Larry Novey/FSU AThleticsInes Jaurena and her Florida State teammates won tough games against Duke and Wake Forest, both by 1-0 margins. What’s better than playing ACC games?
I am so lucky I get to compete in the ACC. As a French player, I didn’t know about the ACC until I came over to play for Florida State a little more than three years ago. I didn’t grow up dreaming to play in the league; I just happened to discover it. But it didn’t take me long to find out that the ACC is, without a doubt, the conference to be playing in.
The 11 teams that play women’s soccer in the league are able to challenge and make each other better throughout the year, and every single game is to be taken seriously. The league is so tough that every game is a grind, and you never know who is going to win night in and night out. There is no underdog in this conference.
Our ACC opener was at home against Duke on Sept. 13. The No. 2-ranked team in the country and 2011 national finalist was coming to our field. As if this wasn’t exciting enough, Wake Forest also would be coming to challenge us just three days later. Wake Forest was a 2011 national semifinalist just as we were, and both of these teams were returning almost all of their players.
You can imagine how much we were looking forward to these two games. One goal was all we needed to defeat these teams, as Jamia Fields scored against Duke, and Tiana Brockway did the same against Wake.
Both games were anything but easy. They were exactly the kind of games we needed to develop as a team. We are going to continue to work hard and hope the results will remain positive, because the only thing better than playing ACC games is winning ACC games.
At this point, what I really need to mention is the team behind the team. How haven’t I already? It is true that ultimately the players are the actors who dictate what goes on on the field. We often get all the credit for the good things that happen or the blame for the not-so-good things that happen.
This is a great opportunity to not only share this credit with our great fans but also the athletic department at Florida State, which makes sure we have all we need to perform on a daily basis. From the people who come and support us at every home game, to the ones who watch us on the Internet and the most faithful ones who follow us on Game Tracker when we are away, we thank you.
When I step onto the field my desire to win is, of course, for myself and my teammates, but also for that team behind the team. I can’t find the words to tell you how great our support system is at Florida State and how grateful I am to play there.
The FSU soccer team will return to ACC competition Sept. 27 with a trip to the state of North Carolina to face the Tar Heels and then NC State. But until then, we have to focus on the task at home. Our next game is a nonconference one, Friday at home against Jackson State. One game at a time.
