The Orange close out if seven-game home stand this weekend, beginning with Georgetown on Friday (6:00 p.m.)
On The Turf With Erika Wachter
10/12/2011 8:24:34 AM | Field Hockey
Read Blog No. 1 | Read Blog No. 2 | Read Blog No. 3 | Read Blog No. 4
Read Blog No. 5 | Read Blog No. 6 | Read Blog No. 7
Another week is already down in the books and we worked hard to pick up two more wins this past week. Because we had a Wednesday game last week, everything was a bit different. We played hard against Albany, and while it was a dog fight and a battle until the final whistle blew, we walked away with another W.
Also occurring last Wednesday was open auditions on campus for MTV's The Real World, a popular reality show. The producers were on hand to look for members to make up the cast for the 27th season. I stopped by myself and gave it a shot, and to my surprise, I received a call back! It was a really fun experience and look forward to seeing how the always-funky cast unfolds. I was not the only teammate who gave it a shot, Haley Bomboy also made her presence known at the auditions sometime during the day. (I'm sure others secretly did, as well.)
While Wednesday proved to be an eventful and exciting day, Thursday was a day for us all to catch up on sleep, school work and our health. Since the mid-week game threw off our usual training schedule, Thursday was used as a much needed regeneration day. Many girls went in for treatment and massage, and others slept or chose shopping as therapy of their choice. Adrian Chambers and I went to the mall that night, where she attempted to get her phone fixed. After more than an hour wasted in the store, she was back to square one, with no improvement of the phone, and instead lost cell phone contacts. So, later that night (or should I say early Friday morning), she pre-ordered the Iphone 4s, along with one million other people. As many teammates have begun to learn, Iphone's are greater than blackberry's.
Moving on to Friday, we were back at it on the field for practice and ready for the next step in preparations for Sunday's game. Luckily for us, the weather was unseasonably warm…but, it was also a running day… everyone's favorite kind of day! This is because it was not the day before a game, so we were able to do more running and push harder. Despite the hard work, the main thing that got us through this challenging practice was knowing that the Water Olympics were going to be held that night! Prior to practice, each team began discussing themes and outfits. There was one roster change: Liz McInerney removed herself from the Seniors team and settled for a spot on the Sophomores team. This worked out in the Seniors favor because it enabled them to go with one of their discussed themes.
Following practice, we allotted a little more than an hour to get ready and meet in the cul-de-sac of Martina Loncarica's, Amy Kee/Iona Holloway's and Leonie Geyer/Laura Hahnefeldt/Anna Crumb's apartments. It was no surprise that a majority of the team began arriving for the games about 30 minutes late; we were finally ready approximately 50 minutes after the projected start time.
Anyway after moving the three dining room tables, plenty of cups and water outside into the parking lot, we began. However, first we admired our choices of attire. The Seniors were voted the most “in sync” group... Martu (Loncarica), Nicole Nelson, Heather Susek and I were dressed as KISS. We wore all black gear and made sure to have some leather included in the ensemble. We drew the signature star around our eyes, or another design, such as a lightning bolt. Finally, the one thing that completed the outfit was our black lipstick, complemented with our tongues out, rock and roll hand gestures and loud screams!
The second craziest outfits had to go to the sophomores who referred to themselves as Triple-L-Double-A-battery. The Triple L is for Liz (Mcinerney), Laura (Hahnefeldt) and Leo (Geyer). The Double A battery represents Adrian (Chambers) and Anna (Crumb). Their outfits were a bit more eclectic and included neon colors, ski goggles, letters taped on their clothes and ski vests, among other random holiday decorations. It was random, but they wore it quite well.
The juniors were the Unicorns, in honor of last year's spring indoor hockey mini-team. Some wore their unicorn shirts and while their outfits were not over the top, their team chemistry was clearly visible. Last but not least were the freshmen. Okay, maybe they were “least.” Their attire was Syracuse sweat gear and Sophia Openshaw represented school pride with a Syracuse blanket around her. Clearly they ignored the memo about having a super fun theme. Unfortunately, I can't even say their game skills made up for their lack of creativity. They only won one round all night. However, their pure excitement when they did win was something I enjoyed witnessing.
