Lizzie Reed split her summer playing for a number of teams in her native New Jersey and the far-off land of Texas.

What I Did Last Summer: Lizzie Reed

Aug. 17, 2004

One of the more unique 2004 summer experiences among the Notre Dame women’s soccer players involved rising sophomore midfielder/forward Lizzie Reed. The versatile player showed her adatability by spending a couple weeks away from her New Jersey homeland, playing alongside two of her Notre Dame teammates with the Dallas Texans club team (most clubs allow for a percentage of out-of-state players … but they usually come from a neighboring state and rarely involve such a study in contrasts as New Jersey and Texas). Reed’s experience underlies one of the special aspects in the makeup of the Notre Dame study body at-large and the women’s soccer team on a smaller basis: a cross-section of individuals from all corners of the United States and throughout the world. In the spirited sophomore class alone, the 10 players hail from seven different states (Illinois, Texas, Arizona, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio). What I Did Last Summer: Entry #3 (Lizzie Reed; Aug. 17, 2004)

a_LizzieReedThrowInBrazil04.jpg

Lizzie Reed – who started at outside back, midfielder and forward with the Irish in ’03 – picked up a goal in Monday’s final game of the Brazilian tour.

spacer.gif

spacer.gif

After a year playing among the most talented freshman class in the nation, it was an honor to be invited to play with the Dallas Texans this summer on their Under-19 team. I was estatic to join my fellow teammates Claire Gallerano and Kari Kennedy in Dallas for the Texas state cup. Playing for the Texans, who were the reigning U-18 national champions, I knew that the soccer was going to be fun – but I knew that living with Claire and her family was going to be even better. Let’s make one thing clear: Texas and New Jersey are two entirely different environments. Just imagine, your classic New York City girl wearing dark denim and a black tanktop, leaving the bustle of 5th Avenue to find herself surrounded by cowboy-hat-wearing, honky-tonk-speaking, square-dancing southern folk. It sure was a change of pace for me.

a_GalleranochaseinBrazil04.jpg

Claire Gallerano – shown here battling in the defensive midfield during the Brazil trip – helped Lizzie Reed adapt to life as an adopted Texan during the summer of ’04.

spacer.gif

spacer.gif

One thing I found out real quick was that southerners like to do everything slow. … If you want to take a shower, one would say that they were “fixin to shower.” However, I found that it really translated into, “I will eventually take a shower once I watch a few more hours of television and check my e-mail, which I havent checked in four months.” This made me realize that southerners truly take their time in everything that they do. In addition to hearing “ya’ll” about every other word – sometimes even an “all ya’ll” to add emphasis – I also purchased a real cowboy hat. After trying on endless cowboy hats, I made my selection and had it steamed to fit my head. This, in itself, was a unique experience. One thing I really enjoyed about Texas was the great southern hospitality. Living with the Gallerano’s, I became another child in their family. Food was never an issue and sleeping in a warm, comfortable bed truly was a great time. The state cup tournament itself was great. Our Texans team easily swept through every Dallas team and won state cup without a bump in the road. After state cup was finished, I flew down again later in the summer for Regionals in Austin.

a_ReedkickinBrazil.jpg

Lizzie Reed’s two-state summer soccer experience included playing in the W-League, with former Notre Dame standout Anne Makinen a member of a rival New Jersey Club during the ’04 W-League summer season.

spacer.gif

spacer.gif

Besides the fact that the weather was horrible because it rained every day, our team was successful. We advanced into the finals, only to lose to Gerogia in penalty kicks at the end of the game. A highlight of the tournament was when Claire and I were able to see Becky Tweneboah, another one of our outstanding Notre Dame players. Other than traveling to Texas, I played locally in New Jersey on a W-League team and trained with the Under-1818 World Class team, my old club team that was able to win the New Jersey state cup, regionals and perform well in the national tournament. Former Notre Dame great Anne Makinen played for another New Jersey team in the W-League and she still is a very impressive player. I was in awe of her skill and how big she is. It was a fun summer … but I’m happy to be back in the Bend with my ND girls. GO IRISH! Lizzie Reed #15