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Joe Greenwich, SJU Athletic Communications: October 2010 Archives
 by Jen Wrublesky As our last week of regular season practice winds down, the team is focused on victory this weekend. We have two very tough games - Lock Haven, who we lost to last year, and Richmond, a team we battle every year. It is vital that we win both games this weekend, especially since Temple, Richmond, and us are currently in a three-way tie with a record of 3-2. Important things our team is working on in practice are increasing the tempo of our game, improving our possession passing and perfecting our corner teams. It is hard to believe how fast the season has gone. I can't believe that our last regular season away trip happens this weekend. The team is excited for both rematches this weekend, and I think everyone is ready to play again after the heartbreaker with UMass. Jen
 by Kelly Swanick Unfortunately our 4-1 loss to UMass does not reflect the intensity, heart, and competitiveness that was displayed today on the field. Holding them almost the first 20 minutes to a 0-0 game and getting a lot of action in our offensive circle, it was clear from very early on this game was going to be a war. Unlucky for us UMass capitalized on some essential corners in the first half. Despite the loss, I think this game gave us the desire and competitiveness to come out this upcoming weekend and really take it to Lock Haven and Richmond. This week's practice is going to be our first full week of practice without a Wednesday game in the middle. This will really give us field time to focus on what we need to do to get two Ws this weekend. There is no more time to hold back anything during these two games. If we want to make it to the tournament, which we do, the next two games will need to be hard-fought 70 minute field hockey games. I believe in each and every single one of these girls that we can do this and we will. Kelly
by Kelly Swanick Today's game against Saint Louis was a great team effort achieved by all. Although Saint Louis scored first, we answered back relentlessly, with a final score of 5-2. A lot of players off the bench saw action in today's game and made an immediate impact against our opponent. It was a fun game and great for the entire team to get some league game experience under their belt. This win was essential for our journey to the Atlantic 10 tournament. Saturday we leave for Massachusetts, we have practice on their field in the afternoon and then a team dinner. This is a huge game for us and we hope to come out strong on Sunday. Kelly
by Kelly Swanick Last night was a heartbreaking loss to our city rival, Penn. I thought as a team we played great, possession passing was really on point, we created opportunities for ourselves, and held on for all 70 minutes causing us to go into overtime. Unfortunately, not everything went the Hawks' way last night but we just have to see this as a non-league opportunity to learn from and take our aggression out during the upcoming A-10 weekend. I know myself, as well as the team, will be happy to be playing on short turf this Friday back at our home, Drexel's Buckley Field, vs Saint Louis. Today's practice will mostly consist of corners and shooting drills, nothing too intense. This weekend is a HUGE weekend for us as we play SLU Friday and then travel up to UMass on Saturday for Sunday's game. If we can create two wins for ourselves, that would be huge in our road to A-10 postseason play. There is no doubt in my mind we have the capability, but we are really going to have to play the best hockey we have seen from ourselves all season this weekend! Together We Soar, Kelly
 by Casey Fry This past Sunday we played La Salle for our third game in conference play. It was a hard-fought game between the two teams. We were down a goal within the first minute of play, but we answered right back with a beautiful goal and continued to score two more later on. In today's game we demonstrated our stick-to-stick passing and our ability to recover on defense. Also, our off-ball movement improves with every game. I think with the exception of the first minute of play we played very well. As a team we were all playing offense and all playing defense which created some of our fast breaks out of our defensive end. Overall, I thought the team showed heart and the desire on the field today, and proved that we are capable of winning even though we were down a goal early on. Today was also Senior Day. We celebrated seven seniors who have been an intricate part of our team for the past four years. Since we have so many upperclassmen, we have many positive role models on and off the field. It has been a pleasure to be able to get to know these girls and play with them for the past four years. I have had such a wonderful experience at SJU and would not change a thing. As a team we look forward to playing away at Penn on Wednesday for a non-conference game, then return to the Atlantic 10 by playing Saint Louis on Friday and going to Massachusetts on Sunday. Thank you for the Support! Casey Kelly Swanick and Jen Wrublesky also shared their thoughts on Senior Day...
