The UW-Oshkosh women’s soccer team took a 10-day trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where they got to watch a professional soccer match, compete against international clubs, participate in professional training sessions and tour the city.

Erin Coppernoll, head coach of the women’s soccer team said that after the nine days, she hopes the team can feel more at ease when competing together in the fall.

“Obviously, when you travel far away, you don’t have anybody else to look out for you, you have to connect,” Coppernoll said. “And we’re quite young, so it was nice to see some of those kids be more vocal, speak up and kind of fall into who they are.”

Their bonding experience grew through plenty of professional soccer experiences including matches against international clubs like Arsenal de Sarandí and Racing Club de Avellaneda, as well as professional stadium tours and training sessions.

The team got to go to a Primera División game between Estudiantes de la Plata vs Central Cordoba March 23, where they soaked in a soccer culture way different than here in the United States, Coppernoll said.

“Growing up in the United States, soccer isn’t really a big deal, but when you go to these games in other countries, you see it’s like the deal,” she said. “When we went to the Estudiantes vs Cordoba game, the girls just lit up because (the Estudiantes de la Plata fans) cheered and chanted the whole game.”

It was the sixth edition of the women’s soccer team’s international trip, but their first time to Argentina and Coppernoll said these trips are important for student-athletes because she believes traveling internationally helps people grow as human beings through their experiences.

Infinity Global Sports, the company who helped coordinate the trip, brought the team on various tours across Buenos Aires where they experienced Argentine culture with lunches like an asada and a tango show.

One piece of Argentine culture that stuck out to her was a traditional South American drink called mate, which comes from the dried leaves of the yerba mate plant.

“If you watch Messi, he always has his mate cup,” she said. “So being introduced to things like that and understanding different cultures is important. You see that the world is not just here in Oshkosh.”

Coppernoll said that traveling internationally like she has with so many teams has created her fondest memories as a coach. 

“When it’s all said and done, you come back and you’re just like ‘wow, we really did that as a team,’” she said.