Three points and meeting Ronaldhino
August 10, 2008 | 11:56 PMJillian Ellis
We defeated Japan 1-0 to earn valuable points in our group. Norway leads the group with six and they are through to the next round. We will play New Zealand in our next game and need to win or tie to advance.It was an emotional win but more importantly how we played will give us confidence for the next game. We created a lot of chances and kept good possession at times against a very talented Japanese team. There was a pretty good crowd on hand and occasionally we could hear chants of “USA, USA!”
After the game, the players looked like they had been in a swimming pool – the humidity was close to 90% and our medical staff were urging the players to take on fluids.
Today we boarded a train for Shenyang. Not quite sure why we have to move around in our opening round but every team is in the same predicament. Ironically, New Zealand was on the same train in the same car so we had a two hour ride sitting opposite our next opponent.
It was a pretty ride through the Chinese countryside. It was mostly flat, green, rice fields with some hills off in the distance. Most of the players and staff slept or listened to their ever-handy i-pods.
Shenyang is a much bigger city and our hotel is in downtown on a “Vegas like” strip. Our hotel is appropriately named the Marvalot! It is huge and very luxurious.
The Brazilian men’s team is staying here and some of the players got to meet Ronaldhino – one of the biggest names in men’s soccer. We settled in and will start tomorrow to gear up for New Zealand.
About this blog
A blog by and about UCLA athletes, coaches, students and alumni at the Beijing Olympics
RSS Feed
Our Bloggers
Julie Chiu
Julie, who works with the media in Beijing, prepared for her third Olympics by studying Mandarin for two years.
Jessica Cosby
Jessica competes in the hammer throw for the U.S. Olympic team.
Andrea Duran
Andrea, Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2006, plays on the U.S. Olympic softball team.
Jillian Ellis
Jillian, head coach at UCLA, is an assistant coach for the U.S. women's soccer team.
Natalie Golda
Natalie, a UCLA alum, is a member of the U.S. water polo team.
Kimberly Kyan
Kimberly, UCLA '05, moved to Beijing on a whim two years ago and stayed for the Olympics.
Kara Lang
Kara, a student at UCLA, is a member of Canada's Olympic soccer team.
Nicolette Teo
Nicolette swims the breaststroke for the Singapore Olympic team.
Elizabeth Kivowitz Boatright-Simon
Liz is a senior media relations officer at UCLA. She is happy to be at home during the Olympics.
Kevin Roderick
Kevin is director of the UCLA Newsroom. He wishes he were in Beijing.