When I woke up this morning it was hard to believe it was already Senior Day...where is the time going? The team outdid themselves with locker room decorations and pictures, and they even made " We <3 Our Seniors" t-shirts! The girls on this team, and their families, all have become my family for the past four years. It is incredible that such a strong bond can be formed in merely four years. My time here on Hawk Hill has been unforgettable. My friends made on this field will surely become friends for the rest of my life. Playing field hockey at St. Joe's has made me so much more of a well-rounded person. It has taught me leadership, teamwork, time management and discipline. Michelle has been a great coach; the thing I admire most is her ability to recognize that as students we have other commitments we must put before field hockey at times (this is in reference to my junior year spring accounting internship) and allowing us to take these opportunities that present themselves to us. As it is my senior year I plan on holding nothing back for the rest of the season and hope for myself as well as the team nothing but our best play from this point forward. I would like to thank everyone who has made my field hockey career what it is today and without your love and support none of this would have been accomplished. This team and the past four years have exceeded all expectations I could have ever hoped for. Thank you! Kelly I can't believe Senior Day has already come and gone! Vivid memories of reporting for my first collegiate preseason in August of 2007 are still fresh in my mind--the nervousness, trying to get names right, leaving home for the first time, and most importantly joining a whole new team. I remember how confident the seniors were, how they welcomed all seven of us new freshmen onto the team, and most importantly how quickly the nervousness faded. Looking back on three years of senior days I always thought that my senior day was so far off! The team did a wonderful job decorating the locker room and making the seniors feel so loved. Ultimately, Senior Day ended with a win, a fabulous tailgate, and a wonderful event put together by the underclassmen. Senior year is a funny thing; we have all grown both on and off the field. We are more confident in our play and our futures are beginning to take shape, yet the feeling of being a teammate and part of our field hockey "family" feels like it is just right. This team is one of the closest I have ever played on, and to think that it is almost time to move on is bittersweet. To see all the same emotions I felt my first day of preseason reflected in three different year's worth of teammates, the friendships that have developed, and the personalities that emerged made this day truly special. Now we just have to keep winning all the way through the A-10 tournament to prolong our time together! Jen
by Casey Fry Today we played our second game of the Atlantic 10 conference schedule against
West Chester. It was a great win for us. We really have been working on
our possession game, getting quick shots off, and playing all 70
minutes, which in my opinion we did very well today. We had great
combination passing up the sideline and in through the middle which
created two of our three goals. Also, as a team our off-the-ball
movement has improved immensely, and I think that helped our possession
game as well. Overall, we are still striving to play all 70
minutes of the game, but today was a total team effort to earn our
first win in the Atlantic 10. Sunday afternoon we are playing La Salle,
which is our Senior Day. I cannot believe it is already here! We are
celebrating the efforts of seven wonderful seniors. They have been
great teammates for the past four years, and I could not have asked for
a better class to play with. Thank you for all the support! Casey
by Casey Fry Today's game, the "Holy War" against Villanova, was a tough loss in
overtime. Villanova is always one of our top rivals and one of our
biggest games outside of our Atlantic 10 conference schedule. We played with
heart, desire, and determination to make a comeback after being down
two goals at halftime to tie the game and take it into overtime. As a
team, we are still striving to play a full 70 minutes. However, we
did execute many of the skills we have been working on in practice to
take us to that next level of play. We did capitalize on two of our
scoring opportunities, which propelled us into overtime, and our defense
played very well against Villanova's speed up top. Also, I thought a couple of players that came late into game provided a spark for our
team, and took the play up a notch. One spark in particular assisted
one of today's goals. Despite the loss with a minute left in overtime,
we fought hard and played well. Looking into the future, we start
up the A-10 conference games again with West Chester on Friday and La Salle on Sunday. We are looking to come away with two wins this
weekend, but to do so we need to come out strong, capitalize on our
opportunities, and play all 70 minutes. Thank you for all the support! Casey
by Jen Wrublesky Unfortunately we didn't get the outcome we wanted today against Temple, but overall our team played very well. We played with a lot of heart and except for one lapse, we played the entire game. It was a pretty well-matched game, and we had some close opportunities in our offensive circle. Unfortunately we were unable to capitalize and put the ball in the net when we needed it most. I am happy with our team's performance today. We were focused and had more of an edge in our one-on-one match ups. We also had some really nice moments of possession passing. We can't hang our heads after today's performance since we have a tough week ahead and all but one of our conference games left. We play Villanova Wednesday at home and although it's not an A-10 game, it is still one of the biggest games of the year. After the Holy War on Wednesday, we have West Chester on Friday and La Salle on Sunday. The A-10 season has just begun. I think this heartbreaker has the potential to fire the team up for Wednesday. Jen
by Jen Wrublesky Tomorrow we play Temple and begin conference
play! We have had a pretty tough schedule this season, and a win is
essential for not only our conference record and our path to the
Atlantic 10 Championship, but also for team morale. Both teams are
coming off some pretty tough losses, which means that this game has
even more at stake than the normal SJU-Temple rivalry. Our
team goals for conference play include playing the full 70 minutes of a
game, scoring first and scoring early, maintaining focus throughout the
entire game, communication, and finding that "competitive edge."
