University of Richmond Athletics
My Perspective: Edda Gardarsdottir
07/19/2004 | Women's Soccer
July 19, 2004
Edda Gardarsdottir '03 was a four-year starter for the University of Richmond women's soccer team. She was an All-America third team selection and played on the Iceland National team.
When I look back on my life as a full-fledged member of the Richmond Women's soccer team, I am glad that I made the decision to go there. It almost seems unreal to me that such an experience could have spurred from such a spontaneous decision. In January of 2000, one of the darkest and coldest months in the North Atlantic, Coach Albright came to see me play for the first time. The twist was that it was an indoor tournament and I was the starting GOALIE for my team. I still don't know why, but he had faith in me and offered me a scholarship. I always wanted to go abroad for college and it was an added bonus that I'd get to play soccer at the same time.
I went through a lot in my four years: I lost my father this past year and I've lost friends while being far away from my family, but what stands out in the end are my achievements at school and on the field. I grew a lot as a player, but also as a person. There were so many moments that I will never forget and I am not just talking about the one glorious year that we made it to the Sweet Sixteen. I'm refering to the work that it took to get this team where it is today. The fact that other teams want to play the Spiders now because they know that this will always be a team that never gives anything up for free. Our sessions that brought the team together were incredible: 120s, DOME GAME !!!, 300s, shuttles, "unnecessary 5K", 3 vs 3 full field, law school hills, the weightroom with Angela, the "Icelandic jog" ... you name it. Many girls on the team were like family to me and taught me a lot, both on and off the field. We spent so much time together, whether it be at one of the Apartments, on the road, at some random restaurant coach picked, in the lockeroom, or hanging out at the library at 4 am in the morning. It didn't matter because we all knew we were in this together and that was an amazing feeling. What mattered was soccer, and being a team!
What I remember the most was that special feeling when things were not going our way. When we were down by a goal with ten minutes left on the clock ... that sense of urgency, when everyone was going in the same direction and just looking at each other with that spark in their eyes! You learn so much more from and about people when things are not going your way. I remember the girls who gave their teammates a pat on the back after a bad game, I remember cuts, bruises and tears from people who put their bodies in front of a laser shot, people who always gave everything, all the time.
Overall, although I hated being away from glorious Iceland so many times, I can think back with pride because of what I accomplished. It was about that intense feeling you get, when you know that you have achieved something great, knowing that you gave every last piece of yourself physically and mentally, and not just for yourself, but your team. I would do it all over again for the girls that I was fortunate enough to call teammates for four years.
