Tarpley’s Thoughts

We qualified for the Beijing Olympics!  We beat Costa Rica 3-0 to advance and Canada beat Mexico 1-0 to earn the other birth.  It was very exciting to qualify and continue our goal of representing the USA in Beijing. 

The last few days at Olympic Qualifications we had a lot of fun.  We went bowling at a nearby bowling alley, hit up Starbucks once again and played a very competitive game of soccer tennis.  It was a lot of fun.  I actually took bowling in college for my PM.  You would think I would be better than I am! Ha ha.

Right now, I am enjoying some down time at home.  I am resting up for our domestic tour which starts in North Carolina and ends in Washington D.C.  We play three games, two against Australia and one against Canada. 

I hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful spring weather!

We beat Mexico 3-1 in front of almost 23,000 fans this afternoon.  It was one of the best atmospheres that I have ever played in.  The fans were shouting at us, doing the wave and cheering very loudly.  We did very well to keep our composure and win this very important game.  We play Costa Rica on Wednesday night.  Whoever wins that game will qualify for the Olympics.

Go USA!

Last night we played Jamaica and we won 6-0. They played very well and it took us a little while to figure out how to solve their system. We scored 6 nice goals in front of a very lively crowd. It was a beautiful night and it was really fun to play under the lights. Tomorrow we play Mexico and it is sold out! It will be a really fun environment to play in.

Stephanie Cox had her 22nd birthday on Thursday and we had a party for her. It was a lot of fun….we had a piñata, cake, candy and lots of singing. We all had a really good time especially for the man who was holding the piñata who kept moving it up and down so Steph couldn’t hit it. We all got a good laugh out of it!

I’m excited to watch UNC play Kansas tonight in Men’s basketball. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we get the channel down here. If not, I’ll be in the Internet watching it! Go Heels

Greetings from Juarez, Chihuahua in Mexico!  We are just across the border about 25 minutes from El Paso preparing for our first game in Olympic Qualifying.  We play Jamaica on Friday and we are really excited about it.  We arrived on Monday after training in Los Angeles at the Home Depot Center for the past week.  We can’t wait to start playing the games…..

We have been enjoying Mexico especially the nice weather!  Today on our way home from training we got to stop at Starbucks.  Our giant bus pulled over to the side of the road and we all jumped out and got our favorite Starbucks treat. I added another Starbucks mug to my collection of mugs from various cities I’ve visited.  Other than that, we are laying low preparing for our first match. 

Tonight we are going to see Mexico play Jamaica.  I’m looking forward to seeing the stadium and watching the other teams play.  I will keep you updated throughout this tournament….the top two teams advance to the Olympics!

Tarp

We won the Algarve Tournament!  We beat Denmark in the final game 2-1.  It was a tough match because we played 4 games in a short amount of time and Denmark was a very good team.  I always have a great time at the Algarve Tournament.

The flight home was, fortunately, uneventful.  It was a very long trip to get to LA! My trip started out with a 3 hour bus ride to get to the Lisbon airport, 7 ½ hour flight from Lisbon to Newark and then 5 hour flight from Newark to Los Angeles.  I was very excited to get home!

We have a week break and then we start camp on Friday.  We are preparing for the Olympic Qualifiers in early April in Mexico. 

I will write more later!  

We played Italy today and we won 2-0.  Italy came out and played us aggressively and we did well to solve their pressure and score two goals.  We played at a stadium that was really close to the beach and it was fairly warm. 

After the game, we ate at a nice restaurant on the water.  I always love going out to eat after the game.  It is fun to try different places and see different parts of Portugal.  We saw a beautiful sunset just as we were finishing up our meal. 

We have two days off till our next match.  It will be nice to rest up and recover before we play Norway…. they always have a great team. 

Thanks for reading…..

Tarp

The games have started!!!

We had our first game against China yesterday and we won 4-0. We played well as a team and we scored 4 great goals. It was an exciting way to start the tournament. We have another game tomorrow against Italy and then we play Norway.

