University of Richmond Athletics
Shondel Archer's Blog from Guyana
07/12/2010 | Women's Soccer
July 12, 2010
Hey Guys,
I just got back home from my second trip. When we went to Cuba the first week to play them.. there were many bad experiences. First of all they put us in one of the worst places in Havana. The hotel, food, showers, and treatment by the Cubans were bad. Then I had to play defense.. it was kinda a win/lose situation because I started. But i sucked at it. Next thing is we lost 1-0.. Then finally when we left Cuba and flew back to Toronto, the G20 summit was ending so the airports were crazy. I got held up at the U.S. border and searched because I went to Cuba. Then my connecting flight to Detroit was delayed because of the rain, so I would end up missing my flight from Detroit to Dulles. So I had to stay in Canada another night and get the next flight out to JFK and then to Dulles the next day. Good thing I had family that I stayed at for the night. But eventually I got home.. worked and chilled for 2 days and then was right back at it.
On Thursday I left for our home game in Guyana. This trip was soooo much better. I left for Charlotte at 7 AM first, then went Miami, then Trinidad, then finally got to Guyana around midnight. So 4 flights all together. This was my first time ever going to my parents country. It was a wild experience and much better than Cuba. We stayed in a pretty nice hotel. Had practice on Friday after we took pictures and met with some of our sponsors. Everywhere we went we had people honking and waving at us.
So then the big day came. On Saturday our game was supposed to be at 3:30 at one stadium, but it poured all night so the field was flooded. So then we were gonna play somewhere 2 hours away. We were all bummed because then we wouldn't of had as much fans as we were going to. Then the head of the Guyana Football Federation and FIFA and the President of Guyana arranged for us to play in the National stadium called Providence Stadium! It was sand based and was covered with tarp. So the field was perfect!! So we got there chilled and took some pics and then got focused for the game. So many fans came it was crazy. It was so legit too. FIFA refs, the walk out, the flags, and both countries national anthem. This time I started and played outside right mid. Unfortunately Cuba scored first in the 32nd minute. But we came back right after and scored 2 goals before the half was over. One was a PK and the other was off a cross. We were pumped. Then the second half started and we scored again 3 minutes in on a corner kick. So then we just sat back and defended because we needed a 2 goal lead to advance. But then real close to the end, Cuba got a PK. it had to be the worst call ever. But our keeper saved it, the girl that took it choked and kicked it straight down the middle!
Finally the game was over! The crowd was going wild and music started playing. We were going crazy! Fans from the crowd gave us two flags and we ran them and danced and cheered. I have never experienced anything like it before. We made history for Guyana. This is their first Women's team that was formed like a year ago, and now we advance to the Gold Cup in Cancun, Mexico to participate in the tournament with the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Trinidad, and Haiti. 8 teams and the top 3 from the tournament advance to the Women's World Cup in Germany in June 2011. It was a sick experience and I'm so glad I took part and represented a whole country with great pride:) After our victory on the way back to the hotel, the President of Guyana invited us to the fanciest and finest hotel in the country called the Pegasus Hotel for free drinks and food. It was great.
See you guys at camp,
Shondel