Luckily our team is back in full force and recovered from some
mid-season injuries. This week at practice we concentrated on
offense, perfecting our circle play, and working on our transitions.
Tuesday was a long day of practice out in the cold rain, but the team
was very dedicated and remained focused throughout practice. Wednesday
was dedicated to competition and overtime play, and today we perfected
our penalty strokes and corners. The mood on the team is one
of excitement; the upperclassmen realize how much is at stake and how
high the emotions will run tomorrow during the game. It will be good
for the freshmen to see how much A-10s mean and what our team is really
all about. Tomorrow will be a nice change to start out by playing
Temple, rather than waiting to play them our last game of the regular
season. It is vital for our team to come out with a victory tomorrow,
both for team morale and to start off with some forward momentum in the
conference. It is hard to believe that this is my last regular season
game against Temple! We just need to come out early and hard and not
let up for even one minute against the Owls. As Henry Ford said, "Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." Let's go Hawks! Jen
by Kelly Swanick Today's game was a tough loss, but all we can do is look forward
from here. The past ten games have technically been part of our season
but our true season begins Friday; the Atlantic 10 schedule begins. That means our
record now is 0-0, we start fresh, and we have the capability to do
great things from here on out. Our schedule thus far has consisted of
several nationally ranked teams, who although we have lost to, have
only helped prepare us for Friday and for the rest of the season.
There is no point in dwelling on the past, what we could have or
should have done. We have three practices coming up that are crucial to
our mental and physical game in preparation for Temple on Friday. As a
team we still need work on communication in all areas of the field as
well as capitalizing and finishing in the circle. Our A-10 season will
not be easy; every single game is an obstacle and an opportunity for
advancement to the A-10 tournament. I believe in this team and our
capability to do great things in the games ahead. This is our year
to shine, as seven seniors start, and I believe we can make it happen!
Together We Soar, Kelly
by Kelly Swanick
October is here and Atlantic 10 season is rapidly approaching full force; where has
the time gone? I am very excited that we are traveling up to Connecticut on
Saturday rather than just leaving Sunday; we have not been on a road
trip since VCU, so everyone is excited to get away for a little.
Saturday night's team dinner is also fun, especially if we go to
Olive Garden (our favorite spot).
Sunday's game is a big game for us
mentally, as it is also our last non-conference game before we play Temple
next Friday. We have had a whole week of practice focusing on
possession, defense on the entire field and communicating with each
other. We have had some injuries catching up with the team this week, so
it was great seeing the players that don't normally get to start really rise to the occasion and
fill in the gaps.
I am a little nervous for the game on Sunday. I am excited to
play, as we had the whole week off, but I think it is very important
for the Hawks to get a win this weekend so we can begin A-10 play with
a level of confidence in ourselves and each other. We need to play
strong and smart the entire 70 minutes for us to be successful.
School work is really beginning to pile up as midterms are just
around the corner. It was nice this week having a regular practice
schedule without midweek games to balance out the work load, but once
A-10 games start, the craziness of missing classes and traveling
begins.
Fridays are going to be the worst; I think I am missing my 1:00 p.m.
class every Friday in October. Yikes! Most teachers will work with
you though if you give them notice in advance, which is extremely
helpful.
This
weekend Fairfield is hosting "Play 4 the Cure" for Breast Cancer
Awareness, so as a team we will be making a donation and wearing pink
warm-up shirts before the game. We have never really done anything like
this before, but I think it is a great idea and a
nice way to support the cause.
Together We Soar, Kelly
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