Photo Gallery from the Trip 

At the beginning of their preseason in August, Lewis & Clark's men's and women's soccer teams traveled to Iceland for eight days. Senior goalkeeper Anna Ingadottir and her family helped organize the trip and welcomed the teams, coaches, parents, and staff into their home country. During the trip, the teams trained and competed against Icelandic club teams, spoke with professional Icelandic coaches, and explored the country. 
 
The teams also met and interacted with over 20 Lewis & Clark alumni and President Robin Holmes-Sullivan, who were traveling in Iceland as part of L&C's Travel Program. 
 
Women's Soccer sophomore Siena Flock offers a recap of the teams' memorable trip.
 
Visiting Famous Landmarks
 
Both soccer teams visited several of Iceland's famous landmarks outside of our daily training sessions. A highlight for many players was visiting Vestmannaeyjar, also known as the Westman Islands, on our third day in Iceland. After practice, both teams and their families took a 30-minute ferry to the island, where we hiked mountains, saw puffins, learned about the island's history, and participated in a local game called Sprangan. 
 
During our tour, we learned that the island's volcanic eruption in the 1900s tremendously affected the landscape and the people who lived on the island. Houses were (and still are) buried under the lava. Residents had to evacuate to the mainland for months before being able to return to the island. 
 
Our tour guide then took us to the other side of the island, where we hiked around high mountains and saw puffins nesting. The puffins live close to the cliff's edge, and we were able to get close enough to see them flying around and resting on the mountain. Our tour guide also brought a baby puffin that they were releasing back into the wild. Our teams and families were able to see and pet the puffin up close. 
 
Toward the end of our tour, we also learned about the history of the game Sprangan. Our tour guides explained that, in the past, people would climb up rocks with a rope to hunt for food, but it's now turned into a game where people climb up the rocks and swing down holding the rope. Our guide did a front flip off the rock, and sophomore Alex Woods, who plays on the men's team, also swung off the rock.
 
"I like the first area we stopped at—the view was super pretty, and the mountains were gorgeous," says sophomore Kaedance Stubbs. "Gotta love the puffins—they're cute, and there was a baby puffin we got to pet. The food was also really good—that was one of my favorite parts. In such a small town, they had such amazing things to see, and it was definitely a destination spot." 
 
Soccer Practice With Local Coaches
 
On our fourth day in Iceland, we had the opportunity to participate in a practice led by Icelandic coaches. Players were able to speak one-on-one with the coaches and hear their stories about playing and working in Iceland. The women's coach had previously played Division 1 soccer and continued on to play professionally in the United States before coaching and playing professionally in Iceland. She had us practice with drills similar to those we do at Lewis & Clark. She focused on how small details impact the whole game, like how we defend and make clean passes. 
 
After practice, we toured the Icelandic National Team's stadium and spoke with their professional coaches about their national team and the country's culture. We learned about how small Iceland is in comparison to other countries, yet their teams have still placed high in national soccer tournaments. For example, their men's national team made it to the quarterfinals in the 2016 UEFA European Championship and qualified for their first-ever World Cup in 2018. We also learned how Icelandic players who want to continue playing soccer professionally normally move to another country to play with higher-ranked and bigger teams.
 
"Being coached by the Icelandic coaches was super eye-opening," says junior Mischa Vanek. "They had a ton of good insight on the basics of our play that really enhanced our game overall."
 
Friendly Competition
 
Both the men's and women's teams played two games against local Icelandic clubs. After touring the stadium, we played our first game in an indoor facility, where the women's team had a close game, but ultimately lost, and the men's team walked away with a win. In our second game a few days later, both teams came out with a 4-1 win. 
 
Not only did both of our teams learn from Icelandic coaches and tour the National team's stadium, but we also ate dinner and spoke with the teams we played against. The women's team talked with players about where they've traveled, if and where they want to play professionally, and our opinions about American food chains, like Starbucks. 
 
The men's soccer team taught the Icelandic players how to shadowbox, and players exchanged Instagrams and numbers. Interacting with professional coaches, young players, and visiting the national team's home field was such an incredible experience. It was great to speak with players and coaches from another country and hear more about their culture and soccer in Iceland.
 
"We left with two wins, my first two wins for the program. Cause to celebrate, I'd argue," says sophomore Aleister Alfstad. "Fighting for our first wins, watching my boy Alex Woods score . . . absolutely mint." 
 
Experiencing Iceland's Natural Wonders
 
On our seventh and final full day in Iceland, both the players and coaches experienced a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hike up the Solheimajökull Glacier. We wore helmets, carried ice axes, and wore strap-on crampons to safely hike up the ice. During the two-hour hike, we learned about the history of the glacier and the surrounding active volcanoes, including how climate change has affected the glacier's location.
 
Junior Emmett Olson made many memories during the trip: "The glacier hike was such a cool experience. The guides were great and taught us how to use our ice axes and lay down and drink the glacier water—definitely some of the cleanest and coldest water I've ever had or ever seen. My favorite part of the hike was when our guide showed us a river that flew into a giant crevasse. She took out ice screws and showed us how to put them into the ice. After they were in place, she attached a rope between them and our harnesses. Holding onto the rope, we got to look down into the huge crevasse and see the river flowing below. It was awesome!" 
 
To finish our day, we visited two world-famous spots, Reynisfjara beach, also known as Black Sand Beach, and Seljalandsfoss, one of Iceland's most famous waterfalls that you can walk behind.
 
Building Connections
 
"Overall, traveling to Iceland built a strong connection within our team, and I'm very grateful for the opportunity we had to be together experiencing a new country and culture while playing soccer," says junior Iris Stutzman.

Having the chance to travel, play soccer, and explore another country with our teams and coaches was an incredible and unforgettable experience. I believe our eight days spent in Iceland helped our soccer program not only continue to succeed on the field by playing at a higher level and preparing us for our upcoming season, but also brought our players and staff closer together off the field during our time spent exploring the country. I am personally incredibly grateful to have traveled to Europe for the first time with my team, and I cannot thank Anna, her family, and our coaches enough for making this trip happen.