first soccer day

First taste of Schwan's USA CUP and playing soccer on American grass! The three day Weekend cup started today and we prepared.







It's a twenty minute transport to the National Sports Arena in Blaine outside Minneapolis. We are used to school bus rides now. The premises is fantastic, you'll get to see more from it later this weekend.

The heat was a shock even if still was morning, more was to come...





Azalea Joy and Passion played two games each. Two more American guest players, Katie and Marinna, this morning. First game we met St Paul Blackhawks...









...a team that will visit Gothia Cup next year in company of Bosse Conroy. Some Azalea parents met him when he informed us about USA CUP at a meeting in Göteborg. He is leaving for this year's Gothia Cup with 100 players. Good luck, Blackhawks!

We won the first game. They fought well, 2-1 always brings a good feeling for the first game. You never know, we might see them again next year.



Our teams had to split up because of the schedule. Team Passion prepared with a light lunch, while team Joy went to a cooler place for lunch (you'll see later).



Now things got harder. It was HOT, really HOT. 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Something like 35 degrees Celsius! Together with a strong wind and the humidity it felt like being in a sauna with a fan on, max speed.








Scott, the father of our guest player Lizzie and hero of the day. Heat like this is not to play with. Without his efforts the consequences would have been much worse for our teams. Iced water in coolers, iced towels, a tent for shadow. "I've been here before" he said.





Lizzie, his daughter (to the right) together with Brasilian guest players from left: Julia, Camila, Maria.



The heat beat us and so did Dynamo SC from Illinois, 0-3.

On another field team Passion played against Edina Sting. The heat struck hard there too, keeper Agnes had to be packed in ice to cool down. We lost that game too, 0-1.



Final game of the day against MBSA Atomic Blast. Warming up didn't feel as necessary as usual.



The wind grew even stronger and 7,5 minutes before full time, result still 0-0, the referee suspended the game due to the approaching thunderstorm. Sky was totally clouded by then and the first lightning was the signal to stop the game.





We managed a quick goodbye before rushing for buses and cars, exchanging "You'd better hurry, the weather will be bad. VERY bad." Two hours away from here a tornado hit.







We took shelter inside, together with other teams, before the buses was cleared to leave. The thunderstorm passed us but went on for a long time, magnificent! It was an incredibly long day, more like three normal days.

Foto: Bibbi Forsman o Per Schillander