May 29, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior team captain Raquel Rodriguez (San Jose, Costa Rica) and the Costa Rican Women's National Team is hard at work preparing for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, its first appearance in the tournament. On May 25, Las Ticas were defeated, 2-1, by the Mexican Women's National Team in a Mexico City friendly, with a rematch scheduled May 28. Rodriguez recently updated GoPSUSports.com about the journey she is on, representing her country at the World Cup, hosted by Canada this summer.
Rocky's Take
Right now and throughout these past few weeks, we've been trying to get the rhythm back and the friendlies we've been playing serve that purpose. The team has been focusing on tactical strategies and practicing those.
It's a little frustrating to have these games so close to the World Cup; however, there is no time to lose and much work to do. We've only played against Mexico so far and the games have been vital for us to get us back into a rhythm and practice what we want to apply at the World Cup.
As a player in Costa Rica, one would wish the environment would be just like the men's World Cup, but the reality of women soccer in our country is a different one. The media has been covering basic and general news, but it could definitely be better. Unfortunately, I don't think our country or the media in our country realizes the big deal this is, but this is part of what this team has been dealing with for years. Women's soccer in Costa Rica is improving and developing, and we recognize change doesn't come from night to morning.
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