Remember when Ella was tearing it up at Illinois? We do here
Urbana native and former Illini soccer All-American Ella Masar made her playing debut with the U.S. Women's Senior National Team late last month in Augsburg, Germany. News-Gazette staff writer Jeff Huth reached the 23-year-old forward, a member of the Chicago Red Stars of Women's Professional Soccer league, via e-mail for this Q&A:
Q: What was it like to get into a game for the first time with the Senior National Team?
A: "To be able to wear the U.S. jersey with my name on the back was a dream come true. I honestly went into camp having no expectation with playing in the game, and the fact that I got to in front of 31,000 made
it that much more memorable. I will forever remember October 29th as the day I got to represent my country in the best way I know how; playing the thing I love.
Q: You must have some memorable stories to tell about the trip. Let's hear one:
A: "With it being Halloween upon our return, some of the girls thought it would be funny to do some scaring while over there. A day before we headed home, Heather Mitts thought it would be a good idea to "scare" me into the team. Shortly after this bright idea sprung to her, I found myself being scared out of my mind with her hiding in some sheets outside my door.
"The only good news was that Abby Wambach was with me when it happened and she desperately wanted revenge. So with Mittsy conveniently hiding her room key outside her door, it was easy enough for us to form a plan. With only one day remaining we knew we had to act quickly.
"We recruited Cat Whitehill to graciously let us into her room and relock it. As bullet proof as we thought our plan was, it completely backfired, with Mittsy staying in the lobby to do her e-mail (only place we had internet) instead of heading back to her room.
"In the end, we ended up waiting in her room for a good half hour and cramping since the closet was so small."
Q: What's next on your soccer agenda?
A: "The same old, same old with lovely training. I will be taking the next week off but then back to trying to prepare for the (WPS) season. On the national team level, there are still two more camps until my professional season starts. However, you never know if you will get invited until a couple weeks before.
"Either way, my training will stay the same because our 2010 season is where my focus lies. I know I
have some time before then, but, hey, Rosetta Stone Espanol can only take up so much time."
Congratulations to you-a total class act and this area's greatest,soccer player ever!
Posted by on November 4, 2009 at 7:19 PM | Suggest Removal
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