 Things have been going really well. We had a day off and a few of us went to Sevilla. It was only about a 2 hour car ride and the scenery was beautiful. We had a really nice lunch and then we got to walk around the city and explore. There was a lot to do…touring the beautiful cathedral, carriage rides, shopping, walking around, Starbucks… It was one of my favorite trips! I bought another Starbucks mug to add to my collection (I collect Starbucks mugs from different countries that I have seen).

There is a restaurant really close to our hotel that has the best crepes and pizza. For me it is the perfect combination…..ice cream and thin-crust pizza. It doesn’t get better than that! Ha ha.

The weather has been beautiful since we arrived. Yesterday was a little windy, but the sun was still out. This is the nicest weather in the Algarve that I can remember. We play tomorrow at 1:45 PM…..I will keep you updated!

 Go USA!

 Tarp

We made it to the Algarve!  We arrived yesterday after a very long travel day.  I flew from the west coast and that flight was almost as long as the flight from Newark to Lisbon.  When we arrived in Lisbon, we had to take a 3 ½ hour bus ride to our hotel.  The airline didn’t put 65 pieces of our luggage on the plane so we didn’t have balls, gear, etc.  Our training yesterday consisted of walking about a mile down to the beach and playing a “horseshoe game” with quarters.  I was really bad!

I always love coming to the Algarve Tournament because it is beautiful here.  So far the weather has been great and I’m hoping to venture out for crepes and pizza in the next few days!  Our first game isn’t until March 5^th so we will be training for the first few weeks enjoying Portugal.

Thanks for reading…I’ll keep you updated from the Algarve!

Tarp

Well, 2008 is in full swing. I am officially married and my new last name is Snow.  I have not changed it professionally so Tarpley will still be on the back of my jersey.  I had an amazing wedding and honeymoon.  I was so touched with how many friends and family members came to the wedding.  It was the best day of my life!

 Our first camp was January 3^rd and from that camp, we went to China to compete in the Four Nations Tournament.  Our first game of the year was against our northern neighbor, Canada.  We won 4-0.  Our second game was against Finland and we won 4-1.  Our last game we beat China for the championship 1-0.  It was my favorite trip to China.  The hotel was really nice and relatively new.  I had a few days off before our next camp which started February 1^st. 

This camp has been going very well.  We have been working extremely hard, but it has been fun.  Our new coaches have us wearing heart rate monitors and I have learned a lot about training and how to maximize my fitness.  We are in camp until February 17^th and then we leave for Portugal for the Algarve cup on February 25^th.   

I will do a better job of updating my blog….thanks for reading.

Hope your 2008 is off to a great start!

Tarp

Sorry, I have not written in a while. I have been very busy since the World Cup. We had three domestic games and then I decided last minute to go on vacation with Heather O’Reilly and Leslie Osborne…two of my best friends. We went to Italy and we had a great time. We went to Milan, Lake Como, Venice, Cinque Terre and Rome in 10 days!

The highlight of the trip was our attempt to go to a Roma game, but, instead, we actually saw the start of a riot. We found out after the riot, that a fan had been shot by a police officer earlier in the day and the fans were rioting against the police. All of the soccer games had been cancelled because it was too dangerous.

Here is my story of what happened…..We took a bus to the stadium and I was, of course, standing in the front of the bus because I get bus sick very easily. We were almost at the stadium and ready to get off the bus, but we pulled up to a four way stop and we heard a police car coming from the left. So, we waited and they drove by. As they were driving by, hundreds of people with black helmets, masks, shirts, pants, shields, etc came rushing out from straight ahead of us. They were hiding in the street and as soon as the cop drove by, they rushed the street throwing tables, chairs, fireworks, bats, everything! Things were hitting our windshield! Our bus driver took a right and almost hit people, but started running red lights to get us out of there. At that point, we did not know about the shooting or the other riots. We were very lucky to get out of there safely.

That was the most exciting part of my trip. Other than that, we saw lots of interesting museums ate a lot of wonderful Italian food and ate plenty of gelato.

The next few months are going to be busy for me. I’m getting married, going on a honeymoon and celebrating the holidays with my family.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season…..I will write again in January!

Happy Holidays-

Tarp