Aug. 4, 2010
WASHINGTON - When she first arrived in Iceland in late March, much of the talk surrounding the country revolved around volcano explosions.
But in the small town of Hafnarfjörður, located about 10 minutes outside of the capital, Reykjavik, the focus has been on soccer for a 5-10 forward who came to the country about three months ago after finishing off a tremendous career at Georgetown.
Sara Jordan is playing for Haukar, a professional team that plays in the Premier Division of the women's league. Jordan's focus since she found a home in Iceland hasn't been volcanoes, though, it's been in finding her way on the pitch.
"The volcanic eruption has not really affected my town at all," Jordan said via e-mail recently. "It has really only affected the farmers who live close to the volcano because there has been really bad flooding and the falling ash has been harmful to their livestock."
Jordan lives about three hours from the volcano and is aware of the disruption that the eruptions have caused, but has spent most of her time getting acclimated to a new environment.
She finished a spectacular career at Georgetown in the fall, helping the Hoyas to a 12-6-4 record and to a spot in the BIG EAST Tournament, the team's fifth postseason appearance in the last six years.
Jordan was a preseason All-BIG EAST selection as a senior in 2008, but an injury resulted in her missing most of the season. She came back as a graduate student and was named the league's Co-Offensive Player of the Year after scoring eight goals and seven assists for 23 points. Jordan, who earned All-Northeast Region honors in her final season of play as well, left the Hilltop ranked among the top-10 all-time in goals, assists and points.
After the season, Jordan sat down with Head Coach Dave Nolan and tried to map out a plan to play on the next level.
"We had discussed for a while that I wanted to play professionally after I finished at Georgetown," Jordan said. "After our season ended in the fall we sat down and looked at my options and tried to find the best situation for me, where I would not only have a good soccer experience, but also a good life experience. When the Iceland opportunity came up, we thought it fit that scenario and I decided to take it."
Jordan joined two other American players on the team, joining former Rutgers standout Becky Wise and UNC-Wilmington player Ashley Myers.
Haukar plays in the Premier Division of their women's soccer league, which is the highest level of the sport in Iceland. The team had won the second division last year and moved up to the top division for this season, which is currently underway.
The team plays in Hafnarfjörður, Iceland, a small town of about 20,000, just a short drive from the capital.
"The coach and management of the club have revamped the team from last year since we're in a higher division," said Jordan, who is one of six newcomers on the team. "We have a pretty different look from the team last year, with six new starters. The fact that there are a lot of new players has actually made my transition easier because it's not just me trying to get used to a new team, pretty much everyone is still trying to get used to each other and figure out each other's personalities on the field."
When Jordan arrived to the country for the first time, during the last week in March, the weather was still very cold. To ease her transition, the team allowed her to workout inside on a treadmill in the team's gym. She stayed in Iceland during the first week and then the team traveled to Albufeira, Portugal for a preseason training trip.
"We were there about eight days and had two sessions a day pretty much every day and then we had two scrimmages against other Icelandic teams that were also there," Jordan explained. "It was a nice trip and I think the biggest thing for me from that trip was that I got to know the girls a lot better because we were around each other all the time, so that was definitely an important trip for me in terms of adjustment."
Getting used to living in a new country and the surroundings took some time.
"The adjustment has been a little difficult, but not in a bad way," she said. "Adjusting to the Icelandic culture and lifestyle has actually not been as difficult as I thought it would be because the girls on the team and their families have been so great about trying to include me in everything and showing me around and making me feel like I have a family away from my family."
Having grown up in Indiana and played collegiately in the District, one of the biggest changes for Jordan has been the climate.
"The weather is really interesting here," Jordan said. "It is pretty unpredictable and constantly changing because we are basically just out in the middle of the ocean. We will have like three or four different types of weather in one day. It seems to rain about once a day, but usually not for very long, some days it will literally only rain for 10 minutes."
And being in a country that is surrounded by the ocean, the members of Haukar have to deal with the winds that come from the water.
"The temperatures aren't that cold but what makes it so cold is the wind," Jordan said. "It's always really windy because our town is right on the ocean and there aren't really any trees anywhere because my town is built on lava rocks so trees have trouble growing here. But during the summer the weather gets up to the 60s."
Getting the chance to get on the field and play provided some comfort, but that took some time as well.
"The adjustment to the soccer has been the most difficult thing for me, but again not in a bad way, it's just the game is really different over here so I'm trying to take everything on the field as a learning experience and grow as a player," Jordan said. "It's definitely a more physical game than in the States and the girls here are really big and strong and the refs let the game go a little bit more than I think they do in the States."
The other facet of that game that made things more challenging was adapting to a new system after playing for five years at Georgetown and under Nolan.
"The way the girls and the coaches read the game here is very different from the way we tried to play (at Georgetown), so I think that, more than anything, has been the hardest thing for me to adjust to," she said. "Just playing for a new coach and with a whole new team is always going to take some adjustment, but I feel like I've finally started to play well in the system that our team is trying to play, so it's been a fun and interesting challenge as a player."
Haukar is midway through its season now. There are 12 teams in the league and they play every team twice - once home and once away - before the playoffs start. Jordan, who was hobbled by an ankle injury early in the season, and is back playing again. The team started slowly this season, but rebounded and advanced to the round of eight at a recent tournament.
It has been a whirlwind ride for Jordan. She overcame an injury during the 2008 season only to bounce back and earn All-BIG EAST honors as a graduate student last year. And just a few short months after the season ended, she was in, of all places, Iceland, continuing to play the game she loves.
"I am enjoying myself," she said. "The first few weeks were a little hard, but I feel like I am pretty much adjusted now and I'm really excited to start exploring this country and having the season underway.
"There's a lot more pressure to perform well that comes with being a professional than just being a college athlete that I think I am still trying to get used to and figure out how to balance and turn it into a positive influence on my game. But when it comes down to it, I'm getting paid to play soccer and, to me, there really is no better job than that, so I'm just trying to enjoy every moment of it."
By Mike "Mex" Carey
Sports Information Director
