Lauren Johnston
Lauren Johnston is a keeper for PK-35 in Finland's top-flight league, Naistenliiga. She played for Northwestern University and Clemson University as well as the Colorado Rush
Sept. 1, 2011
Focused on Champion's League with new teammates
The second round of Champion's League drawings have been selected and we drew Rayo Vallecano from Madrid! The team is very excited about the bid and is looking forward to traveling to a country with warmer weather. Two matches will be played, first a home match on Sept. 28, and then we travel to Madrid for another match on the 6th. I think the team was pleased that we didn't draw Arsenal, Lyon, or Potsdam in this round. Nonetheless we are expecting two very difficult matches against a team that has successfully competed numerous times in the Champion's League. The team is still very excited about advancing, but for now we've shifted focus to the last few league games as well as the Finnish Cup Championship match.
My team has a second reason to be excited. We just got two new foreign players to help us finish out the season. During the Champion's League, our team had a number of injuries, benching several key players. Fortunately we were able to recruit Beverly Goebel, a member of the 2011 WPS championship team as well as New Zealand international, Emma Kete. We are all very excited to welcome the new additions to our team and look forward to watching them in action for the last two months of the season!
That's all for now from Helsinki,
Lauren
Focused on Champion's League with new teammates
The second round of Champion's League drawings have been selected and we drew Rayo Vallecano from Madrid! The team is very excited about the bid and is looking forward to traveling to a country with warmer weather. Two matches will be played, first a home match on Sept. 28, and then we travel to Madrid for another match on the 6th. I think the team was pleased that we didn't draw Arsenal, Lyon, or Potsdam in this round. Nonetheless we are expecting two very difficult matches against a team that has successfully competed numerous times in the Champion's League. The team is still very excited about advancing, but for now we've shifted focus to the last few league games as well as the Finnish Cup Championship match.
My team has a second reason to be excited. We just got two new foreign players to help us finish out the season. During the Champion's League, our team had a number of injuries, benching several key players. Fortunately we were able to recruit Beverly Goebel, a member of the 2011 WPS championship team as well as New Zealand international, Emma Kete. We are all very excited to welcome the new additions to our team and look forward to watching them in action for the last two months of the season!
That's all for now from Helsinki,
Lauren
Aug. 23, 2011
Champions League
We just came out of a very busy five days of soccer and then returned straight to league play. I’d like to reflect on the Champion’s League games. Our first opponent was Albania. I think we expected this to be the easiest game, but nerves were still high as we walked out onto the field opening night of the tournament. Nerves were quickly quelled after we scored our first goal and then a second and another. We had 10 goals in all that game, four came from a player who had recently lost a little bit of confidence in league play. This was exactly the type of game and environment she needed to get back on track! This win equally boosted the team’s confidence and gave us momentum going into Saturday’s game against Slovakia.
We were fortunate enough to watch a lot of film from the Poland/Slovakia game and quickly realized that Saturday’s was going to be a battle. Although Slovakia wasn’t the most technical team, they were extremely physical. I know this worried some of the players because the Finnish league is not known for its physicality, but the foreigners were excited to get a chance to play hard as we did in college or for the Nigerians in the World Cup. The game was tense and emotions ran high. The officiating was certainly not the best that game, and a lot of fouls were missed. At halftime the poor officiating and physicality of the other team only motivated my team to play harder. We knew we were fitter than the Slovakian team, and if we kept pressing, eventually they would run out of gas. In the 76th minute of play Jenae Gibbens, one of the Americans, scored a beautiful header goal off a cross from Elina Sormunen. We were able to hold them off the last 14 minutes and pulled off a very crucial victory!
The last game was against Poland, and we had to win or tie to advance, so again nerves were high, but I have to credit my team for staying composed. The girls were exhausted and most of them had never had competed at this physical of a level, but we all knew the job that was in front of us and we never took our eyes off the main goal, to win this tournament and advance to the quarterfinals.
The game vs. Poland was difficult, not because of the physicality, but because they were so much more technical than Slovakia. We are a very technical team as well, but we were beat up from playing Slovakia whereas Poland had a relatively easy match against Albania. We gutted it out though and fought hard until the last second. The Polish team tried to expose the right side because we have a small right back, but our back quickly caught on and showed them that she’s small, but mighty; she was able to shut down their 1, 2 combinations on the wing. We easily matched their midfield and had some good chances on goal. In the 20th minute, we scored and the nerves began to lift. Unfortunately, Poland answered back just eight minutes later with a breakaway and shot low into the right corner of our goal. That goal shook us, but we were able to stay composed the rest of the game and did not concede another goal. As you can imagine the last 15 minutes was extremely tense and yellow cards were given on both sides. One of our players, who was leaving to play in the States the next day, was ejected from the game with just 10 minutes left. It was a bad call, but something we couldn’t change. A man down, my team fought hard and pulled out a 1-1 draw, enough to qualify for the quarterfinal round!
