Catchin' Up with Kaeli: On the Road Again
A Diary by Kaeli Kentner, Toros Soccer Player
September 13, 2003

There are advantages and disadvantages to playing on the road; the opportunity to evade any and all responsibility (aside from soccer) is an obvious plus. But this week I've decided that there is only one kind of road trip traveler: the kind who dreads playing on the road. It is just an unwavering fact that we've all anticipated the adversity of 'on the road' competition. In this case, our first road trip of the season, we experienced no discrepancy.

I realized that the team has been spoiled rotten. We've underestimated the convenience of playing blocks away from home on a field that houses 3,000 fans (and a hot dog and beer stand). Not to mention, claim a stadium that is cared for by the Home Depot Center maintenance crew, who strategically replaces each cleat divot after every game. So you can imagine that we had some frustration to release when we stepped onto the pitch at CSU Stanislaus Wednesday afternoon. In fact, we had no mercy when we defeated them 3-2 without breaking a sweat- well okay, we sweated a lot, but it was well worth the agony.

I don't know what it is about being out in the middle of nowhere that makes a person want to fight, but we saw plenty of brawling (and cards flying) among the women's and men's games out there. (Don't worry Tanya we all had your back). On a serious note, I was proud of the sportsmanship we displayed through our pride to be wearing the letters CSUDH on our jerseys. In fact, Tanya responded with two goals to add to Chantel's first half Upper "V" rocket.

We capped off the trip with some team camaraderie by song and dance, and opened a new chapter to "road trip adventures." I can now say, however, with perfect confidence that CSU Bakersfield will have a true challenge at hand, come Saturday, because we'll be back with a vengeance along with a new, more literal meaning to "Home Depot."

Hope to see everyone there, and Jeff Kunze . . . thanks for the inspiration!

Kaeli