On the Turf with Erika Wachter
9/14/2011 9:26:21 AM | Field Hockey
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We took our first true road trip as a 2011 team this past weekend, and don't worry, it was certainly a long one. It was about an eight hour bus ride to get to Columbus, Ohio to play two top teams in Ohio State University and No. 2 Old Dominion University.
We left Syracuse around 7 a.m. (nothing compared to last week's 4 a.m. departure times), but nonetheless, we were all still very tired. After finding our usual seats, we loaded snacks onto the bus and then settled in with blankets and pillows to prepare for the ride. Yet before it was time for sleeping, we all devoured the bagels and cream cheese we ordered. Strawberry cream cheese was a popular choice, but after Martina Loncarica noticed it was “reduced-fat,” she went on to eat half the container because she needed to 'make up for it.'
Before you knew it, everyone was fast asleep, despite being crammed awkwardly into the small seat…legs blocking the walkway. Once we woke up several hours later, it was movie time! Some girls went back to sleep, some made attempts at homework, Heather Susek finished her daily reading of The Hunger Games (we could all hear her grunting when an irritating part took place), and the rest of the team just sat back and watched “Country Strong.” While Anna Crumb was unhappy about the poor positioning of the TV screens, everyone else was singing along and obsessing over the movie. Some of the girls were still talking about it days later.
Once in Ohio, and more than half way through the ride, we stopped for lunch. The shopping center we stopped at satisfied all; Chipotle, Panera Bread and Chick-fil-A! After making sure we had a coach (and credit card) to pay at each restaurant, we split up and headed to our place of choice, with a large portion of the team choosing my personal favorite, Chick-fil-A. (P.s.- Since we know N.Y. does not have Chick-fil-A's, we highly recommend you to seek one out! It is delicious and the ketchup packets are the best!) You can dip or squeeze and they look like mini ketchup bottles. Lauren Brooks, Jordan Page and I must have talked about them for five minutes. However, be sure to actually order the fries, so you have something to dip. Right Sophia Openshaw? Anyway, we finished our meals, and after a short stretch/yoga session in the grass of the parking lot, we headed back onto the bus to finish our last three hours.
Once at Ohio State, we got our room assignments then quickly changed for our practice session. After practicing for two hours, we went back to the hotel to shower for dinner. Wearing our matching warm-ups, we left for our Columbus favorite, Bucca di Beppo Italian Restaurant. We went to the restaurant last year so most of us knew what it was all about. It's family style food serving, so we ordered plenty! After devouring bread and dipping oil, our salads, calamari, bruschetta and garlic bread came out. Mmm. Then, soon after our main meals which included chicken marsala, chicken cannelloni, lasagna, penne arrabiata, veal parmesan and fettucini. Despite the delicious food, I think our favorite part of this meal was our self-entertainment. We joyously joined in on their version of happy birthday to several customers, including our trainer Andrew Landry. It went a little something like this: “Pasta, meatballs we made it just for you…lots of marinara and some garlic, too….” It was quite entertaining and I think the song even said the word: birthday! High on energy from singing, we continued our loud ways and played a number game, where we bopped up and down. You had to see it!
After dinner, we went back to the sleep and got some rest for our game the next day. Most people ate the buffet breakfast at the hotel, which they later realized wasn't the best choice, because we ate our pregame meal at Panera less than one hour later. At Panera, one woman joked with us about whom she should select for her son to date. Then, while eating we had to teach Martu (Loncarica) the proper meaning to an inappropriate word she was using in a sentence as a compliment. Whoops.
We went on to defeat Ohio State 2-0 later that afternoon and then prepared for our next meal. The restaurant we went to was recommended to us by the Syracuse Ice Hockey team and boy was it delicious! Salmon, steak, pastas…the flavor combinations were amazing. We were sat at three separate tables side by side. The center table received its meal first and like animals, the other two tables stared and salivated over the meals (Ok- maybe not actually like animals, but they did stare.)
Now, the only thing that made this night even better was the ice cream we got from a local ice cream shoppe after dinner. Our other trainer, Seth, who had lived in Columbus for two years, persuaded Ange Bradley into “celebrating success,” and we were rewarded with ice cream. Many ice cream samples later, we each found the perfect flavor and happily enjoyed.
But wait, I almost forgot- the BEST part of the night was actually Haley Bomboy's classic dancing on the bus to Katy Perry's “Teenage Dream.” It's her go-to, yearly performance, but later that night she topped it off by participating as the first contestant in the hotel lobby's karaoke night!
The next morning, we woke up early for breakfast which included oatmeal, waffles, yogurt, eggs and muffins, had a walk-thru and game planning session, ate lunch at the hotel (stocked up on the most amazing brownies from lunch for the ride home) and then loaded our luggage onto the bus. Unfortunately, we lost to No. 2 Old Dominion, 2-1. It was disappointing to come back to 'Cuse after another 1-1 weekend, but we look forward to what's next and keep our eyes on our ultimate goal. This week we start our long home stretch and have two games, including our first BIG EAST matchup of the season! Go 'Cuse!
