Field Hockey Blog

Tough Road Weekend

2010-10-25T14:00:00.001-07:00

The Bridgewater field hockey team hit the road this weekend to play games against two different nationally ranked opponents. On Friday night we traveled to Lynchburg to play the 11th ranked Hornets on their home turf. We played a great game against Lynchburg but lost 4-1. However, we held the smallest score differential against the Hornets out of all the other ODAC field hockey teams. We had a light practice on Saturday to recover from our game the night before and to ensure we did not wear ourselves out for the game against CNU on Sunday. On Sunday we traveled down to CNU for a 2:00 game against the Captains. CNU is ranked 8th in the nation and we held our own against them. We had great passing patterns throughout the game and everyone played with all we had, but we lost 2-0. Even though we lost, it was one of the closest scores we have ever had against CNU and we were proud of our performance against them. We have the last game of the regular season this Wednesday at 4:00. We will be playing ODAC rival Washington and Lee here on our home field so we expect to see a bunch of fans there!

Looking Forward to Senior Day

2010-10-07T12:19:00.000-07:00

After a few days of dreary weather last week, the Bridgewater field hockey team traveled to Frostburg State University in Maryland to play a game on Saturday. Despite playing on an unfamiliar turf field we ended up winning 3-2! Last night we traveled across town to play a game at EMU. We all felt a huge rush of adrenaline while playing under the lights. We played hard and gave it everything we had, but we ended up losing 4-0. Even though we were all disappointed about the loss, we also all felt a drive to work even harder in practices and in games to prove to everyone that we are a great team. We will bring this drive to succeed into our game on Saturday when we will play Roanoke at home at 4:30. This is also our senior game so we will be celebrating the success of the six seniors on the field hockey team. Come out on Saturday to see a great ODAC game and to support the Bridgewater Eagles field hockey team!

Post-Virginia Wesleyan Update

2010-09-30T07:52:00.000-07:00

GO EAGLES!!! The Bridgewater field hockey team had another win yesterday against ODAC opponent Virginia Wesleyan. After losing to Virginia Wesleyan last year on their turf, we wanted to beat them this year to prove we were the better team. This was a huge win for our team and we worked hard to win this game. Everyone played together on the field, and despite the fact we had to practice inside earlier in the week due to the torrential downpour, we started the game strong and showed lots of intensity. We knew Virginia Wesleyan was a tough team, so we put in extra work during practice this past week. We also had high spirits going into the game after beating another ODAC opponent Sweet Briar on their home field last Saturday. We travel to Frostburg on Saturday for a non-conference game, and we are hoping to pick up another win. Once again, thanks for supporting us!!

BCFH 2010.

Eagles Split Pair of Games

2010-09-20T11:42:00.001-07:00

The Bridgewater Field Hockey team faced a roller coaster of emotions this past week. On Thursday, we played a game in the pouring rain at Shenandoah and ended up losing 1-0. We had opportunities in that game, we just could not capitalize on them. We were all upset over the loss, and we knew we needed to fix some tactical skills and pick up our intensity for the remainder of the season.

We proved we had sorted things out as a team when we faced St. Mary’s College of Maryland yesterday at home and beat them in overtime 2-1. This team was ranked 20th in the nation and we were ecstatic to pull off such a huge upset. Other ODAC teams had faced St. Mary’s and lost badly, but we did not back down from the challenge. We were all exhausted from playing the overtime game in yesterday’s heat, but we were so proud to see our hard work during practice pay off.

Our next game is this Saturday at Sweet Briar, and our next home game is Wednesday, the 29th at 4:30. We hope to see a bunch of fans there!

Post Mapp Invitational Blog

2010-09-14T11:51:00.001-07:00

After hosting the Mapp Invitational Tournament this past weekend, the Bridgewater field hockey team improved our record to 4-1. After we all got some fresh ink before the game (temporary tattoos from coach), we proudly took the field and beat St. Vincent 9 -0 on Saturday. On Sunday, we played D2 Limestone, which was a first for our team. Having never played Limestone before, we did not know what to expect. However, we played well as a team and won the game 3-0. Winning the Mapp Invitational tournament and beating a division 2 team really boosted everyone’s spirits. We will carry this intensity and drive to succeed into the two games we play this week, with the first one being at Shenandoah on Thursday and the second at home against St. Mary’s on Sunday. GOOOOOO EAGLES!!!

-Kelly

Season Opener

2010-09-03T11:44:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, the BC field hockey team took the term, “use the stars as your guide” to a whole different level. That’s because we began practicing at 6 AM that morning…in the complete dark. As we warmed up we went back to second grade science class and looked for the big and little dipper, and we even created some new constellations. Once we started playing in the dark, we struggled with depth perception and also seeing the ball in general, which gave everyone plenty of laughs. We were all a little mad that we had to go to our first day of MWF classes right after practice all sweaty and gross looking, but at least our teachers believed us when we told them we might miss a class or two because we were members of the Bridgewater field hockey team!

