Holy Cross Women's Soccer | Portugal Travel Blog

The Holy Cross women's soccer team is traveling through Portugal from July 28-August 5. Below, you'll find a first-hand account of their travels from members of the program.

AUGUST 5

“As we head back across the Atlantic and home to Worcester, I wanted to take my turn on the blog to express my gratitude for the incredible experiences that we have been lucky enough to enjoy over the last 8 days in Portugal.

Firstly, I am thankful that our players got to experience how deeply soccer is woven into the cultural fabric of the Iberian peninsula. Whether it was enjoying the stadium tours of Porto or Sporting Clube de Portugal, practicing at the home facility of SC Braga, marveling at the number of small soccer fields that are prevalent in every neighborhood or learning the song Benfica fans sing at the beginning of every game (mostly to taunt our Sporting supporting tour director!), I felt that our student-athletes gained a greater appreciation as to why soccer is the world’s game.

Secondly, we are grateful for the new cultural experiences we got to enjoy - from consuming (too many) pastéis de natas to learning about the history of the Portuguese royal family; from climbing the narrow stairs of the Clérigos Tower to enjoy the incredible view of Porto to learning flawless Portuguese (well, ‘obrigado’ and ‘obrigada’, at a minimum); from experiencing the power of an outdoor Mass in Fatima to enjoying the beach at Cascais. All of these experiences have provided an incredible start to our 2026 season.

Mostly though, I’m grateful for the opportunity to spend 8 days with a group that genuinely enjoyed being around each other and spent time establishing bonds that I genuinely feel will extend to the soccer fields and beyond this season.

A massive thank you to all of the supporters of the program that made this once-in-a-lifetime trip possible through their generous donations. Thank you to our administrators who helped put this together. Thank you to Christian, Eric, Morgan and Pedro for making the trip so memorable. Mostly though, thank you to the squad and our astonishing staff for making this trip an incredible experience for everyone involved."

Ben Graham

AUGUST 3

“The day started with team breakfast at the hotel, where many options were offered, including the famous Portuguese pastry, pastel de nata. After breakfast we traveled to practice and got to enjoy playing and competing against each other. Later, as a team we split up into small groups and grabbed lunch together across from FC Porto’s stadium. As we entered the stadium for our stadium tour we were greeted by different patterns of blues and images of dragons (their mascot). FC Porto won their league last year, so it was extremely exciting to tour the stadium and see what aspects brought their club success. My personal highlight was the presidential suite. After the stadium tour, in true European fashion, we took the subway together into Porto to shop and immerse ourselves into Portuguese culture. We arrived back to the hotel for dinner and ended our night with our World Cup presentations that we prepared over the summer. It has been so wonderful getting to explore Portugal with my teammates!"

Karenna Beckstein

AUGUST 2

"Today we said goodbye to Lisbon and headed to Porto. It was about a 3.5 hour drive but we made a pitstop in Fatima known for being a Catholic pilgrimage site. We got extremely lucky with both the day we got to visit and the time when we arrived. 

As soon as we stepped out of the bus we heard the mass being projected through the speakers and were able to walk up all the way to the steps where the mass was being held. After we ate lunch at a local cafe in Fatima and had some free time to look at the shops. Before we left Fatima we got some delicious smoothies as the coaching staff got some gelato that looked pretty good too. It was a truly amazing experience getting the opportunity to see Fatima. 

From there we drove to Porto and took a tour of the Clérigos Church and climbed up to the top of the iconic bell tower that provides a 360 panoramic view of the city. We got to take some pretty cool pictures up here! Our tour guide then took us on a walking tour around the city explaining various historical points and fun facts about the architecture and culture of Porto. We closed the day with a delicious dinner at the hotel and got some rest for our last few days in Portugal!"

Meredith Zematis

AUGUST 1

"Happy fourth day in Portugal! We started off the day eating a delicious breakfast at the hotel. We had croissants, eggs, and a variation of different fruits. We then went to the hotel lobby to present some of our slideshows made from the World Cup. This morning the groups who studied Ghana and Canada teams presented and as a team we got to learn about the different team’s tactics and key players throughout the World Cup Tournament. After the presentations we were able to have some free time to ourselves and as a team we were able to walk down to the beach from the hotel. We were able to tan, relax, and enjoy the nice refreshing water. Something that surprised me though was definitely how cold the water was and how much big rocks were in the ocean, even when we went in deep, which is something very different from at home. Around noon we sat down at a nice restaurant with the most beautiful view of the ocean. It was so nice to sit back in the shade with nice chicken caesar wraps and cold glasses of water. We then headed back to the hotel and chilled for a little before heading out for our team scavenger hunt! We were each split into different groups and were given a list of items to buy with a specific amount of euros. It was such an amazing experience trying to speak with some locals to figure out what the different items were and hearing about the history and stories behind them. 

Shortly after we walked to training. It was great to see the beautiful murals and paintings on the walls, especially the blue and yellow colors close by the turf field. In training we worked on some pattern passing, possession, and we then scrimmaged each other! After we got back we were able to clean up for dinner at the hotel where we had chicken, rice, vegetables, and several other options. We then got ready to explore Cascais, Portugal at night and went to bed after at the hotel. Overall, this day has been such an amazing experience and I can’t wait to explore more with my teammates. I also can’t wait to travel to Fatima and Porto tomorrow!"

Alli Harb

JULY 31

"To start the day, we woke up at 7:30 and enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the hotel. After eating, we found out who our new bus buddies were and headed to the famous Palácio Nacional da Ajuda in Lisbon. It was so fun learning about the history of King Luís I and Queen Maria Pia, as well as their lives in the palace.

After the tour, we had some free time to explore the city of Lisbon and grab some yummy food and gelato. Many of us even tried traditional Portuguese dishes, including fresh seafood. We walked through boutiques filled with handmade jewelry and noticed how unique the style was. For instance, I saw that many of the jewelry pieces featured fish designs. The shop workers were so kind and helpful, and it was beautiful listening to them speak Portuguese.

After that, we traveled to Sporting CP, where we began our stadium tour. We learned about Cristiano Ronaldo and other amazing players who came through the club at a young age. I also loved hearing that the women’s team has actually won more trophies than the men’s team. We toured the Emerald Lounge and were even able to sit on the players’ benches by the field.

We then headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner, where we had salmon. Overall, it was such a fun day, and I loved having this bonding experience with my teammates. I can’t wait to train tomorrow!"

Liv Delaney 

JULY 30

“Today was such an amazing day in Portugal with the team! We started the morning with practice, and it felt so good to get back into a competitive training environment with everyone. After practice, we headed into downtown Lisbon, where we walked around, shopped, and took in all the beautiful scenery. It was so cool seeing the Cristiano Ronaldo statues around the city and experiencing the culture. To end the day, we went to a Benfica match, and the atmosphere was absolutely incredible. The energy from the fans and getting to experience a soccer match in Portugal was amazing. I’m so grateful to be sharing experiences like this with my teammates!”

Carina Liberatore

JULY 29

“Today we landed in Lisbon at around 11:00 a.m. and then went straight to the hotel to check in. Afterwards we had free time to walk down the street to the beach and choose a place we wanted to get lunch. Most of the team all ended up eating together at one place, right on the water's edge. We then went to practice at Sporting FC’s facilities. Following that, we had time to come back shower, and chill before headed to an Italian team dinner!”

Caroline Walbridge

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