It was great to play at home throughout this tournament, the crowd was behind us and extremely supportive. Looking up into the stands after the final whistle was truly an incredible sight. The fans really helped create a fun and intense environment!
More soon!
Champions League
We just came out of a very busy five days of soccer and then returned straight to league play. I’d like to reflect on the Champion’s League games. Our first opponent was Albania. I think we expected this to be the easiest game, but nerves were still high as we walked out onto the field opening night of the tournament. Nerves were quickly quelled after we scored our first goal and then a second and another. We had 10 goals in all that game, four came from a player who had recently lost a little bit of confidence in league play. This was exactly the type of game and environment she needed to get back on track! This win equally boosted the team’s confidence and gave us momentum going into Saturday’s game against Slovakia.
We were fortunate enough to watch a lot of film from the Poland/Slovakia game and quickly realized that Saturday’s was going to be a battle. Although Slovakia wasn’t the most technical team, they were extremely physical. I know this worried some of the players because the Finnish league is not known for its physicality, but the foreigners were excited to get a chance to play hard as we did in college or for the Nigerians in the World Cup. The game was tense and emotions ran high. The officiating was certainly not the best that game, and a lot of fouls were missed. At halftime the poor officiating and physicality of the other team only motivated my team to play harder. We knew we were fitter than the Slovakian team, and if we kept pressing, eventually they would run out of gas. In the 76th minute of play Jenae Gibbens, one of the Americans, scored a beautiful header goal off a cross from Elina Sormunen. We were able to hold them off the last 14 minutes and pulled off a very crucial victory!
The last game was against Poland, and we had to win or tie to advance, so again nerves were high, but I have to credit my team for staying composed. The girls were exhausted and most of them had never had competed at this physical of a level, but we all knew the job that was in front of us and we never took our eyes off the main goal, to win this tournament and advance to the quarterfinals.
The game vs. Poland was difficult, not because of the physicality, but because they were so much more technical than Slovakia. We are a very technical team as well, but we were beat up from playing Slovakia whereas Poland had a relatively easy match against Albania. We gutted it out though and fought hard until the last second. The Polish team tried to expose the right side because we have a small right back, but our back quickly caught on and showed them that she’s small, but mighty; she was able to shut down their 1, 2 combinations on the wing. We easily matched their midfield and had some good chances on goal. In the 20th minute, we scored and the nerves began to lift. Unfortunately, Poland answered back just eight minutes later with a breakaway and shot low into the right corner of our goal. That goal shook us, but we were able to stay composed the rest of the game and did not concede another goal. As you can imagine the last 15 minutes was extremely tense and yellow cards were given on both sides. One of our players, who was leaving to play in the States the next day, was ejected from the game with just 10 minutes left. It was a bad call, but something we couldn’t change. A man down, my team fought hard and pulled out a 1-1 draw, enough to qualify for the quarterfinal round!
It was great to play at home throughout this tournament, the crowd was behind us and extremely supportive. Looking up into the stands after the final whistle was truly an incredible sight. The fans really helped create a fun and intense environment!
More soon!
Aug. 5, 2011
Finnish Midsummer and sightseeing in Poland
Finnish Midsummer and sightseeing in Poland
Danish Midsummer
Polish ice cream
This entry comes slightly out of order since I took my summer vacation nearly a month ago, however, the World Cup games were just too exciting not to include in my blog! I spent the initial part of my holiday celebrating Finnish midsummer with a few teammates and friends in the seaside village of Loviisa. Midsummer is a celebration of the summer solstice widely enjoyed throughout the Nordic countries. My first midsummer was spent in Denmark, where it is the custom to gather at a large public park or beach and watch an enormous bonfire. The Danes traditionally adorn the top of the fire with a huge wooden witch that they burn and send to Germany. I’m sure there is some sort of historical explanation for this particular practice. Finnish midsummer is slightly different. The cities empty and people flock to their summer cottages along the sea or to one of Finland’s 190,000 lakes. The sun is up for nearly 24 hours throughout most of the country and people stay up all night celebrating with friends and family, typically going to sauna and swimming all night long.
