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

American University’s women’s field hockey team is red hot! With a win and a half this past weekend we started our season on a very positive note. If you haven’t figure out already I am an AU field hockey enthusiast not to mention the senior goalkeeper on this year’s squad. My name is Laura Miller and weekly I will be offering an insiders perspective of the AU field hockey experience.

Our ‘home opener’ (game was played at Georgetown – you all know the deal) left something to be desired. The first half looked promising, however, a bit slow considering first game jitters and extreme heat. We were up two nothing at half, after clearly dominating. We ironed out a few details at half time and took the field with determination of securing our first win. Just six minutes into the second half lighting struck and the game was delayed for 30 minutes. With flexibility as our team credo, we grabbed our stuff, walked past our parade of fans, and convened inside. Despite our wishes of finishing the game the storm hovered above and after an hour and a half of waiting the game was called. We only had 29 minutes left till our first victory. Needless to say we all felt unsettled and incomplete. Don’t worry those of you that stuck through the delay in hopes of watching us finish, I promise on behalf of the team we will have the ‘W’ against St. Joe’s by the end of the season. No AU field hockey game is complete without a tailgate, thanks to our amazing parents, so when the game was called they improvised and moved the tailgate inside. Thanks everyone!

Saturday’s storm brought cool air perfect for a win over Longwood on Sunday. Unsatisfied from the day before, I could tell at breakfast the team was ready to win. I saw no nervousness, as I had the day before, just confidence. Warm-up seemed to be a blur and before I knew it the starting whistle blew and we had the pass back. Honestly, the first five minutes kept me questioning as to whether I was going to have a lot of work to do or not. But the team worked out the kinks quickly and we were down in our offensive circle taking shots like never before (at least in my four years). I think the score and number of scorers best showcases our game against Longwood. The entire team earned our first official win and shutout. We had four different scorers and defense did its job. I had a great sense of pride watching the team, my team, running, cutting, and diving for rebounds in front of the opposing cage. That is how we scored goals! It is also quite helpful to have a balance of talent for us to provide fresh legs throughout the seventy minutes.

A game and a half, one win, six goals and we are still not satisfied! That’s right, we have big plans for this year and will only be satisfied when we obtain them. Lucky for us all, this will guarantee a spectacular season and the start of something great! Join the hockey fever, this Friday the girls and I will head to Richmond. Don’t Eagles eat Spiders?