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Check back throughout the season for senior back Laura Miller's weekly diary.

Field Hockey report 11/1/03

This week was OK. We didn’t get the upset against Maryland we had dreamed of, but we did what we had to do against Bucknell to solidify our position as first in the league and prepare ourselves for the tournament.

Our game against Maryland was beautiful for the most part. We were aggressive. We played together. We were determined to leave everything on the field. I think we succeeded. Maryland certainly was not ready for our style and determination. They were the team that looked startled at the beginning of the game. The first half was a little awkward us. We were adapting to a new line up and I could tell everyone was thinking very hard about where they where suppose to be and what their new role was. This uneasiness allowed Maryland to pick up quite a few corners in the first half. Two of which resulted in a score.

We went into half time down two but anxious to return to the field and really show Maryland what we had come to do. The second half was very exciting. We dominated the first 10 to 15 minutes of the half, taking quite a few shots and fighting for corners. We even forced a stroke opportunity. Despite our pressure, Maryland was able to get away with a shutout. They were a bit lucky in my opinion - a different day, and I am not convinced they would have walked away winners. Overall, we were very proud of our efforts in the Maryland game.

Maryland had to be forgotten and we buckled down to prepare to sweep the league with a win over Bucknell. We took the practice time we had (one day), to refine some of the things we did against Maryland. The refinements seemed to be in place and we were anxious to make first place our own.

The game against Bucknell was nothing pretty and actually not what we had hoped for. While we won, we did not succeed in scaring them into submission come Championship weekend. From the pass back I knew the game would not be what we had intended, I just hoped it was not terrible. Melissa managed to score mid-way through the first half to give us the initial lead. This took us into half time where we tried to figure out what was going wrong. Basically, we just needed to play with our hearts and push past the fatigue and tiredness. I don’t think we did our best but we did what was needed to win. Less then five minutes into the second half Melis found the back of the cage again, boosting the team to two nothing. Then came our down time. We gave up two goals in close succession. This was no good. Steve called a time out, to get our heads together and to refocus. We answered his request/demand and within a minute after our time out we scored, regaining the lead at 3-2. This time Cami swept in a beautiful goal off a penalty corner. We were able to hold this lead for the remainder of the game and officially get the win. The game certainly left something to be desired.

Our proud parents filled the sidelines and our stomachs once again. The tailgate was great and I hear just a sample of what is to be expected this coming weekend at championships. Thank you all who came to Bucknell. I am happy that our successes this season have allowed for at least one more, big weekend together. See you all at Holy Cross where we will take on Lafayette in the first round of Patriot League Championships.

Go Eagles,
Laura