Finnish Midsummer
Gda´nsk, Poland - Old City
The festivities last two to three days, and by the end of the weekend everyone is in need of a good night’s rest! I had a fantastic first Finnish midsummer that included going to sauna, fishing, boating, touring a fort on an island and of course lots of laughs. After two and half days, I returned to Helsinki and with five days left of vacation, I boarded a plane along with another teammate to Gda´nsk, Poland.
Neither one of us had been to Poland before so we were not quite sure what to expect, so we thought it best to head straight for our hotel to get our bearings straight before we explored the city. To our surprise, the hotel was situated on a canal just on the northern tip of the Old City. Our location could not have been better, and we spent the next few days exploring the winding streets of the Old City and eating at the many restaurants crammed onto the canal’s wharf. The Polish hospitality was amazing and everywhere we went someone was quick to offer help or advice! I was thoroughly impressed with both the people and the beauty of the city.
We also met some people from New Zealand and an American English teacher whom we toured some of the sites with, one of which was the concentration camp, Stutthof. Gda’nsk was the first city that Hitler invaded in Poland and thus Stutthof was the first camp in Poland. It was a very unnerving experience, extremely emotional and quite frankly disturbing, but I am glad I saw it with my own eyes. It is one thing from all my travels in Europe that I will never forget.
The rest of the time there we toured the city’s many churches, museums, shops and even spent an afternoon on the beach with about 100,000 other people! The beach was not the most enjoyable part of the trip, but it was nice to relax and soak up some sun! After a four short days we returned to Helsinki and back to our lives as “footballers."
July 12, 2011
World Cup Fever
My coach is a big fan of the US Women’s National team. Having coached in the U.S. and for the WPS, she strongly encourages us to watch as many World Cup games as our schedules allows, especially the U.S. games. So, last Tuesday, another American teammate, Jenae, and I started calling sports bars all over Helsinki to see if they had the channel that covered the U.S. vs. Sweden game. Fortunately, an Irish pub had the channel which spared all of us from trying to cram our team in front of a tiny computer screen! A few teammates and I walked into the pub Wednesday evening to watch the U.S./Sweden game to the disappointment of some avid cricket fans who weren’t too pleased that the three-day long cricket match they’d been watching was about to be interrupted for 90 minutesof WOMEN’S SOCCER! Although the U.S. did not pull off a win that night, it was still great that Jenae and I had found a place to watch Sunday’s quarterfinal game against Brazil.
Sunday evening, Jenae and I went to the pub early to reserve seats for our teammates. It was only 6 p.m., however, and the pub was nearly empty except for a few Irish guys who to our surprise asked us about the results from the other quarterfinal match played earlier in the day. The bartender had little experience with women’s soccer fans, but was eager to hear the results as well and even teasingly asked us if we were as rowdy as British Premier League fans and wondered if he should be prepared to duck behind the counter in case of flying bar stools. Jenae and I assured him that we aren’t quite that bad, but we warned him that we do get caught up in the game and he should expect some shouting!
About an hour later, most of my team showed up, and the jeering began. Jenae and I initially were the sole supporters of the US in the entire pub. Attitudes seemed to change however after the U.S. was issued a red card and Marta scored on a recalled penalty kick. All of the sudden, my teammates and the other spectators started rooting for the U.S. ,and a few other Americans hiding in the crowd finally felt brave enough to join Jenae and I in a chant for the U.S.! It became such an invigorating atmosphere, I felt as though I was on the pitch myself. Emotions ran high throughout the second half and into overtime, but as the last three minutes of additional time commenced, my heart began to sink.
Fortunately, my disappointment disappeared after Rapinoe’s phenomenal cross to Wambach for the equalizer in the 122nd minute. Everyone was shocked, and the entire pub erupted in jubilation! My heart raced when the shootout began, but watching the U.S. beautifully execute the penalty round with Ali Krieger’s perfectly placed shot into the back of the net, I felt such an overwhelming sense of pride to be an American and a women’s soccer player. Jenae and I turned to each other, and I think at that moment, both of us began to miss the U.S. a little bit, and we both commented on how we actually missed all of the fitness tests and scrimmages we used to do in college because of how well they prepared us for moments just like the USWNT endured.
The women on the pitch that night trained in scenarios like that their entire soccer careers and proved their mental and physical superiority as a team on Sunday night. Their win is huge for women’s soccer, and it makes me so proud to be a part of the game. So a big thank you to the U.S. Women’s National Team for the inspiration and overwhelming sense of patriotism. You guys are all big time. The world is watching women’s soccer now!
