Mew's Views: Playing for Change
Senior midfielder Sam Mewis is back for season two of Mew's Views. Mewis helped lead UCLA to its first-ever NCAA Championship in 2013 and is back for her senior season with the added arsenal of experience playing with the full U.S. Women's National Team under her belt. Mewis, a three-time all-conference player and a 2013 NSCAA Scholar All-West Region selection, has scored 69 points on 24 goals and 21 assists in her UCLA career.
After a very eventful and successful weekend, I have lots of news to share today. Last Friday we beat Utah 1-0 in a really tough Pac-12 matchup. We wore pink uniforms in honor of breast cancer awareness. Our film crew made an incredible video to commemorate this game. A number of girls on the team and in the staff were playing for loved ones during our game. Here’s the link to the video if you haven’t seen it yet: Cancer Awareness Video
My parents visited over the weekend, so I spent the day on Saturday with them. We did some shopping and went out to a nice lunch and dinner. We also were finally able to try out the new Dunkin’ Donuts in Santa Monica. So Boston of us!
It was also Official Visit Weekend, so a lot of the girls on the team went to the football game with the recruits. Sunday’s game was another nail-biter, but we pulled out the 1-0 win over Colorado, a talented opponent who gave us a great game. Alumni weekend brought back some former players who were announced at halftime of that game. It was fun to interact and meet some former players who were in our position a few years ago. They all seemed to preach the same message: “Cherish your time here.” I think the senior class is really trying to heed this advice, as our days here are diminishing.
On Sunday we also had our free clinic in conjunction with Soccer Without Borders. So many kids showed up to participate, and it was so much fun to give back to the community. I am extremely appreciative of my coaches and teammates for helping out and donating their time and money to such a great cause. I also owe a huge Thank You to Rayna Linowes, Liza David, Justin DiTolla, Larkin Brown, and Lauren Rodriguez.
Despite the success of the clinic, we didn’t really sell as many t-shirts as we were hoping to. The main purpose of running the clinic was to sell shirts and get donations that we could give the proceeds directly to Soccer Without Borders. If you didn’t get a shirt last Sunday, you are in luck because we have plenty left! We’re hoping that we can make a few more sales tonight at our Stanford game. If you’re coming to the game, look for the t-shirt stand right as you walk into the stadium! The shirts look awesome, and your donation is going to a really amazing cause. Soccer Without Borders is a non-profit that aims to use soccer as a positive vehicle for change in communities around the world. I can’t really imagine a better cause for soccer players and soccer fans to support; all of us are so fortunate to have the opportunities that we do. It is our job to do our best to offer those opportunities to kids who may not be as lucky as we are. Please help out our cause and buy a shirt at the game tonight!
With such a busy weekend, we had two recovery practices this week. These took place on Saturday and Monday and were an opportunity for players with less minutes from the weekend to play a little extra. The MVPs of the recovery practices this week were Taylor Alderete and Allie Dutto!
We’re unveiling new uniforms tonight, and in turn, hosting a “Blackout Drake” game. The idea is to have all the fans wear black as we showcase our new all-black uniforms. Stanford is always one of our biggest games of the year, and this year won’t be any different. Stanford is not only a conference rival, but a contender for the National Championship. We are really pumped up for this game, and it is definitely one that you don’t want to miss.
On that note, we’ll see you tonight at Drake Stadium at 8pm! If you can’t make it, watch on the Pac-12 Networks. Don’t forget to #BlackoutDrake and to purchase a Soccer Without Borders t-shirt at the entrance. Go Bruins!