Day 11 - Guten tag from Switzerland and Match # 4

We all caught up on our sleep this morning.  Breakfast was from 8 – 10 a.m. and the players awoke in time to enjoy the breakfast buffet of yogurt, fruit, cereal, bread, meat, cheese, eggs, fresh orange juice, and sausage.  Setting their alarms was purposeful as there was a city pool five minutes from the hotel with free admission for hotel patrons. 

After enjoying another wonderful breakfast they were off to the pool.  It was an incredible facility.  Not just one pool but three, including a diving area, kidding pool with slides, and a lap pool.  The pools were surrounded by grass with plenty of shade trees.  It was a perfect morning for a swim and some diving as it was in the low 80’s.Yes, Zurich and much of the area is having a heat wave. Today’s high reached 87 degrees – the highest it has been here in 3 years.

After the refreshing dip in the pool, it was back to the hotel to get ready to meet the bus at for our trip into Zurich. We reached our meeting spot by noon, giving everyone 2.5 hours to enjoy the city center and surrounding area. Zurich’s newer part of the city sits on one side of the Limmat River, while the older medieval part sits on the other.  It’s very easy to navigate the City of Zurich.  The team enjoyed their time in the city exploring both the newer and older sections through sightseeing but also shopping and grabbing some lunch.

At around 3 p.m. it was back to Hotel Allegra for rest and relaxation before our 5 p.m. pre-game meal.  The team fueled up on sandwiches with meat and cheese and brownies for dessert.  We were back in the lobby at 6:15 pm ready to board the bus for the 20 minute ride to Club FC Zurich Frauen’s stadium match #4

Match #4 – Brown vs. Club FC Zurich Frauen

We could tell this was going to be a great match as soon as the bus pulled up to FC Zurich’s soccer complex.  The complex consisted of 15 full sized soccer fields, a small restaurant, a baseball field and club house.  Everything was spotless.  They even had a number of cleat brushes so players could clean their cleats after the game. 

The grass field was beautifully manicured and lined.  The officials were there 30 minutes before kickoff and warmed up as a team.  Elena (our tour guide) explained that these three women were national referees.  They travel all over Switzerland to referee major games.  They lived up to that expectation as they weren’t noticed during the game.  A sign of a great referee is one you don’t notice.

The teams lined up for the official march to midfield for pregame handshakes and coin toss.  Game time temperature was about 85 degrees.  A bit on the warm side for the players but it was a wonderful evening for a soccer game.  The starting whistle blew right on time at 7:30 pm.

 

Brown kicked off and the battle began.  Quickly one could tell FC Zurich was a team.  They moved the ball well and were organized.  It took both teams a while to find their rhythm.  Brown had most of the play in their attacking half, earning two corner kicks.  FC Zurich did earn two corner kicks but the defense knocked the dangerous balls out of the area. 

Brown’s best opportunity of the first half came in the 44^th minute when Sarah Hebert treaded a beautiful through ball to Mary Beth, splitting the two center backs.  Mary Beth ended up 1-v-1 with the keeper.  She slotted the ball past the keeper but her shot hit the post, rebounded back into play right to the keeper.  The half-time whistle blew seconds later.  It was a hard fought 0-0 battle in the first half.

The second half started a bit slow with FC Zurich finding a few holes and creating a number of scoring opportunities. But the defense and MC Barrett kept the ball out of the net.

Brown had their first real scoring opportunity in the second half at the 19 minute mark on a great left footed cross to the penalty spot from Katie Rushton to the streaking Allie Mullin.  Allie just couldn’t get enough on her shot to beat the diving keeper.

The game continued back and forth but Brown was gaining momentum. The game was won at the 31 minute mark when Allie Mullin won the ball in the defensive half, took one touch and knocked a beautiful long ball down the right flank behind the FC Zurich’s back line for Kiersten Berg to run on to.  Kiersten took the ball down the right side with two defender drawing closer as she entered the 18 yard box.  Just when everyone thought she was going to shoot, she made a terrific fake, cutting the ball back in to the center, beating the two defenders, and creating a better opportunity.  The keeper had no chance at this point. Kiersten’s shot was in the back of the net before the keeper could dive.  Brown 1 – FC Zurich 0.

The goal energized the team.  But there was a scary moment with just minutes to go when FC Zurich earned a corner kick.  It was a well struck ball that bounced around in front of the goal after one FC Zurich player got her head to the ball first, but the defense held tight and didn’t panic. The ball was cleared out of the box and the game was over. 

Another win for Brown as well as another clean sheet for the goalkeeping duo of Amber Bledsoe and MC Barrett.  Go Bruno!  What a way to end the soccer playing portion of the trip.  Wins: Brown 4; Europe 0.