Erin Galbraith

Some of the girls had the chance to go visit Erin with some good friends of ours, the Anderson's. The Anderson's soccer team, also known as the Cougars, are working on doing service for others. We were trying to get Erin to be a ball girl at one of our BYU Soccer games, but we had the chance to visit her in her home instead. Someone asked Erin what she wanted them to decorate her wheelchair with and she said soccer stuff. The soccer girls were all grateful to have the opportunity to spend a few minutes with the Galbraith family, and drop off some BYU Soccer stuff. It was an amazing experience, and I know the girls enjoyed spending time with Erin and her family. Here is Erin Hope's Story:

"On October 19, 2005 Erin Hope Galbraith was our normal, adorable, spunky little 4-year old angel who loved Disney princesses and hated broccoli. On October 20th, our world was changed when a large brain tumor that took up approximately two-thirds of her brain was discovered. After a 13-hour grueling surgery, the tumor was completely removed. During the following days her recovery was sensational and her spunkiness and innate ability to make all around her laugh returned. On October 28, 2005 the devastating news came that the tumor that was removed was malignant. Due to the highly aggressive and malignant nature of the tumor, the doctors had given Erin only a short time to live. "

If you want to read more you can check out http://www.hope4erin.com/

Thank you to the Anderson's and the mini Cougars for letting us come along and share in that experience. Thanks to the Galbraith family for having us over, and you could tell that Erin is an amazing girl. You are in our prayers!

Another Week On The Road

The Cougs just returned from another week on the road. They headed out to Pullman, Washington to play Washington State University. The Cougs started off strong, and struggled to hold onto to the lead. WSU scored in the last minute of the half to tie the game. WSU scored another goal in the 60th minute of the game. The Cougs had a few chances, Carlee Payne hit the post, Lauren Anderson and Jessica Ringwood both had a good look at the goal. WSU ended up beating the Cougs 2 - 1. The Cougs re-grouped, and they were matched up against Montana. Montana had a free kick early in the game, and they scored off a header. The Cougs battled back, and Carlee Payne took a shot that bounced off a Montana player and went in the goal to tie it all up. Jennie Marshall came into the game, and beat a few of the Montana girls, and put one away to come away with her 2nd game winner of the year.

The girls had a good time, and enjoyed spending endless hours on the bus, sleeping, watching movies, passing funny notes, and singing songs. The Cougs are headed to Chicago and Arizona next week. Look for the soccer team to be back in Provo on September 23, where they will take on Southern Utah University.

Two Big Games . . . Two Big Wins!

The Cougs recently returned from Penn State, where they had to chance to play 2 great teams. The were matched up against UConn, then West Virginia. Both games were a battle, and the Cougs fought to the end. Carlee Payne, a freshmen from Pleasanton, California, picked up both game winning goals. The first, against UConn was in the final 3 minutes of regulation, and she put away a header off a corner by Lauren Anderson. She then picked up her second goal of the season, and her second game winning goal of her career in the final minutes of the first overtime against West Virginia. The Cougs won the ball on their defensive end, and Kelsea Kakadelas had a great pass out, and Carlee just ran the entire field, beat their defense, and put it away to knock off a ranked team. The girls looked awesome, and they played great! Keep it up Cougs!

They also had a chance to do a fireside while they where in State College, and all the speakers did a great job. Even our awesome bus driver came and watched the fireside and said it was nice to see some good in the world. Good work girls!

The Cougs are playing their first home game, tomorrow night, September 4, 2009 at 7:OO PM. Make sure to come and check them out, they are playing William and Mary, and then playing Oklahoma State on Monday at noon! See you there!