Lucas Manzoli

We decided that it would be a good idea to have a few of the guys write a post every now and then so that everyone back home can get a different perspective on what is happening here in England. Today, we asked Lucas Manzoli to share with us.....

'We have encountered several different situations and the boys have all been pretty excited about everything. The food is definitely different than the cafe food at UM or the southern cooking in Alabama. This lovely Italian lady is taking good care of us; today's lasagna was great! We are trying to stay focused and make the most out of this opportunity to be together for such a long time in a challenging and exciting environment. We have now overcome the toughest part...jet-lag, time difference, and getting used to Justin's driving...and feel like we're creating a great atmosphere. It was also great to watch Jono {Jonathan Maloney} play, and we all knew he would score, as he loves to show off! Today we visited Doncaster's championship team training ground and stadium and it was good to see how the facilities we have at Montevallo are just as good as theirs. Can't wait for the London trip!'

Game Day Update

Today the Falcons took on Wetherby Athletics and came away with a 7-1 victory! I asked Austin McIntosh afterwards to give me his thoughts about the game and this is what he had to say:

'It was a good, positive way to start the tour on a winning note. It was a good opportunity for each player to get a good 45 minutes to shake off the 'cobwebs'. I was pleased at how both of Montevallo's sides worked hard, kept things simple and overall just played a good, professional performance. All of the players are excited about the way the team looks and how the new guys have adapted quickly.'

1st Game Day

Today the team has their first game against Wetherby Athletics. This morning we drove into the town of Doncaster to practice at the Doncaster Rovers Football Club practice facilities. Afterwards, a few of the club administrators offered to show us to their stadium and give us a tour. It was a very nice and impressively large place and all of the guys really loved seeing all of the behind-the-scenes stuff.

We leave in 30 minutes to go to the game, so I will be back later tonight to post pictures from the day as well as the results of the game. Go Falcons!!

Sorry!!

Sorry for the delay, everyone! We have had quite a time trying to find an internet connection here in England. We were able to get one for a few minutes in the campus library of Doncaster College (where we are staying) yesterday afternoon before rushing off to practice, but were never able to gain access to a wireless connection on our personal computers which would allow us to upload the photographs. We have used every spare minute that we have been on campus searching for internet, and finally, at 10:00 pm on Wednesday night, a sweet lady named Julie in the reception office has lent us her portable wireless access card! So, without further adieu, welcome to the adventures of the UM Falcons in England!

I believe when we left off yesterday we were about to tempt our fate by allowing Ryan and Justin to drive us to the practice fields, and OH! what an adventure!! Driving on tiny, narrow streets in an enormous "mini-bus" on the left side of the road, in the right side of the car, narrowly missing the stone walls that line the streets at every twist and turn, and getting lost at every "roundabout" (which happens to be the single most confusing driving-concept here!) we made it to practice all in one piece.....and without any scratches on our vehicles! Practice was held in a beautiful park in the town of Doncaster and we couldn't believe the beautiful weather....sunny and a crisp 70-ish degrees.

After practice we headed back to campus to let the guys shower and then have dinner. The staff here have been absolutely fantastic! Everyone is so nice and very accommodating and there is no short supply of food.....which, i believe some of the guys were worried about. We didn't know quite what to expect as far as meal-times would go since we are used to buffet-style meals in our cafeteria, but so far there has been plenty for these hungry boys to devour! Once dinner was finished, we headed to Harrogate to see former UM Falcon, Jonathan Maloney, play in a semi-professional soccer match. We all loaded up the vans.....Ryan and I (Emma) in one van with half of the team and Justin and Jennifer with the rest of the team in the second van. Ryan's van is the leader of the caravan because it is equipped with a GPS system so that we are able to navigate our way around, so obviously, Justin's van is supposed to follow......."supposed" being the operative word there. We lost them before we even exited the campus gates! Less than half a mile down the road we realized they weren't behind us so we pulled over to wait for them to catch up...it never happened. We decided to turn back to find them and ended up driving all over town searching with no luck. Finally, with no cell phone service to get in touch with anyone, we gave up and headed to the game (which was about 45 minutes-1 hour away) certain that the lost van would never make it and worried about their whereabouts. Once we arrived, Ged and Lesley Maloney were there to greet us and we were all taking bets on whether or not the missing van would actually make it. We were SURE they would not because, other than knowing the name of the town in which the game would be played, they basically had no directional information.

We were all settled in our seats about 2 minutes before kickoff when Mr. Maloney looks up and starts laughing. There they were! Unbelievable!! They had actually found us. Everyone starting yelling and clapping and we even gave them a standing ovation! Good work Coach Justin and Jen!!!

Everyone had a great time at the game. Jonathan scored the first goal of the game within about 2 minutes of starting! (#10)

The team even presented Ryan with an autographed ball.

After the game, since we were all exhausted from travelling and being awake for 48 hours, we headed back to campus for a much needed good night's sleep. Unfortunately, on the way there, we got lost! Not seriously lost, we did have a GPS, but sometimes those things aren't the most accurate. We ended up taking a few wrong turns, winding our way down a few pitch black dark country lanes and eventually finding our way back. All in all, Day 1 was a great day and we are all looking forward to the rest of the trip and all of the adventures that are sure to follow.

Arrival

We have finally arrived in England! After an extremely long day and night of travel, we made it. We arrived in Manchester at 7:00 am (1:00 am for us) and were driven by Ged and Lesley Maloney, andPhil Jackson's father, Michael Jackson to Doncaster College where we will be spending the week. So far everything is beautiful, but the real adventure begins this afternoon when Ryan and Justin attempt to drive us on the 'wrong' side of the road!! Stay tuned.....

(pictures to follow)

University of Montevallo Men's Soccer Team