Yesterday we played our first game of the season at Hood College in Maryland and we came back to Bridgewater with a win! We did a great job of accomplishing a few team goals during that game. We have our first home game of the season this Sunday at noon, so come out and support us!

Preseason Wrapup

2010-08-30T17:58:00.000-07:00

It is official; the Bridgewater field hockey team had the WORST smelling locker room during the 2010 preseason. We won this coveted title last year as well, so it only made sense that we work hard to win it again. However, during preseason the field hockey team did more than strive to achieve the smelliest locker room. We also strived to make ourselves and our teammates better players. We pushed each other to be the very best at everything. Whether it was sprinting those extra ten yards during interval training, using more power during passes, or even reminding players to drink water so they could pass the hydration test, we all pushed each other.

It appears all that pushing and challenging has paid off because the future is looking bright for the Bridgewater field hockey team. We have 14 returning players and we are welcoming 10 freshman to the team. The field hockey team is full of talent this year and we are expecting a lot from ourselves and each other. Our first home game of the season is Sunday, September 5 at noon, and we hope to see a bunch of fans there! GO BC FIELD HOCKEY!!!!

Post EMU/Wilson Blog

2009-09-29T17:37:00.000-07:00

The game we had been waiting for came last Wednesday- EMU. EMU has always been at the top of the conference; the team to beat. The day before the game, we had a preparation practice for EMU to get us ready for their style of play. We worked hard to prepare, and at the end of practice we knew we were ready. We all went to class on Wednesday with instructions to think of the game and how we wanted to play. This was the one day Coach allowed us to not pay attention in class and only focus on the game. it's all I could think about that day, and I'm sure it was the same for all the other girls. In the locker room, we were all getting focused, thinking about everything we needed to do to beat EMU. From the time we stepped on the field, we hung with EMU; although the scoreboard showed 3-0 at halftime, we played well. We came out from halftime with the mentality to win, and scored three goals by the end. Despite our efforts, EMU managed to slide past us by one goal. We were happy that we played with them this year, as our score from last year was 5-1, but we were disappointed that we didn't win.

Taking a break from conference games, we played Wilson College on Friday. We didn't think we played as well as we should, I think we may have taken them a little too lightly, but we pulled out the win in double overtime 2-1. it's been a tough week for everyone, I know we all have had a lot of school work and lots to focus on. The break over the weekend helped everyone to refocus on the games we have coming up this week. Important conference game today against Sweet Briar; we're expecting a win :) ( note BC defeated Sweet Briar 5-0)

- Kristen

Blog #4

2009-09-23T05:04:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we played Virginia Wesleyan, a team we had a tough battle with last year that led to an overtime victory for us 2-1. This year, we had the same back and forth game. Virginia Wesleyan scored early in the first half, and for about the next 15 minutes, they kept that lead. We scored very late in the half to tie the score going into halftime. Tying the score was important in this game, because it was like a fresh start for us, our mentality was that it was now a 0-0 game, anyone's game. At halftime, we wiped the slate clean; all the mistakes we had made in the first half were behind us.

We promised ourselves that during the second half we would step up our play, and fix the things we knew we had to work on from the first half. Coach made sure to reinforce the importance of doing the little things that we lacked in the first half, and the importance of coming out from halftime ready to score. We definitely listened to what Coach said, and managed to create many opportunities for ourselves, we just had trouble finishing with goals. Virginia Wesleyan also came out ready to score, like we had anticipated, scoring a goal midway through the half. Frustrated with the way we were playing, knowing we could do better, Coach called a time out to get us pumped up.

She said that we should stop at nothing to put the ball in the goal, which should always hold true. About 50 seconds after the timeout, we scored a goal. We worked the ball well up the field, and used our forwards to get in front of Virginia Wesleyan, tying the score yet again.

We played hard, but Virginia Wesleyan ended up scoring in the last minutes of the game to grasp the win 3-2. We took this loss pretty hard, and let's just say it was a long bus ride home.

We had Sunday off, but will need to be ready for our game against EMU on Wednesday.

Blog #3

2009-09-16T05:44:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, we suffered a tough loss to Mary Washington. The game itself was not that bad, however the scoreboard didn’t reflect how we played. The scoreboard showed 5-0, but to be honest, I think it should’ve been a 1-0 game. Since this was our first loss on the season, it was kinda tough, but we quickly bounced back, and prepared ourselves for the games to come.

This past weekend, we had our Second Annual Mapp Invitational, a tournament where we invite three other teams to come play on our field. On Saturday, we played St.Vincent College, a team that we didn’t know much about ahead of time, so we came our ready to play our best. We ended up doing just that, bringing our “a” game, and using what we learned from the Mary Wash. game to step up our game. We ended up winning the game against St. Vincent 7-0, meaning we had made it to the championship game which was to be played on Sunday at 3:00.

After our game, Coach made us stay for the first half of the Drew College vs. Sweet Briar game to see who we were going to play. At the end of the first half, Drew had a 3-0 lead, so we made the assumption that we would be playing them in the championship game. We watched them closely, and made sure to note the abilities of each player, especially the things that stood out.