Speaking of winners, after some debate, we have decided that the seniors aka KISS were the winners. (While competing, I told the team I would say the seniors won regardless. However, in all fairness, the seniors truly did win the most games.) The Water Olympics lasted for about an hour and a half. We played different games that challenged team work and then drank the winning cups of water. Many students came outside because they heard our loud music and excited laughter and cheers; they thought we were having a party! The Department of Public Safety even drove by to check on the commotion, and we attempted to convince the officer to join us in our pre-game hydration festivities. He told us he would come to our game instead.
The Water Olympics prepared us for our practice the next day, and then we were all set for Sunday's matchup against Columbia. We met at Bruegger's Bagels for our usual pregame meal and then went home briefly before heading to the field to take our 2011 team photo. We took multiple pictures and asked to take funny pictures, as well, one of which included jumping in the air. We also shouted out different scenarios to evoke our expressions for each photo. These included: riding a roller coaster and winning the National Championship and then Coach Ange Bradley telling us we needed to get on the endline to do sprints. None of us enjoyed the second part of that scenario. If that happened, you would probably see many tears.
Following the good spirited photo shoot, we met to go over our game plan. Then we began warm-up and during our jog, we were particularly amused by one of the Columbia player's hairstyles: a huge Mohawk. None of us had ever seen anything like it. It beats the Mohawk of our volunteer assistant coach Mike Young. Sorry Mike, just keep letting it grow. Turning our focus back to the game, we set out to pick up another win and move to 11-2 on the season. It wasn't our finest game, but we walked away with another W and Sophia (Openshaw) got her first career shutout and Stephanie Hussey scored her first career goal…a goal scored on her grandmother's birthday. (Hope we have her “tarzan-like” celebration on tape.)
So, while it is another week down, it was another week spent building team chemistry and getting another step closer towards our post-season goals. After competing hard this week in practice, we are excited for our two games this upcoming weekend. If we win Friday's game against Georgetown, we secure a place in the BIG EAST Championship in November. The tournament takes place on our home turf this year…the first time in four years. Then on Sunday, we play an unfamiliar face in University of Vermont. Hopefully all of our hard work will lead to success in this weekend's play.
Go 'Cuse!
Read Blog No. 5 | Read Blog No. 6 | Read Blog No. 7
Another week is already down in the books and we worked hard to pick up two more wins this past week. Because we had a Wednesday game last week, everything was a bit different. We played hard against Albany, and while it was a dog fight and a battle until the final whistle blew, we walked away with another W.
Also occurring last Wednesday was open auditions on campus for MTV's The Real World, a popular reality show. The producers were on hand to look for members to make up the cast for the 27th season. I stopped by myself and gave it a shot, and to my surprise, I received a call back! It was a really fun experience and look forward to seeing how the always-funky cast unfolds. I was not the only teammate who gave it a shot, Haley Bomboy also made her presence known at the auditions sometime during the day. (I'm sure others secretly did, as well.)
While Wednesday proved to be an eventful and exciting day, Thursday was a day for us all to catch up on sleep, school work and our health. Since the mid-week game threw off our usual training schedule, Thursday was used as a much needed regeneration day. Many girls went in for treatment and massage, and others slept or chose shopping as therapy of their choice. Adrian Chambers and I went to the mall that night, where she attempted to get her phone fixed. After more than an hour wasted in the store, she was back to square one, with no improvement of the phone, and instead lost cell phone contacts. So, later that night (or should I say early Friday morning), she pre-ordered the Iphone 4s, along with one million other people. As many teammates have begun to learn, Iphone's are greater than blackberry's.
Moving on to Friday, we were back at it on the field for practice and ready for the next step in preparations for Sunday's game. Luckily for us, the weather was unseasonably warm…but, it was also a running day… everyone's favorite kind of day! This is because it was not the day before a game, so we were able to do more running and push harder. Despite the hard work, the main thing that got us through this challenging practice was knowing that the Water Olympics were going to be held that night! Prior to practice, each team began discussing themes and outfits. There was one roster change: Liz McInerney removed herself from the Seniors team and settled for a spot on the Sophomores team. This worked out in the Seniors favor because it enabled them to go with one of their discussed themes.
