Olympic Fever

The team has a once in a lifetime experience that left them speechless

August 8, 2012

The Dickinson College Women’s Soccer Team in front of Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester, England.

The Dickinson women's soccer team received intense inspiration on Aug. 6 while attending the U.S. women's soccer match and watching live as the U.S. came from behind to post a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory over Canada in the Olympic semifinal. Head coach Kelly Tyrrell described it as an "epic experience."

Parisa Kaliush ’14, a psychology major from Freeland, Md., said that being able to travel and play with her teammates abroad has been an amazing experience. But there was one experience so far that she will remember forever—attending the U.S. women’s soccer semifinal game against Canada at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England. “I truly have no words. Literally, we cannot speak now because we all screamed and cheered so much at the game that we lost our voices. We want to thank our coach and our parent chaperones for getting tickets to the game and rearranging our itinerary at the last minute so that we could witness and be a part of a moment in history.” 

The team has a game scheduled during today's gold medal match against Japan, but it will be finished in time to watch the second half. "There's a place across the road that has big-screen TV's, and we plan to watch it there as a team," said Tyrrell.

The Red Devils arrived on Aug. 3 for a weeklong tour of England, playing four friendlies against British semiprofessional teams in preparation for the upcoming collegiate season. A contingent of 27 players, coaches and parents made the trip, which included Monday's match at one of the Olympic host's most historic venues, Old Trafford. The Red Devils also were featured in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article on the match.

Dickinson played its first match on Aug. 5, taking the field against England's Curzon Ashton Football Club. On Tuesday, Aug. 14, the Red Devils face the Manchester City Ladies and the team will close out the week with matches on Thursday against the Blackpool Ladies and on Friday against the Blackburn Rovers. Results will be added to Dickinson's athletics Web site once available.

The women open the 2012 season on Sept. 1, hosting the Red Devil Classic. They face Penn State Harrisburg at noon on Saturday and Marywood University on Sunday, Sept. 2 at 2:30 p.m.