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Joe Greenwich, SJU Athletic Communications: October 2011 Archives
 by Ellen Rowe I struggle to write this blog knowing that after this weekend our
road to the Atlantic 10 Tournament has come to a halt. It began with the
Richmond game this past Friday.
We practiced that week knowing that the coming weekend's games were
crucial to our fate. Richmond is always a very skilled team. The past
years have been tough losses to Richmond, however this season we were
looking for a win. The game began with an SJU tap off at the center of
the field. We kept the ball in our offensive end for quite some time.
In my mind I began to think that this was the year we would finally
beat Richmond. The Spiders managed to have some lucky breakaways that
led to goals, and at halftime they led, 3-1. All hope was not lost. We
came out in the second half looking to even up the scoreboard.
Richmond, unfortunately, fought to keep their lead. The final score of
the match was 6-3. It was a devastating loss for the Hawks. This loss
meant that we had to win every single one of our last three games in
order to make it into the A-10 tournament. There was absolutely no room
for error. If that isn't a tremendous amount of pressure, then I don't
know what is. We had only one day of practice to gather our thoughts and prepare for Sunday's
game against La Salle. To make matters worse, we had the extreme
disadvantage of playing on La Salle's grass turf, which is
very different from the Astroturf we normally play on. This was a
complete game-changer. The pace of the ball is much slower and very
bouncy. We came out hard in the first half, dominating in our offensive
end. At halftime the score was 0-0. This was going to be a battle to
the end, with both teams knowing this win was crucial for a spot in the
tournament. I had a good feeling about the game. Everyone was playing
their hardest. We wanted this win. We NEEDED this win. In the second
half L aSalle scored two goals. The Hawks managed to score one in the
last 25 seconds, but it was not enough. The game was over, and so was
our chance of making the tournament. If heart alone could win
games, we would have beaten La Salle by a long-shot. Everyone worked so
hard, and to come up short is completely devastating. In my mind, we
won that game. We outplayed them, outshot them and poured all our
energy into that 70-minute span. The score doesn't show it, but it
should. We should be in that tournament and the fact that we aren't
will eat at me forever. For the seniors, we had a good run. We won't
get to play with the team in another A-10 tournament, but we do have
two conference games left to finish out our season. It will be hard to
make it through our last collegiate week of field hockey, knowing the
end is near. We have three practices before we pay a visit to Lock
Haven on Friday and then end our season with Senior Day versus Saint Louis at home on Sunday.
It's going to be a bittersweet day for the seniors, as the last chapter
of our collegiate hockey careers comes to a close. The season isn't
over yet, so let's end on a positive note as a team with two wins this
week and soak up the last memories of the 2011 SJUFH season. -Ellen
by Rachel Walsh
This past week we had four games, and split 50/50. We won against
Villanova and Georgetown and lost to Temple and UMass. This busy, busy
week has taught us a lot about what we need to do to advance in our
conference. Even though we're 0-2 in Atlantic 10 play, we're keeping our heads
up and moving forward as a team.
The game against Villanova was a roller coaster to say the least.
We scored first, and were able to keep them at our heels in the first
half; but they answered back in the second half with two goals, one of
which was scored with 1:21 left on the clock. A timeout was called, and
we knew what we had to do: get it into their circle. The next minute
felt like 5 seconds. Then, with 30 seconds left on the clock, we earned
a penalty corner and executed it PERFECTLY. GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLL :) !!!!
In the 15 minute overtime that was to follow, Therese Doyle would score
a goal with 6 minutes left. We were all ecstatic! Not only did we win
the "Holy War" for the first time in what seems like forever, we also
proved to ourselves that we could come from behind, execute when we
need to, and come out on top against a good team. This game was no
joke, we knew going into it that it would be a hard game (because it
always is) and we knew 'Nova had a good team. We dominated a majority of
the game. It was unfortunate that we had those two minor breakdowns
that they capitalized on, but overall everyone was completely happy
with the result. Finally, the curse of losing every home game (to that point) on our home turf was broken!
Despite the exciment of Wednesday's
game, our team kept working (bright and early) the next morning at
practice. We had a few letdowns and we knew UMass could capitalize on
our breakdowns if we didn't address them. Individual defense was a main
focus, as well as perfect offensive penalty corners. Then it was off
the Amherst, where we would play our second conference game.
The result was extremely disappointing. UMass got an early lead as
they scored off a tip on a penalty corner within the first two minutes
of the game. We were able to hold them off for another 17 minutes, but
they notched two more goals before half. We knew we had to step it
up: our individual defense was poor, and we couldnt get it past their
defense. The second half was a blur; UMass scored four more goals to make
the final score 7-0. We were upset, disappointed, embarrassed. This game
highlighted major mistakes we make, but we're ready to fix them and ready
to move forward within the conference. We all vowed to leave 110% out
on the field at practice this week and leave the past games behind us.
"There's a reason why your rearview mirror is so much smaller than your
windshield." We have four games left, all four in-conference, and all
four teams are beatable. To seal our spot in the conference tournament we would have
to win three out of the four, but winning all four would definitely
help.
LET'S GO SJUFH! BEAT RICHMOND!
-Rachel
by Ellen Rowe What a busy few weeks its been for the field hockey team! We took on nationally-ranked Cal at home and put up a tough fight, yet couldn't pull
through. They were a really talented team and we learned a lot from
playing them. Shortly thereafter, we traveled to Albany to take on Siena
and had a great 7-1 win! It was a great team effort by all. A lot of
the freshmen got a chance to show how hard they have been working.
Megan DeMarco got her first collegiate goal! Congrats Meg! Nicole Gerdes had
her first multi-goal game, scoring two goals in the match. Good work
Nicole! Siena was our first true road trip this season and it was a
lot of fun. Our next game was against Temple on October 7th. We
came into that game knowing it was going to be very tough. The Owls are
our biggest rivals in Philly, and we knew they had a very aggressive
team this year. Before the game was the field dedication for SJU
legend Ellen Ryan. It was a very special moment for Ellen and all who
attended. She seemed very touched by the tremendous turnout and
support for the event. We were all very honored to get to be a part of
that historical moment. Congrats Ellen and thank you for supporting our
team all these years! We are proud to play in your name. After the
dedication it was game time. Temple came out with guns blazing. Despite
our countless efforts, they ended up winning the game, 4-1. It was a
physical and mental battle, as always, with the Owls. Hopefully we will
see them again in the A-10 tournament; this time coming out on top.
The
day after Temple, the Hawks were on the road again. It was a crazy bus
ride to Washington, D.C. filled with song battles, movies and stealing
Joe's camera to record some videos of our own. We had a game with
Georgetown University this afternoon. Georgetown was a not a team to be
taken lightly. They put up a tough fight, but we managed to
squeak by with a 1-0 win. Jordan Martin had her fifth goal of the
season, and Liz Messaros earned the shutout in the cage.Congrats to
everyone on the win today and lets use this as momentum for the rest of the week! The busy week continues with a game Wednesday
afternoon at Ellen Ryan Field against cross-town rivals Villanova. We
are looking for our first win on the new field! The day after we will
be traveling the Amherst for a Friday game at UMass. This will be one of our hardest games thus far. We really need to work extra hard and win our second A-10 game. Friday's
match is very crucial for our conference play. It won't be easy, but I
believe we have what it takes to pull off an upset. Here we go Hawks! -Ellen
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