We went over to Meridian early yesterday morning for a tournament that had been moved there from Brandon in order to support the family of a soccer coach from Columbus who passed away during the Frostbite tournament we played in back in January (the coach's final game was against the River Belles, so we really wanted to be a part of this event that raised funds for his family - registration fees went into college funds for his kids).
Game one was at 11:00, so it was pretty warm (and there were a lot of gnats on the field). The girls were so excited to be there though, and to be together.
After a good warmup, they were ready to roll!
(Cora's goal attempt turned into an assist for her teammate MC - success!)
When Cam had her turn for a goal attempt, I caught a photo of Cora in the background - just as Jay tends to mouth your words for you when you're speaking to him, Cora tends to kick your soccer ball for you in support even when she's nowhere near the ball...
It looks like the keeper catches it on a slide, but she didn't. Cam went down after being tripped following her kick, but it ended in a GOAL!
After the first game (which ended in a tie) we had a lengthy break, so we grabbed a hearty lunch (steaks!), then checked into the hotel for naps and rest time (photos below of who did what... I spent my two hours reading about the coach we were there to honor).
Game two was fabulous for our girls (they usually take half a game to a full game to warm up during a tournament) and they walked away with a win!
We had a fun, celebratory dinner that night at Harvest Grill (celebrating a good start to the tournament and one of our girl's birthdays - Addie, AKA Mad Dog, turned 9!)
The next morning we checked out of our hotel and headed back to the fields for game three:
(Cora is really getting fast!)
The final game was a loss, but the girls played really well and we thought it was a great tournament. They're definitely ready for the State Games in about a month!
