Rice University Athletics
Soccer Tour of Spain Day 4
3/15/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
2018 Tour of Spain Photo Gallery – Day 4 (March 15)
VALENCIA, Spain – Since it was a bit of a drive after the Champions League match from Barcelona to Valencia, some 220 miles south, the Owls arrived in the very early morning hours on Thursday (March 15).
The team's day was a little late in starting, but in Spain this is something of the norm. It seems a lot of things, especially meals, are at a later time than their American counterparts. Dinner, for example, often does not begin until 9:30 pm.
Thursday was the second of the team's two scheduled exhibition matches. Rice's pro league opponent this time was Valencia's CCF Maritim, another quality side playing in its home seaside venue (a two minute walk to the crystal blue Mediterranean Sea).
Rice opened the game's scoring in the 18th minute on a rocket shot to the back of the home net by Dominique Mazero for a 1-0 advantage. The Owls may have had the ‘American-style' early start, but the Spanish home team was comfortable working the late shift. Maritim, which has a wing-spread bat (with a soccer ball) in its logo, pushed across a goal with just seconds to go in the first half. The team then added two more goals in the second stanza for a 3-1 final score over the Owls.
Valencia provided an extra level of distinction for the game experience. The city was enjoying the opening day of its annual Las Fallas Festival, a massive civic event where it is commonplace for firecrackers and fireworks to be set off throughout the city seeming all day long. To be clear there was no danger of any kind at Thursday's game, but the bang-bang-bang audio soundtrack of neighborhood fireworks going off sounded according to one Owl "like we were playing the game in the middle of a war movie."
Postgame, and in the Spanish-way, Rice went downtown for a meal around 10 pm when the country's restaurants are hitting their stride. In the city's old-district the team got a better idea of the magnitude of the spirit of the Las Fallas Festival, and its nickname of The Festival of Fire. The team checked-out the massive wooden caricature sculptures that are part of the event – and which according to tradition will then be set ablaze at the festival's conclusion.
This was only the opening night of the festival. The Owls are going back for more of the Festival of Fire on Friday night!
Be sure and check out the above photo gallery and follow the team's week-long tour of Spain.
