Like Paige Grosel's front body flip throw-in from the sideline, there's a lot of excitement in the air in the Marietta High School girls' soccer camp.
The unbeaten Lady Tiger booters (7-0-1) have a date with the Reynoldsburg Lady Raiders at 11 a.m. Saturday on the pitch at Columbus Crew Stadium.
That's right, Crew Stadium, the same field that the defending Major League Soccer champion Columbus Crew plays on.
Later at 7:30 p.m. that evening, the champs will be hosting the Los Angeles Galaxy, a team that includes world soccer superstars' Landon Donovan and David Beckham.
Wow, what a day the MHS girls, their family and friends from Marietta and surrounding communities will be in for. Let the good times roll - especially on the pitch.
In some ways, the Lady Tigers and Lady Raiders will be the opening act to the marquee event at night. They'll be breaking in or warming up the grass turf for the professional soccer teams.
How cool is that?
"They probably keep their field in really good condition," said Marietta senior co-captain and all-league defender Sarah Lathrop. "It'll be a different situation."
Different, but it'll be a lot of fun - with a lot of running. Oh, will there ever be.
"It's a big field," said MHS head coach Jeff Price. "It's probably 15-20 yards wider than here (Devola)."
No doubt, many of the Lady Tiger booters will be at the Erickson All-Sports Facility on Friday night to support the Marietta High football team when it plays host Parkersburg South. Well, they're going to have to rise and shine pretty early Saturday morning to board the bus for Columbus, about a 2 to 2-1/2 hour drive.
"It's a morning match after a long bus ride," Price said, smiling.
With all that youthful energy on the bus, the vehicle will probably be able to coast to its ultimate destination.
After the match, the Marietta team will have a little time on its hands before the Crew-Galaxy matchup. Not to worry, though, the Lady Tigers have plans. After all, there are several malls and a plethora of restaurants in the area.
"We're girls, so we'll probably go shopping or something in Columbus," Lathrop said.
By the way, when Grosel does her throw-in, there's probably going to be a lot of "oohs" and "ahs" from the spectators at Columbus Crew Stadium. If any of the Crew players, or Donovan and Beckham are there in the late morning, they should be very impressed.
It's not something that you see every day.
Ron Johnston is the Marietta Times sports editor and can be reached at 376-5441, or at rjohnston@mariettatimes.com
