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Tonight we had our first scrimmage of the season against James Madison University! This always sort of signifies the true start to our games and really getting our season under way. It’s also a great time to see where our team stands against a strong in-state opponent such as JMU.

The past several years we have played them in the regular season, but our schedule only allowed for a scrimmage this year. We were able to come out on top with a 1-0 victory thanks to a great goal and combination from Ashley Manning to Shannon Mayrose.

Having two forwards combine for a goal is always a positive. We had a other nice chances throughout the first 30-minute period from various players but were unable to convert. We ended the period ahead a goal and thanks to some solid defending and play during the other two periods were able to hold onto the lead for the win.

Kimmy Anderson and Caroline Kelly both had great nights in goal and were able to get the shutout with some help from our defenders too. While the score and result may not be quite as important for a scrimmage (of course we still want to win!), it is still a nice way to start the season!

We continued to have practice this week leading up to the scrimmage, but just single days, which are nice in comparison to a two-a-day.

On Wednesday morning around 5:30 a.m. Dayle Colpitts headed out for the U-20 World Cup in Tokyo, Japan! She will be playing for Team Canada as they work to claim a world title. Even though we will really miss her here at Tech and on the field, we could not be happier for her to have such an awesome opportunity!

Also, what a huge week for the USA Women’s National Team winning the Olympic gold medal. This was another opportunity for our team to get together and watch some of the women we have looked up to as soccer players. We all watched the semi-final against Canada (sorry Dayle) and the final this afternoon before our game against Japan. Both great games for the USA, as they were able to get redemption against Japan for the gold!

Every year during preseason we have a team activity the coaches always keep as a surprise up until the last minute. This weekend we are scheduled to do whatever they have in store for us. I’m very anxious to find out what we will do for my last year. In the past three years we have been to an amusement park, a ropes/zipline course, and tubing last year. I guess we will find out in the next day or so!

A week from tomorrow we will be kicking off our first official game of the season against UNC-Wilmington for the Hilton Garden Inn Hokie Invitational! We will host UNCW on Friday and another in-state opponent versus Richmond on Sunday!

Xoxo,

AL

For updates on Virginia Tech women's soccer, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_WSoccer).