wanting it is."

Yesterday we had a home game against a rival team F.C United. They played last year in the Naistenliiga but were relegated this year to Division 1. GBK has had a hard time lining up against them in the past. We dominated the game and won 5-0. Brooke opened the scoring in the 15^th minute or so with a very nice volley that dipped under the crossbar. Within 10 minutes we were leading 3-0 off goals from Maya and another from Brooke. United held their defensive line very low and we controlled the ball for most of the game. I think we could have done a better job penetrating the defense and moving the ball faster. While we have been off to a great start there are still things we can and need to work on if we want to reach our goal of finishing first. It is important we got another 3 points and the shut out, and now we need to focus on our cup game on Thursday.


Brookie B's first goal

Thursday we are playing in the fourth round of the Finnish cup. This will be a good test for the team as we are playing the league team Ilves. I think if we show up with confidence and play to our ability we will win the game. The game is going to be a lot tougher then our past game so hopefully everyone is focused for our next few days of training.

Other stuff going on in Kokkola: We recently learned a shortcut to the other side of town… the train conductor told us we can cross the tracks as long as we look right and left first! Elis has started the school football tournament and they made it through to the next round. They get to miss school again this Tuesday to continue the tournament. He is so excited to play for the school and we have fun cheering them on. Monica and I have gone out on the lake in row boats. Thankfully we were in different boats as she stood up and tipped the boat enough for water to fill the entire thing! She ended up jumping ship and was swimming in 40 degree water in all of her clothes. Luckily everyone made it out safe and it was just a good laugh. The weather is starting to get a little nicer and hopefully in the next few weeks we will be able to have our first beach day! Its getting pretty depressing being this pale.

Check back next week for updates on our upcoming games!

Off to a good start..

Sorry for not blogging the past month, I have a lot to catch you all up on. Since I arrived back to Finland in April we have won 3 of our division games and 2 cup games.  I got back to Kokkola on the 17^th after an awesome time in the US with Ebba and Max. I hope they had as much fun as I did on their trip to the best country ever! Gbk wasted no time in getting me back in the game as the next afternoon we left for our 2^nd game in the cup series. I played pretty bad, (tried to blame it on the jetlag) but we ended up winning the game 4-3 in overtime. Thanks to my new roomie for saving my butt and scoring a hat trick! Overall it was a good team effort and everyone worked hard and fought till the end.

We have moved into our apartment, which is in prime location… the middle of town! We have a perfect spot for people watching and let me tell you, the city is sooo big and busy! I live with two other Americans, Brooke and Monica, and we have a three bedroom apartment. It is really spacious and we have lots of room for activities. We plan to eventually turn the living room out of a movie theater/3 person bedroom into a workout room for insanity, but let’s not move too fast now.  

We played our season opener at home against JYPK and won 1-0. The following Saturday we travelled to southern Finland to play. We set our alarms for 4:30 and met the train for a 5:10 departure. After two trains and a bus ride we finally got to the field. The game started off slow as it was obvious the traveling got to us. We were able to come out in the second half with more energy and played some decent soccer. We ended up winning 2-0 and had a lot more chances that we should have finished. Last Saturday we played our 3^rd game and won 5-0. The weather was awful; cold rainy, and sleeting at some points. We have another week of training before an away game against one of the frontrunners in the series. We are going to be missing 4 starters for the game but we are ready for the game and are prepared to go in and get the 3 points.

I have started work this week. I will be working for Robert at his company, RAIsoft doing some different things in management and marketing. My first task will be to compare the competitors with our company. I am also working for a company that sells and embroiders clothes and different little nic nacs. My job there is to do inventory and organize everything. So far the work at both places seem good and I think it will help to pass the days even though I do thoroughly enjoy my days off!