The next day it was time to put those notes to good use. We had a good long speech in the locker room from Coach about the importance of winning this game, and the ways that would allow us to do so. Always move to the ball, make good passes, shoot whenever you have a chance, etc. From the first whistle, we worked harder than ever, and managed to pull away with a 3-0 lead at halftime. However, knowing the abilities of Drew, we had a feeling they fight hard to make a come back. Sure enough, they scored three goals before the end of regulation, making the game a 3-3 tie and sending us into overtime. By this point, everyone was exhausted and somewhat frustrated that we had allowed them to make that come back, but we knew it would be worth it to give overtime everything we had.

We had a couple opportunities during overtime and got a couple of shots off, but we couldn’t manage to get them in the goal. With only 7 people on the field in overtime, it made it hard on everyone; it’s a good thing we have a lot of depth so that whenever someone needed a break they could be taken out. Despite our hard work in overtime, we couldn’t manage to score, so this meant that we would play another 15 minutes of play called “Sudden Death”, meaning that the first team to score would win. Both teams fought very hard, but the 15 minutes ended and still no one had scored. From that point, the only thing left to decide the game was strokes, a one on one shot, sort of similar to a penalty kick in soccer.

We picked five people from our team to take the strokes, as well as the other team. Our goalie Biz made some great saves, preventing the other team from scoring, and we were able to get some shots past the Drew goalie. All of our hard work paid off, and we ended up winning 4-3, and so our record improved to 4-1. ODAC games start this weekend, so we will have to work extremely hard this week to prepare ourselves for Virginia Wesleyan.

--Kristen

P.S. CONGRATULATIONS CHRISTINA FOR BEING ODAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK!!!

Blog #2

2009-09-08T12:34:00.000-07:00

Throughout the few weeks we've been together, we've all began to bond; this bond created by our common goal, to win ODACS. This team has a lot of heart and a lot of motivation to win. We made it clear to everyone on Friday that we would stop at nothing to win. Suffering from a 1-0 deficit to Dickinson after the first half of play, the team knew we had to step up our game.

Coach gave us a speech at halftime about the things we were doing well, but also the numerous things we needed to work on and fix if we hoped to win. All I remember hearing, and what was drilled into my head during the speech was "MOVE YOUR FEET ON DEFENSE". Coach made a very good point, we were getting beat on defense when we didn't move our feet. This made it easy on the Dickinson attackers because they could read this and use their quick stick dodges to get past us.

So we finally made the adjustment, and we began to move our feet on defense, which soon enough allowed us to keep the ball on our offensive half. By keeping it down there, it gave us multiple opportunities to score. We fought hard and finally scored 2 goals in the second half to lead us to a 2-1 win over Dickinson. This was a big win for us, and gave us momentum going into our game the next day against Hood College.

From the game against Dickinson, we quickly learned each others abilities and it began to be easier to read our teammates on the field. We worked well with each other, making sure our passes were good, making sure we were moving our feet, etc. The final score of this game was 6-0; Bri led the team with three goals, Christina followed with two goals, along with Kalah who also had a goal. The team worked hard to assist them in moving the ball up-field and to create opportunities to score. As a result of our teamwork and heart, we are now 2-0!

Hopefully we can keep this momentum going into our game on Thursday against Mary Washington, a team similar to Dickinson. I'm sure this week's practices will be very tough, and require a lot of concentration to fix the things that will make us better. I know we have what it takes to beat this team, so all that's left is to prove it to ourselves :)

First Blog

2009-09-01T15:53:00.000-07:00

With preseason out of the way, I think I speak for all when I say it’s been a fun experience, even though mental and physical exhaustion have begun to set in. The first couple days we had fitness testing, which allowed us to see where we were in comparison to where we should be. We all came in with a higher fitness level than the team in general last year, and exceeded the expectations of the coaches.

We all blew through our fitness tests, making it easier on the coaches. Because of our competitive freshman class and vast amount of returning players, everyone has been working their hardest to earn a spot on the field. Along with the fitness testing, we had a ton of stick work skills tests. As the coaches have noticed our skill levels rising with each practice, they continue to challenge us more and more.

We have five freshman joining the team this year, and after try outs our team has been set at 18. Everyone on the team is very versatile, every player can play basically any position, making us a better team and more optimistic about this season. Last year was a very important year, because we accomplished something that we had not done in 23 years; we had a .500 record (10-10) and made it to the second round of ODACS. It was a fundamental year, and a building block for the years to come. We know we only have room for improvement this year.

We have our first game on Friday against Dickinson College, a team that has always been considered one of our rivals and one of the better teams we play. Everyone is anxious about the game because it will set the tempo for the rest of the season, and give the coaches more of an idea of where we are as a team, and help determine positions. The last couple days of practice we will have to continue to work really hard to prepare for this game, and hopefully after Friday our record will be 1-0 :) LET'S GO EAGLES! BEAT THE RED DEVILS!