World Cup Fever
My coach is a big fan of the US Women’s National team. Having coached in the U.S. and for the WPS, she strongly encourages us to watch as many World Cup games as our schedules allows, especially the U.S. games. So, last Tuesday, another American teammate, Jenae, and I started calling sports bars all over Helsinki to see if they had the channel that covered the U.S. vs. Sweden game. Fortunately, an Irish pub had the channel which spared all of us from trying to cram our team in front of a tiny computer screen! A few teammates and I walked into the pub Wednesday evening to watch the U.S./Sweden game to the disappointment of some avid cricket fans who weren’t too pleased that the three-day long cricket match they’d been watching was about to be interrupted for 90 minutesof WOMEN’S SOCCER! Although the U.S. did not pull off a win that night, it was still great that Jenae and I had found a place to watch Sunday’s quarterfinal game against Brazil.
Sunday evening, Jenae and I went to the pub early to reserve seats for our teammates. It was only 6 p.m., however, and the pub was nearly empty except for a few Irish guys who to our surprise asked us about the results from the other quarterfinal match played earlier in the day. The bartender had little experience with women’s soccer fans, but was eager to hear the results as well and even teasingly asked us if we were as rowdy as British Premier League fans and wondered if he should be prepared to duck behind the counter in case of flying bar stools. Jenae and I assured him that we aren’t quite that bad, but we warned him that we do get caught up in the game and he should expect some shouting!
About an hour later, most of my team showed up, and the jeering began. Jenae and I initially were the sole supporters of the US in the entire pub. Attitudes seemed to change however after the U.S. was issued a red card and Marta scored on a recalled penalty kick. All of the sudden, my teammates and the other spectators started rooting for the U.S. ,and a few other Americans hiding in the crowd finally felt brave enough to join Jenae and I in a chant for the U.S.! It became such an invigorating atmosphere, I felt as though I was on the pitch myself. Emotions ran high throughout the second half and into overtime, but as the last three minutes of additional time commenced, my heart began to sink.
Fortunately, my disappointment disappeared after Rapinoe’s phenomenal cross to Wambach for the equalizer in the 122nd minute. Everyone was shocked, and the entire pub erupted in jubilation! My heart raced when the shootout began, but watching the U.S. beautifully execute the penalty round with Ali Krieger’s perfectly placed shot into the back of the net, I felt such an overwhelming sense of pride to be an American and a women’s soccer player. Jenae and I turned to each other, and I think at that moment, both of us began to miss the U.S. a little bit, and we both commented on how we actually missed all of the fitness tests and scrimmages we used to do in college because of how well they prepared us for moments just like the USWNT endured.
The women on the pitch that night trained in scenarios like that their entire soccer careers and proved their mental and physical superiority as a team on Sunday night. Their win is huge for women’s soccer, and it makes me so proud to be a part of the game. So a big thank you to the U.S. Women’s National Team for the inspiration and overwhelming sense of patriotism. You guys are all big time. The world is watching women’s soccer now!
June 24, 2011
Cruisin' to Games
The Finnish league is composed of 10 teams from all over middle and southern Finland. One team, Åland United, is located on a tiny island off the coast of Sweden. The interesting thing about playing Åland is that every team from mainland Finland has to take a cruise ship to the island. The first time I played against Åland was three years ago and I remember being so excited to go on a cruise ship for the first time, especially as a method of transport to a game! Last Friday was my fourth time making the trip and I still had the feeling of excitement as I boarded the boat.
Last Friday when we gathered at Oulunkylä train station, our meeting spot for away games, the team was all abuzz because of the impending game against the second place team, Åland. I think even the Finnish players still look forward to the trip every season. In five individual vehicles we departed to the Eastern most city on the Finnish coast, Turku, also this year’s European’s Cultural Capital, to catch the boat. Around 8 p.m., we arrived in Turku, and by 9 p.m., we had settled into our cabins aboard the ship. One of the best things about traveling by boat is the all-you-can-eat meals with a wide variety of Scandinavian foods (lots of meat, fish, potatoes, and forest berries). In addition, the ships’ cabins either have no windows or a very small window complete with blackout shades. Typically, this might not sound like the nicest accommodation, but because Finland is situated so far north, the sun is up nearly 24 hours a day this time of the year, making it quite difficult to get a full night’s sleep. Therefore pitch-black rooms combined with the gentle swaying of the boat make for the ideal conditions to be lulled into a deep peaceful sleep!
