Barcelona – The Huskers began the final leg of their tour through Spain Thursday, making the three-hour bus drive from Valencia to Barcelona, arriving in the city late this afternoon.
The last 24 hours have been filled with soccer, as the Huskers took in Valencia’s 3-1 win over Monaco in first leg of the UEFA Champions League Playoff in front of a sellout crowd of over 55,000 at Mestalla Stadium.
“It was really fun experience,” junior Anton Gill said of the match Wednesday evening. “It was good to see so many fans there and the support they had for its team.”
The Huskers continued their soccer experiences early Thursday morning, as several of the players and staff played on the beach in a 30-minute game. Gill provided the heroics in the 2-1 victory, giving the winning team of Gill, Shavon Shields, Pat Norris, R.J. Pietig and Brett Sapp bragging rights on the bus ride to Barcelona.
“I was just happy we pulled through,” Gill said on the walk back to the hotel on the boardwalk.
“I got it on the other side of the goal after Shavon passed it to me and he had several guys on him and I had to weave through and broke Teddy (Owens) down and went to the top corner past the goalie and finished,” Gill said of his game winner. It was Naymaresque”
Despite the loss, team manager Robert Edwards kept his team in the match with his goaltending, making several saves, including a pair of penalty kick stops. Edwards, who was the MVP of the Dirty Old Shoe basketball game last year between the trainers and managers, remained humble after the loss.
“R.J. couldn’t score on me. Shavon couldn’t score on me,” Edwards said. “Anton didn’t score on me, he scored past Teddy, but one play does not make a game. It was a team effort, but I should have made more plays.”
“He showed a lot of hustle and was the leader of this team,” Edwards said of Owens. “He is the heart and soul and the elder statesman of our team. Yeah, he’s old, but he can still play.”
The team have a little time before exploring the hotel region and having a team dinner tonight in honor of Coach Tim Miles’ birthday today. The Huskers will play the first of two games in Barcelona Friday night local time against the Europe Basketball Academy.