Susan Ferger Recaps Duke's Opening Weekend

Senior Susan Ferger recaps Duke’s season-opening weekend at the Champions Challenge in East Lansing, Mich.

After an intense preseason filled with ROTC, team bonding and scrimmages, it was finally time for our first weekend of games. We flew up to Detroit on Thursday evening, met our bus driver and headed to East Lansing. We ate dinner at an Olive Garden along the way, where we celebrated Rhian Jones’ 20th birthday. The entire restaurant sang to her, and the team got to enjoy the cake they provided. After a day of travel, everyone was tired and grateful for time to sleep in on Friday.

Friday began with a fantastic team breakfast. We traveled over to the field for practice and spent some time going over our strategy for the game. After practice we had time to explore the campus of Michigan State and see what it had to offer. We all enjoyed the down time before heading to our next meal. For dinner, we were lucky enough to go to one of my favorite restaurants in the world! The Italian restaurant, Bravo! originally from Columbus, Ohio has been one of my favorite places to eat since I can remember. Needless to say, the food was delicious and we were fueled and ready for our opening game.

Saturday’s game was an exciting battle back and forth. Though it took two overtimes, we finally won the game - starting our season off right. It took awhile to come down from the excitement of the game, many of us headed to the pool to soak our bodies and start the rejuvenation process. Saturday night, we went to a cute restaurant that used to be a train station. I had one of my favorite meals, a turkey sandwich, and enjoyed the historical atmosphere. There was a train car out front where we posed for some photos before heading back to the hotel for a good night of rest.

Sunday wasn’t our day, and after a hard fought game, we ended with a 1-0 loss. We were able to generate a lot of attack but we just couldn’t finish. The good news is that it is the first weekend, so we can fix things now and be ready for the rest of the season. After the game it was time to head back to Durham, though it seemed no one else wanted us to get home. Our flight was delayed for three hours, but luckily Detroit is a nice airport, and surprisingly full of celebrities. On our way there, we spotted Anna Paquin of True Blood, and on our way home we saw actress Hayden Panettiere and golfer Tom Watson.

The weekend might not have been perfect, but it was successful in the sense that we know what we need to work on and we can fix what needs to be fixed before our next game. It was a fun first away trip with all of our new teammates, and I am excited with what’s to come this season.

- Susan