Åland is very much a summer island and consists mainly of farmland and small seaports. The island boasts one “city,” Meriehamn, with a population of around 11,000. Interestingly enough, everyone on the island speaks Swedish. Finland has two official languages, and the Swedish population is not obligated to learn Finnish thus making the common language spoken between a Finnish speaking Finn and a Swedish speaking Finn, English. As a foreigner, I find this very strange, but intrigued that most Nordic people can speak English so fluently.
After our arrival in Åland, we checked into a small country inn about 20km (13 miles) outside of Meriehamn where we relaxed before the match. The game was quite interesting and nerves were high on both sides. Everyone knew that this was the match that would decide who would go into the summer holiday on top of the table and who would come out second. My team dominated the first 30 minutes, but before halftime we let in a sloppy goal off a low cross and went into halftime down a point. In
the second half, we gained a little more momentum, but yet again let in a silly goal off a rebound to make it 0-2 with 20 minutes to play. At this point, my team had grown
frustrated with the poor officiating as well as our inability to put one in the back of Åland’s net. Fortunately we scored in the 80th minute and again just five minutes later to tie the game, 2-2. It was a fantastic match by both teams. After coming back from a two-goal deficit in the last 10 minutes of the match, I think we were pleased with ourselves, and were able to leave the field with a good sentiment.
I really enjoyed my trip to Åland and think to myself what a unique experience I am getting playing overseas. Now I’m off to celebrate Finnish midsummer and enjoy my 10-day holiday camping through the Baltic countries. Until next time!
Cruisin' to Games
The Finnish league is composed of 10 teams from all over middle and southern Finland. One team, Åland United, is located on a tiny island off the coast of Sweden. The interesting thing about playing Åland is that every team from mainland Finland has to take a cruise ship to the island. The first time I played against Åland was three years ago and I remember being so excited to go on a cruise ship for the first time, especially as a method of transport to a game! Last Friday was my fourth time making the trip and I still had the feeling of excitement as I boarded the boat.
Last Friday when we gathered at Oulunkylä train station, our meeting spot for away games, the team was all abuzz because of the impending game against the second place team, Åland. I think even the Finnish players still look forward to the trip every season. In five individual vehicles we departed to the Eastern most city on the Finnish coast, Turku, also this year’s European’s Cultural Capital, to catch the boat. Around 8 p.m., we arrived in Turku, and by 9 p.m., we had settled into our cabins aboard the ship. One of the best things about traveling by boat is the all-you-can-eat meals with a wide variety of Scandinavian foods (lots of meat, fish, potatoes, and forest berries). In addition, the ships’ cabins either have no windows or a very small window complete with blackout shades. Typically, this might not sound like the nicest accommodation, but because Finland is situated so far north, the sun is up nearly 24 hours a day this time of the year, making it quite difficult to get a full night’s sleep. Therefore pitch-black rooms combined with the gentle swaying of the boat make for the ideal conditions to be lulled into a deep peaceful sleep!
Åland is very much a summer island and consists mainly of farmland and small seaports. The island boasts one “city,” Meriehamn, with a population of around 11,000. Interestingly enough, everyone on the island speaks Swedish. Finland has two official languages, and the Swedish population is not obligated to learn Finnish thus making the common language spoken between a Finnish speaking Finn and a Swedish speaking Finn, English. As a foreigner, I find this very strange, but intrigued that most Nordic people can speak English so fluently.
After our arrival in Åland, we checked into a small country inn about 20km (13 miles) outside of Meriehamn where we relaxed before the match. The game was quite interesting and nerves were high on both sides. Everyone knew that this was the match that would decide who would go into the summer holiday on top of the table and who would come out second. My team dominated the first 30 minutes, but before halftime we let in a sloppy goal off a low cross and went into halftime down a point. In
the second half, we gained a little more momentum, but yet again let in a silly goal off a rebound to make it 0-2 with 20 minutes to play. At this point, my team had grown
frustrated with the poor officiating as well as our inability to put one in the back of Åland’s net. Fortunately we scored in the 80th minute and again just five minutes later to tie the game, 2-2. It was a fantastic match by both teams. After coming back from a two-goal deficit in the last 10 minutes of the match, I think we were pleased with ourselves, and were able to leave the field with a good sentiment.
I really enjoyed my trip to Åland and think to myself what a unique experience I am getting playing overseas. Now I’m off to celebrate Finnish midsummer and enjoy my 10-day holiday camping through the Baltic countries. Until next time!
