Ladyjacks in the Pros: An Update From Iceland
6/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
After helping the Ladyjacks win four consecutive Southland Conference Championships during their time at SFA, Megan Dunnigan, Morgan Glick and Chelsea Raymond became the first three women’s soccer players to sign professional contracts in program history. Three of the best players to ever wear the SFA purple and white, they have now taken their talents overseas to Iceland to kick off their pro careers. Over the course of the summer, SFAJacks.com will post journal entries and photos from Dunnigan, Glick and Raymond, highlighting their experiences and post-collegiate achievements.
Ladyjacks in the Pros: An Exciting First Month
Written by Megan Dunnigan and Morgan Glick
This week marks a month for us here in Iceland! So far it has been an awesome experience. We are living in the beautiful town of Akranes (Ah-kruh-ness) and playing for the club ÍA (ee-yah); we’re including the pronunciations because we were made fun of for our American accents straight away.
We’ve had three league games and one cup game so far. It has been great for both of us getting to play games again and getting to play with a new group of girls. The team and coaches have been very welcoming, as has the entire community here in Akranes. Akranes is a very small town and soccer (football) here is a big part of the culture, so everyone is very supportive of the club.
In addition to the great experience of continuing our soccer careers, the opportunity to immerse ourselves into another culture has been unlike any other. Although everyone here can speak English, they are strong in their culture and speak Icelandic regularly. It has been an adjustment for us not always understanding everything that is being said, but also really neat to hear and learn how people interact in a different language. It’s been cool to notice differences, but mostly realize how similar certain parts of our cultures are.
We are both staying with host families who have been incredibly warm and gracious hosts. They have allowed us to experience traditional Icelandic meals and customs in a way we wouldn’t have otherwise.
(Traditional costume for their Icelandic National Day - June 17)
We haven’t been able to do much traveling around the country yet, but the landscape everywhere you look is amazing. We have gone hiking up to the top of Mt. Esja to watch a concert and have also been camping under the midnight sun.
We also spent a fun weekend in Akureyri with our team, which was a breathtaking five-hour bus ride through the snowy mountains to northern Iceland.
We’re so thankful for the support back at home and we are very excited to continue this experience and share it with everyone as much as possible!
Love from Iceland,
Megan & Morgan
Notes:
In her first match as a professional, Megan Dunnigan was named the Woman of the Match after helping her team to a 1-0 victory over Augnablik. She received a Keramik Artwork from the artist Maja Stina after the match, which was played in 45-degree weather with a strong wind (photo below). Teammate Morgan Glick contributed on the shutout.
Chelsea Raymond initially signed a professional contract with KR - Reykjavik FC and began her pro career with the club in Iceland. She is currently in the process of transferring teams. Look for more updates on SFA’s all-time career points leader in the coming weeks!
(Last two photos courtesy of Chelsea Raymond)
-SFA-
