Centre Women's Soccer in Ireland

ShutterFly.com

jamesmcauley — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:34:50 +0000

Now that the ladies are all back and settled from their trip to Ireland, I have been working on processing more of the photos and getting them ready for printing. The pictures from the first several days of the trip are already posted over on ShutterFly.com. More and more of them will be available as I get them posted. Some of the pictures will print with a white margin. Those white margins are shown visibly in the previews when you order the prints through the website.

You can access the gallery to order from through this link:
http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/jamesmcauley/Centrewomen

There are also regular promotions on shipping, so keep alert for coupon codes on the ShutterFly website.

Warning: Dangerous Cliffs

jamesmcauley — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 02:22:21 +0000

The Centre team took a hike today, literally! The women walked for several miles along the coast of the Dublin Bay near the town of Howth. The trail, only wide enough for one to pass, was riddled with high cliffs overlooking the sea, small caves and coves, and gorgeous, although trash covered, beaches. After the long trek, the team walked into town to have lunch the Abbey Tavern, one of the oldest establishments in Ireland at nearly 600 years old. The team enjoyed their meal, and many of them enjoyed Maud’s ice cream by the boat yard before taking the train back into Dublin.

We depart from Ireland tomorrow. The Centre women have thoroughly enjoyed their time here in this beautiful, rainy nation, but many of the girls will be happy to be home. This is not the end of this blog, more and more documentation of the Centre team’s travels in Ireland will be posted with time. Please keep visiting for more updates.

Centre vs. Terenure (Dublin)

jamesmcauley — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 02:14:23 +0000

The Centre Women played a friendly match against a local Dublin football club named Terenure. Centre won 6-0.The fields were beautiful and the other team was very gracious to hold the match with us. It was a great exchange of culture through soccer. Many of the Centre players had the chance to play in the game, and Goalkeeper Kelli Lenz played the entire match.

After the match, the Terenure women invited the Centre women out to their local pub for dinner and to get to know each other. The players enjoyed each other’s company in a nice evening of soccer and new friends.

Brittany Garr dribbles upfield in the second half.

Kelsey Boling keeps ahead of the pack.

Sarah Hall puts pressure on the Terenure goalie in an attempt on goal.

Jessie Deffendall and Anne Evans listen as coach Jay Hoffman speaks after the game.

Lizzie Hubbard, Lora Gralheer, and Elizabeth Hooper smile and joke after the match.

Touring Dublin

jamesmcauley — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 02:19:11 +0000

As a side note: I have just discovered that many of the pictures have been showing up cropped (missing the right third of the frame) on PC computers using internet explorer. This has apparently been happening ever since I upped the size of the pictures. I will soon be going back to change the pictures back to normal size. You can also now click on the pictures to view them larger.

PLEASE RE-CHECK THE RECENT POSTS TO SEE THE FULL PICTURES.

The team has spent the last couple of days enjoying the city of Dublin. The ladies have been taking the extra time to shop, take tours, and hang out in the city. Milton Reigelman arranged for a 24-hour “Hop-on, Hop-off” bus tour. The women toured the Book of Kells library and the Guinness Brewery, among other sites.

Anne Evans and Meredith Ranney on the top deck of the Dublin bus tours.

Sarah Hall and Rosie McAuley at the Guinness Museum and Brewery.

At the Guinness Factory.

Shamrocks in the complimentary Gravity Bar of the Guinness factory.

Two children who played games with the Centre women as they stood on the sidewalk waiting for a bus tour.

Kelli Lenz tries to take a picture as Aly Partain and assistant coach Jessica Chisley poke fun at her.

jamesmcauley — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 01:15:51 +0000

Sleepy Trains and Pub Crawling

jamesmcauley — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:01:06 +0000

Hello from Dublin! The team and the following party traveled by train yesterday morning from Carrickfergus to Belfast to Dublin. The ride took about two hours, and most of the women fell asleep on the trip. After a long and grueling walk across town from the train station to the hotel carrying luggage, the team dropped their bags and went out to explore the town. In the evening time, the group met and walked to the Ha’ Penny Bridge Inn to begin their scheduled pub crawl. Many of the ladies did not know what to expect or anticipate when the term “pub crawl” was used, but it turned out to be a private session where the team was able to gather and learn about the Irish pub atmosphere from two authentic, traditionally Irish musicians who have been playing in pubs for many years. There was a brief interlude to the session where the group transferred to another pub across town. The music that Mark (on guitar and bodhrán) and Ros (on accordion) played filled the room with a beautiful traditionally Irish combination of melodies and rhythms that you couldn’t help but tap your foot to. Giving a few “hups!” on their way out, as is the tradition to pay homage to a pub musician, the women spent the rest of the night on the town.

5-a-side

jamesmcauley — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 02:55:45 +0000

The team spent most of the day at the soccer fields today. They had a relaxing schedule playing in the “5-a-side” tournament segment of the Carrickfergus Football Festival where teams of five played 15 minute games to move through a bracket. The women were split into three teams of seven, including assistant coach Jessica Chisley who filled in as a third goal keeper. The Centre women played in those matches for the entire morning, through light drizzles and mist. One of the teams was eliminated in their second match. The other two teams played each other in the semifinals, and the winner of that game went on to lose in the 5-a-side final. The entire atmosphere was engaging, relaxed, and enjoyable, which was beneficial considering the three full-length, challenging games that they had played in the prior three days.

The women stuck around to see the overall tournament championship game be won by a friendly team from near Bristol, England. On the way home, many of the Centre women stopped to tour the Carrickfergus Castle, which is still in remarkable condition for being built in the 12th century. Upon returning to the hotel, the team cleaned up, dressed up, and headed to the closing dinner for the tournament. After a couple of hours with enjoyable company and a nice meal, the women spent the evening partying and dancing with the other teams from the tournament.

Jay laid out like this in the beautifully sunny and warm Ireland weather to watch the “5-a-side” matches.

“5-a-SIDE” Award Ceremony

A miscellaneous still from Carrickfergus Castle.

Centre 1, All-Stars 5.

jamesmcauley — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 02:30:18 +0000

The Centre women fought a hard battle through the rain and the cold against the Northern Ireland University All-Stars, but after the smoke dispersed, the All-Stars had more points on the scoreboard. All five of the goals against Centre were scored in the first half of the game. The weather decided to add an interesting, and somewhat disappointing, factor to the game. The women played in constant downpour and heavy winds. After a pep talk from head coach Jay Hoffman and gaining the wind at their backs, the colonels came back fighting to dominate the field in the second half. Aubrey Holle, #12, scored Centre’s single point. The team was disappointed to have lost the match, but they renewed their optimism at the approach of the new season with the start of fall semester at Centre. The team splitting up into teams to play in a 5-on-5 tournament on Saturday morning.

Belfast

jamesmcauley — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 01:35:12 +0000

Article in the Danville Advocate Messenger

jamesmcauley — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:05:34 +0000

Danville officially signed papers with Carrickfergus yesterday to become a sister city. Milton Reigelman asked me to photograph the ceremonial gathering of community leaders for the signings, and the Advocate Messenger, a Danville newspaper, purchased a couple of my photos. They published them in their lead story today.

You can see the article and pictures here!

If it doesn’t work, you can copy the URL here: http://www.amnews.com/public_html/?module=displaystory&story_id=51821&format=html