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Upon returning from a week with the U.S. Soccer Women’s Under-23 team in sunny Southern California, Murielle Tiernan proclaimed, “I love snow!”

Yes, after practicing and competing against the best players in the country under the age of 23, including current and soon-to-be professionals, Tiernan was upset she missed the big snowstorm of 2016.

“I was upset because I missed the blizzard,” she said. “I love snow. I love watching it snow. I love snow days.”

The junior from Ashburn, Virginia is already Virginia Tech’s all-time leading scorer, holding the school mark in both goals and points. She has earned a boatload of accolades on the pitch and her time with the U23 team affirmed what she always has known. Priority one is school and her Hokie teammates.

“Before I got invited, this was not really something I wanted – not something I was interested in,” she said. “I wasn’t really thinking about it. I was going to figure it out later. It was definitely interesting. It was exciting, but there is a difference. The girls who are there, all they want to do is practice, where as I’m more balanced. I love soccer and I love my teammates, but I’m more focused on our team and on college.

“I wouldn’t want to go to these camps throughout the spring and I’m not interested in going to camps during my senior season and missing games. I’m happy where I am and how its been going.”

It was a bit of a whirlwind from learning about the opportunity to traveling to Carson, California to be a part of this national team. In the days between Christmas and New Year’s, Tech head coach Chugger Adair informed Tiernan that the call was coming and she heard from the team in the first days following the turn of the calendar.

The camp was held at the U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Carson, California from Jan. 18-25. At the conclusion of the camp, the team played the full Irish National Team in a friendly exhibition.

The week was very structured and regimented. The focus was entirely on the sport and allowing players to improve in a set environment.

“The first couple of days were two-a-days and then we would do a recovery session in the morning and then train at night, or just have one practice during the day and then go down and watch the full team play,” Tiernan said. “The last four days before the game, they tapered off to get people ready for the game. It wasn’t super strenuous. It was just at a higher level.”

This was not the first time that U.S. Soccer had their eye on Tiernan, but it was the first time she took advantage of this high level of training and competition.

“I got invited when I was in high school, and I didn’t go,” Tiernan said. “I didn’t really have any interest in going. So, I never actually competed before, but I had been contacted.”

The difference in style of play was very evident in the event. In the game of soccer, there are many different philosophies among different teams. This experience exposed Tiernan to new ways of going about the same sport.

“It was just a week of training, so it was very similar to a week of training here,” Tiernan said. “You were just working on what you needed to work on. It was interesting to see the differences. They play a much different system than we play here. I was all out of whack. I had no idea what I was doing. I was just interested in seeing the other coaches and what they thought was more important than what I had heard in the past.

“I definitely have different ideas in my head now of ways that you could do things. I, personally, am more comfortable in the way we do things here. I think there are other ways to look at it, but I’m not trying to bring in all these new ideas.

There was a freshness to it. The players there expected me to do different things than the players here expect me to do and have gotten used to. It was very different, but I’m not sure I can say I significantly learned more than I learn here. It was just a new experience.”

Once in California, the week was not exactly what Tiernan had pictured in her mind. This was a week very much focused on soccer and improving. Getting there was also an adventure.

“I hate flying; I’m not a flyer,” Tiernan said. “We didn’t go to the beach once the whole week we were there. I was in California and never got to the beach. When we were driving to San Diego, I saw the Pacific Ocean, but that’s it. That was a disappointment for me. I was hoping, on an off morning, we’d go to the beach or stretch on the beach. It was just very focused on soccer. “

Now safely back in Blacksburg and on the campus she loves so much, Tiernan is focused on her academics and improving, right along with her teammates. Virginia Tech soccer is her highest on-field priority and she looks forward to another outstanding and fun season with her teammates.

While she was training with the best players in the nation, her teammates were back in Blacksburg with quite a different experience. And, as stated earlier, Tiernan loves the snow.

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