CET Student Correspondent News: VAI, Vanderbilt!! By Sam Newman
Veronica Corningstone once said, “Oh, well, when in Rome.” Well, my faithful readers, we are in Florence, which is in the same country as Rome. We have therefore decided to embrace the Florentine lifestyle as much as possible. After some field research, our group of daring, inquisitive minds discovered the importance of a “sport” called “calcio,” (pronounced cal-chyo.) People tell me that the sport exists in back in the States, too, and is referred to as soccer. I’m not sure if I believe them.
Aria, our bomb diggity program director [brownie points: check!] is always very encouraging and helpful when it comes to helping us integrate into Florentine society. Despite the risk of embarrassing herself in front of other study abroad program directors, Aria signed CET Vanderbilt up for a local soccer tournament. The tournament features squads from various study abroad programs, and is sponsored by a local bar called The Lion’s Fountain. Before the tournament started, all of the program directors met to go over rules and decide on league policy. At one point, the tournament organizer asked “should we really keep the rule that says that at least one girl has to be on the field at all times?” As people went around discussing the question, Aria eventually gave away our team’s ultra secret advantage: we are a team of eight girls, and one guy. Obviously, the other directors were befuddled by the bold, brilliant strategy: “What do you mean, ‘one guy’?” Aria explained that CET only has one dude in the whole program, this dude being yours truly. Coaches on the other teams raced back to the drawing boards to rethink their own strategies.
Monday was our first game. We were pitted against a strong side, the UConn Huskies, but were very confident. The pre-game chatter featured lines such as, “We are going to die,” declarations including, “Holy crap, I’ve never even kicked a soccer ball in my life,” and the last thing an opposing team ever wants to hear, “Wait — so I can’t pick up the ball and run with it?” I know that when the other team looked across the field at us, and saw our intimidating line up and menacing cheer, at least two of them pooped themselves out of raw fear.
CET Vanderbilt proudly boasted a line up of Ellen “The Black Mamba” Barg-Walkow, Ellie “D.C.’s Finest” Zantzinger, Emily “Brick Wall” McBride, Brittany “The Italian Stallion” Benedetti, Chiara “The Beautiful Assassin” Sperti, Katie “The Hitwoman” Landry, Anna “The Lone Star Kid” DuBose, Jamie “I’m Legal Now, So Watch Out” Ziemba, Aria “The Skipper” Cabot, and your humble narrator, Sam “StickyFingaz” Newman. That is the longest sentence I have ever written. I hope that no English professors at Vandy are reading this.
We suffered through an ominous start. Despite our team’s best efforts, UConn’s offense was a hot knife and we were the butter. The Huskies built a quick lead, and were up 3-0 in about three minutes. We had a quick team huddle and made a few tactical changes. Our new tactics involved spreading out, guarding the opposing players, and trying to score a goal. Our defense clamped down dramatically and we started stringing a few nice plays together. Ellen and Ellie each got shots on goal, which was very exciting because it showed that we were making significant progress. The first half ended with the score of 4-0, but we had our heads held high during half-time. Our cheerleader/photographers Bentley, Courtney, and Katie Girardi boosted our morale, as well. We came out in the second half ready to do some damage.
Sam “StickyFingaz” goes for a goal ...
We kicked off the second half with new life. The battle was truly on. We played a scrappy, physical style that allowed us to hang with The Huskies. Our defense continually frustrated the UConn’s strikers. We had a few more scoring opportunities, but ultimately failed to execute. With a flash of genius, your humble narrator realized what had to be done. After a save, I threw the ball out to… myself. It was my turn to play hot knife. After completing some weaving that would have made any Nonna proud, I shot and scored. Your humble narrator played it off like it was no big deal, but he was actually very happy. The game ended with a tally of 5-1, but we all had a great time and made a few new friends in the process.
I think Veronica Corningstone would be proud.
Ellie "D.C's Finest"
In each of the two succeeding matches, our play improved greatly. CET Vanderbilt has a record of 0-3, but each game has been very competitive. Ellen, The Black Mamba, has scored two goals. Her teammate Ellie “D.C.’s Finest” set her up with two assists. Emily “Brick Wall” has evolved into a defensive specialist. Katie “The Hitwoman” is our enforcer, and has already knocked down two opponents. Do NOT get in her way. Each of the other teammates has made valuable contributions, as well.
BLUE BLUE, I LOVE YOU!
Sam Newman
CET Florence Spring 2010
