Bosio goes global for Nordic Cup

By Cecile Nguyen

Kiki Bosio missed out on summer training time with the women's soccer team, but the sophomore forward made up for it in Finland, scoring two game-winning goals while playing with the U.S. Under-21 women's soccer team.

Bosio joined 17 girls from around the country to represent the U.S. in the 2007 Nordic Cup tournament, held July 12-21 in Vaasa, Finland.

"It was a good opportunity to play with some of the top players around the country," Bosio. "There were lots of talented players on the team."

The 19-year-old forward began the preliminary tryout rounds out for the U-21 squad early last spring in Alabama.

"It was a great experience overall," said Bosio. "I had to make some sacrifices like missing school or time training with college team, but it was fun meeting new players and playing with top players."

In addition to training under U.S. Head Coach Bill Irwin, Bosio also benefitted from competition against other international squads while in Alabama, including China and Canada.

"It was an international competition versus players who are currently on their national team right now playing in the World Cup over in China," Bosio added.

Irwin narrowed his roster of 24 girls down to 18 during the U-21 team's final training camp in Portland. Bosio was on the short list.

"It was really competitive because at first everyone was trying to earn a spot on the team," Bosio said. "But after the team was selected, everyone was trying to earn a spot on the starting 11."

Bosio and the team traveled to Finland in early July for the annual Nordic Cup. A California native, Bosio had a tough time adjusting to the 10-hour time difference between the States and Finland.

"Adjusting to the time difference was the hardest," she said. "For the first couple of days, I slept during the middle of the day or I had to take sleeping pills to fall asleep."

After making the necessary time adjustments, Bosio came off the bench in the opening round to score the game winner as the U.S. team defeated Norway 1-0. The goal was her first ever international goal for the squad.

Against Sweden, Bosio came off the bench for the second consecutive game and again netted the winning goal as team U.S.A. moved on to a 1-0 victory.

The Americans went on to crush archrival Germany 4-0 in the championship game, winning the Nordic Cup. Although Bosio did not score, she enjoyed the grudge-match victory.

"One of my favorite games had to be during the Nordic Cup verses Germany because we beat them 4-0," Bosio said. "But then again, any games where I scored a goal were pretty exciting; it was all fun."

Outside of training and matches, Bosio and her teammates were able to go sightseeing together and take in the culture and food of Finland.

"The food was pretty good there. The salmon was really good," said Bosio.

The U-21 team will be selected again at the end of the college soccer season and coaches will keep track of players this season in preparation for next year's selections.

"I hope to do it again. I would love to come back and play, but it's really up to the coaches," Bosio said.

Contact Cecile Nguyen at (408) 551-1918 or cnguyen5@scu.edu.