Following practice, we allotted a little more than an hour to get ready and meet in the cul-de-sac of Martina Loncarica's, Amy Kee/Iona Holloway's and Leonie Geyer/Laura Hahnefeldt/Anna Crumb's apartments. It was no surprise that a majority of the team began arriving for the games about 30 minutes late; we were finally ready approximately 50 minutes after the projected start time.
Anyway after moving the three dining room tables, plenty of cups and water outside into the parking lot, we began. However, first we admired our choices of attire. The Seniors were voted the most “in sync” group... Martu (Loncarica), Nicole Nelson, Heather Susek and I were dressed as KISS. We wore all black gear and made sure to have some leather included in the ensemble. We drew the signature star around our eyes, or another design, such as a lightning bolt. Finally, the one thing that completed the outfit was our black lipstick, complemented with our tongues out, rock and roll hand gestures and loud screams!
The second craziest outfits had to go to the sophomores who referred to themselves as Triple-L-Double-A-battery. The Triple L is for Liz (Mcinerney), Laura (Hahnefeldt) and Leo (Geyer). The Double A battery represents Adrian (Chambers) and Anna (Crumb). Their outfits were a bit more eclectic and included neon colors, ski goggles, letters taped on their clothes and ski vests, among other random holiday decorations. It was random, but they wore it quite well.
The juniors were the Unicorns, in honor of last year's spring indoor hockey mini-team. Some wore their unicorn shirts and while their outfits were not over the top, their team chemistry was clearly visible. Last but not least were the freshmen. Okay, maybe they were “least.” Their attire was Syracuse sweat gear and Sophia Openshaw represented school pride with a Syracuse blanket around her. Clearly they ignored the memo about having a super fun theme. Unfortunately, I can't even say their game skills made up for their lack of creativity. They only won one round all night. However, their pure excitement when they did win was something I enjoyed witnessing.
Speaking of winners, after some debate, we have decided that the seniors aka KISS were the winners. (While competing, I told the team I would say the seniors won regardless. However, in all fairness, the seniors truly did win the most games.) The Water Olympics lasted for about an hour and a half. We played different games that challenged team work and then drank the winning cups of water. Many students came outside because they heard our loud music and excited laughter and cheers; they thought we were having a party! The Department of Public Safety even drove by to check on the commotion, and we attempted to convince the officer to join us in our pre-game hydration festivities. He told us he would come to our game instead.
The Water Olympics prepared us for our practice the next day, and then we were all set for Sunday's matchup against Columbia. We met at Bruegger's Bagels for our usual pregame meal and then went home briefly before heading to the field to take our 2011 team photo. We took multiple pictures and asked to take funny pictures, as well, one of which included jumping in the air. We also shouted out different scenarios to evoke our expressions for each photo. These included: riding a roller coaster and winning the National Championship and then Coach Ange Bradley telling us we needed to get on the endline to do sprints. None of us enjoyed the second part of that scenario. If that happened, you would probably see many tears.
Following the good spirited photo shoot, we met to go over our game plan. Then we began warm-up and during our jog, we were particularly amused by one of the Columbia player's hairstyles: a huge Mohawk. None of us had ever seen anything like it. It beats the Mohawk of our volunteer assistant coach Mike Young. Sorry Mike, just keep letting it grow. Turning our focus back to the game, we set out to pick up another win and move to 11-2 on the season. It wasn't our finest game, but we walked away with another W and Sophia (Openshaw) got her first career shutout and Stephanie Hussey scored her first career goal…a goal scored on her grandmother's birthday. (Hope we have her “tarzan-like” celebration on tape.)
So, while it is another week down, it was another week spent building team chemistry and getting another step closer towards our post-season goals. After competing hard this week in practice, we are excited for our two games this upcoming weekend. If we win Friday's game against Georgetown, we secure a place in the BIG EAST Championship in November. The tournament takes place on our home turf this year…the first time in four years. Then on Sunday, we play an unfamiliar face in University of Vermont. Hopefully all of our hard work will lead to success in this weekend's play.
Go 'Cuse!
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