Oregon women's soccer lands in Beijing to start China tour
BEIJING, China – After weeks of preparation, the Oregon Ducks women’s soccer team touched down in Beijing last night to launch their 2017 China tour. The Ducks were invited by the Federation of University Sports of China to visit Beijing and compete against local Chinese teams.
Before hitting the soccer field, the team visited two of Beijing’s most famous landmarks, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, the Chinese imperial palace from 1420 to 1912.
“It’s really cool because it’s my first time [to China],” said Jessica Yu, a sophomore forward for the Ducks. “It’s nothing like I’d ever expected. The whole Forbidden City and the scale of it all was incredible.”
“The best part has been combining the history we studied before with our current experience,” added junior midfielder Sofia Chambers. “I enjoyed seeing the Forbidden City after learning about the emperor back in Oregon.”
After their sightseeing in the morning, the Ducks traveled to Beijing Normal University for their first training session of the tour. Despite temperatures in the high 90s, the Oregon team shook off their jetlag and got to work preparing for tomorrow’s game against Beijing.
“It’s my first international game which is really exciting and we thought the campus and field was beautiful,” said Yu. Tomorrow’s match against Beijing will be the first international match for a majority of the Ducks’ student-athletes.
“We have been preparing for [this game for] a while now,” said Chambers. “We’re getting used to our team because this is the one moving forward into the following season, which we’re really excited for. Being able to have another competition, and play against different formations and different styles of play will be a great experience for our team.”
The Oregon Ducks will play the Beijing All-Star University Women’s Soccer team tomorrow, June 21, at 2:00PM Beijing time. For fans in the U.S. looking to watch the game, the game will be broadcast at 11:00PM PT on Tuesday, June 20, via this livestream link.