Sophomore midfielder Caroline Vanderpool is a member of the U-20 Canadian National Team and will compete in the 2006 CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Final Round Qualification Tournament in Veracruz, Mexico, Jan. 18-27. This tournament will qualify three CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) nations to the 2006 FIFA U-20 World Championship in Russia from Aug. 16-Sept. 2.
Vanderpool has international experience as she competed in this tournament in 2004 as a member of the U-19 Canadian National Team, and the entries in this diary are meant to chronicle her experiences while competing in this year’s U-20 World Championship Qualifier.
Entry No. 3: Jan. 29, 2006
My experience playing with Team Canada in Mexico has finally come to an end. There was a short moment of disappointment after we lost to the United States in the final, 3-2, but then I remembered how much my team had accomplished and how we are on our way to the World Championships in Russia. I am so proud. I was especially proud of myself for all the work I put in during this tournament. I played great for five whole games and I feel like I represented Canada and LSU very well. Now that the tournament is over, I am really happy to be home.
This qualification tournament was the experience of a lifetime. I enjoyed playing different teams from across North America, visiting the city of Veracruz and meeting people from different countries. But most of all, I enjoyed the fact that we qualified for the World Championships. We deserved it and in the end, I think that the hardest working teams qualified.
This summer is going to be filled with camps with my national team in different parts of the world. There are talks of camps in Germany, Scandinavia and Russia. I will be very busy, and I’m not sure if I will get to go see my family in Canada much. But it is all worth it. I am so excited for the World Championships because I truly believe that we can win. We are a hard working team, and I think that we will have the best preparation for this tournament.
Now that the tournament is over, I’m working on getting back into the routine of school and making up for the time I missed in class. I can’t wait to see my teammates again because I miss them very much, and I am looking forward to playing spring soccer now that I am back at school.
Geaux Tigers!!!
Entry No. 2: Jan. 23, 2006
We have finally made it to the semifinal of the CONCACAF tournament where we will be playing Jamaica! It has been a really long week for all of us. We topped Trinidad & Tobago, 7-1, and Panama, 6-0, in our first two games. Our toughest game so far was against Mexico because they were very skilled and organized. We worked hard with only 10 players on the field because of a red card in the beginning of the game. We beat Mexico, 3-2, to win Group A. We are now focused on the semifinal because a win will ensure that we advance to World Championships in Russia at the end of the summer. We are just trying to take things one game at a time.
One of our team goals is to get better every time we step out onto the field, and I think we have achieved this so far. Every game we have gotten steadily better, and this showed when we played Mexico today. All of the different parts of our team did well and we capitalized on our chances. We even scored off the kickoff when one of my teammates launched it from the center circle over the goalie’s head. It felt great being on the field with such talented players. We were confident that we were going to beat Mexico, and we did.
I felt that my performances in the first two games were good. Mexico was much more difficult because of the speed of the game and I feel like I stepped up my performance for that game. Our back line stopped their attacks and our midfielders dominated. I am proud of all the things we have accomplished so far in this tournament, and I believe that we can do even better in the semifinal and final because we want to go to the World Championships in Russia so bad!!!
It’s exciting to see who we will play against in the final. Mexico and the United States, two very talented teams, will be matching up in the other semifinal. Whoever it is, our team will be ready and excited for the challenge. It would be nice to play the U.S. again because we beat them in last year’s CONCACAF tournament and they always have a strong team.
Tomorrow we have a day off so we have a few activities planned for the afternoon. We set up a snorkeling trip during the day and at night we are having movie night! It’s nice to have an extra day off to relax and have fun with the team because we can take the focus off of soccer and think about other things. Even though the weather is very nice here and the beach is so beautiful, I still miss my teammates and my boyfriend back in Louisiana.
Geaux Tigers and Geaux Canada!!!
Entry No. 1: Jan. 18, 2006
I arrived in Mexico over the weekend with the rest of my teammates, and we can’t wait to get this tournament started. The anticipation and excitement has been building since we had our first team camp in Florida last month, and we’re ready to just get out there and play. We have a great opportunity to advance from here to the U-20 World Championships in Russia later this summer. There’s no doubt in my mind that we are focused on advancing.
Most of our time up to this point has been spent preparing and training for the tournament, and we’ve been practicing twice a day since we got here to be at our very best when we begin the competition against Trinidad & Tobago later today. I am very nervous and excited because this game is the first step in our goal to win this tournament and make it to the World Championships. I hope I play well and help my team go as far as we can. Our goals are definitely in reach!!!
Anyone who has ever participated in a team competition like this knows that it is important for the team to come together and work together as one unit in order to be successful. I’m proud of the fact that we have been able to do that and show good team chemistry and organization. We have a lot of talent on this team, and there is no reason we shouldn’t advance to the World Championships. I have faith in our coaches and the other girls on this team that we will be able to get the job done. It gives me a sense of purpose that I’m not just playing for myself. I’m playing for my country and the other girls on this team. I’m definitely proud of the hard work we’ve put into this tournament and what we can accomplish here.
Even though our main purpose of being here is to play soccer, we have had a chance to do other things. Our hotel is absolutely beautiful and the town is nice also. We are staying at a hotel in Veracruz where we are situated directly on the beach. It’s been fun to go down there sometimes and hang out with some of my teammates. We’ve had a good time so far. The weather has been great as well. It’s not cold like it is sometimes in Louisiana and most of the time in Canada. That’s certainly been a nice change of pace.
Anyway, I need to start getting focused on our first game and I hope we are able to play well. After we play Trinidad & Tobago later today, we will play Panama in two days and Mexico a couple of days after that. I hope I am able to make my country and all LSU fans proud.
Geaux Tigers and Geaux Canada!!!