Helsinki Harbor
June 10, 2011
Lauren Johnston: Greetings from Finland!
Hello, or “terve” from Helsinki, Finland! My name is Lauren Johnston and I am an American goalkeeper playing for PK-35 in Vantaa, Finland. I am from Denver, Colorado and played at Clemson University for two years then finished my college career at Northwestern in Chicago. This is my first year with PK-35, but not my first team in Finland or Europe. My European adventure actually began three years ago this July.
In July 2008 with a bachelor’s in European History and International Studies, I was eager to get out and see the world. I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity to join a Finnish team mid-season via a Finnish coach at Florida State University. That first half season in Finland was a really good way for me to get my “foot in the door” in terms of acquiring contacts in other European leagues. After Finland, I moved to Denmark for a year and had a wonderful experience playing in the Danish league. At the end of that season, I decided to sign an agent who set me up with a team in Tromsø, Norway. For those of you who don’t know where Tromsø is, it’s an island located about an 18-hour drive north of the start of the Arctic Circle. Needless to say I spent most of last year freezing in the Arctic, but had an experience that not many female soccer players get!
Today I find myself back in the country that kick started my European career. Three years ago I never would have dreamed to live in some many countries, meet people from all over the world and learn to adapt to so many different cultures, styles of play, and management, but here I am again three years wiser and still learning.
I have been playing with PK-35 for almost five months and am enjoying my experience. We had a long and intense “American” style preseason that seemed to drag on forever, but finally at the end of April we started the season. We are currently at the top of the table in the Finnish league with only one loss and one tie. We have just come through a very difficult few weeks of league play and managed to come out with three wins and a loss. Although we sustained our first loss of the season a week ago, we managed to pull through as a team, regroup and stomp the second-place team, 6-0, just four days later.
We have three league games in the upcoming weeks before a much needed 10-day midsummer holiday. Most of my teammates are looking forward to some time off
because we know after the holiday it’s right back to league play and then off to the UEFA European Championships in August!
OK! So that was a very brief recap of the past few years of my life in Europe. In my upcoming posts I look forward to sharing more about what life is really like in Finland, being a female soccer player in Europe, and the ups and downs of being a foreigner living in a different country!
Until next time, heippa!
Lauren Johnston: Greetings from Finland!
Hello, or “terve” from Helsinki, Finland! My name is Lauren Johnston and I am an American goalkeeper playing for PK-35 in Vantaa, Finland. I am from Denver, Colorado and played at Clemson University for two years then finished my college career at Northwestern in Chicago. This is my first year with PK-35, but not my first team in Finland or Europe. My European adventure actually began three years ago this July.
In July 2008 with a bachelor’s in European History and International Studies, I was eager to get out and see the world. I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity to join a Finnish team mid-season via a Finnish coach at Florida State University. That first half season in Finland was a really good way for me to get my “foot in the door” in terms of acquiring contacts in other European leagues. After Finland, I moved to Denmark for a year and had a wonderful experience playing in the Danish league. At the end of that season, I decided to sign an agent who set me up with a team in Tromsø, Norway. For those of you who don’t know where Tromsø is, it’s an island located about an 18-hour drive north of the start of the Arctic Circle. Needless to say I spent most of last year freezing in the Arctic, but had an experience that not many female soccer players get!
Today I find myself back in the country that kick started my European career. Three years ago I never would have dreamed to live in some many countries, meet people from all over the world and learn to adapt to so many different cultures, styles of play, and management, but here I am again three years wiser and still learning.
I have been playing with PK-35 for almost five months and am enjoying my experience. We had a long and intense “American” style preseason that seemed to drag on forever, but finally at the end of April we started the season. We are currently at the top of the table in the Finnish league with only one loss and one tie. We have just come through a very difficult few weeks of league play and managed to come out with three wins and a loss. Although we sustained our first loss of the season a week ago, we managed to pull through as a team, regroup and stomp the second-place team, 6-0, just four days later.
We have three league games in the upcoming weeks before a much needed 10-day midsummer holiday. Most of my teammates are looking forward to some time off
because we know after the holiday it’s right back to league play and then off to the UEFA European Championships in August!
OK! So that was a very brief recap of the past few years of my life in Europe. In my upcoming posts I look forward to sharing more about what life is really like in Finland, being a female soccer player in Europe, and the ups and downs of being a foreigner living in a different country!
Until next time, heippa!
