M-SOC: Days 1&2 From Brazil
Coaching Staff Reports from Sao Paulo

May 12, 2008

Days 1&2 Gallery

Saturday, May 10
Well we safely arrived in Sao Paulo at about 6:30 am and although we're a little tired the team is excited to be in Sao Paulo. We met our host, Ricardo Silveira, and boarded a bus to Santa Filomena. Most of the team made up for lost sleep with a nap on the one hour trip while others took in the new sights. Once at Santa Filomena we got settled in and had breakfast before hitting the training field for a light session to prepare for our first game tomorrow vs. UniSantana.

Despite coming off finals and some obvious fatigue the team looks good. We currently have twenty players here and Ike Opara will be joining us tomorrow after finishing up play with the U20 National Team in Manchester, England. The accommodations at Santa Filomena are fantastic. It is set outside the city in the middle of rolling hills and provides a great environment to start our trip. Everything is first-class and we look forward to spending more time here.

After training we grabbed a quick lunch before boarding the bus and heading into Sao Paulo to watch two professional matches. The first was a 4 p.m. kickoff at Pacaembu for the Corinthtians vs. CRB match and the atmosphere was electric. 35,000 Corinthians fans provided the perfect atmosphere to a competitive Serie B match in which two goals were scored in the first two minutes of the match. It was a fantastic experience and was a great first impression of the pride and passion displayed for the game in this country.

At halftime, we quickly hopped on the bus and headed across town to Morumbi Stadium for the Sao Paulo FC match vs. Gremio. This Serie A match was an entertaining affair as the visiting Gremio stole the show by escaping with a 1-0 road win. Together, the two games provided an experience not soon to be forgotten. I don't think many can say they visited Pacaembu and Morumbi seeing Corinthians and Sao Paulo in the same day. What an experience!

As you can imagine the group was pretty tired by the end of the day and after quickly stopping for some pizza we headed back to Santa Filomena for a good nights rest.

Next up...First match with UniSantana.

Tchau- Coaching Staff

Sunday, May 11
Wake Forest 3 Uni Santana 1

On a beautiful morning at Santa Filomena in Brazil, the team started the competitive phase of the trip with a 3-1 win over Uni Santanta. A goal in the 24th minute from Marcus Tracy off a Jaime Franks pass was the only goal in the first 45 minutes. Five minutes into the second half we doubled the lead after a pass from Zach Schilawski found an unidentified streaking player in the box who took one touch to find the top of the net. Great Goal! We'll have to review the film to see just who got a foot on it. Our final goal of the game came off a break-a-way from Austin da Luz. Upon winning the ball at half, da Luz burst up the middle of the field past and calmly beat the goalkeeper making the score 3-0 with 18 minutes to play. The last goal of the day came off a penalty after Russ Coleman was called for a foul in the box as a Uni Santana free kick floated through the area. Overall, it was a good first game featuring MANY whistles from the referee providing a good foundation for the rest of the games on our trip.

After the game we met for lunch and now have the afternoon off before a BBQ tonight at 6:30pm. As if we haven't had enough soccer most of the team will be getting together to watch the Palmeiros game at 4 p.m. on TV.

Line-ups: First Half: Fitzgerald, Beam, Courtney, Lichtfuss, Brown, Coleman, Cronin, Clayton, Franks, Henke, Tracy.

Second Half: Chelko, Adams, Courtney, Wenzel, Coleman, daLuz, Cronin, Lahoud, Bone, Schilawski, Arnoux

Tomorrow we are planning on training at Santa Filomena in the morning before loading the bus and moving our group to Santos for two days. Next game: Tuesday, May 13 vs. Santos FC.

We'll also be sure to get some players on here to wrap up daily events and games.

Ate Logo, Coaching Staff