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

Field Hockey report 10/14/03

American University Field Hockey is back on track. We were able to rebound from our loss to BU and win two games this week, which brings our record to 13-2. It is also exciting to report, 9 of our wins have been shutouts. Despite our loss to BU we remained ranked 19th in the country for the second week in a row. Having been the underdog I think I have the right to say …it is quite nice to see the fear in another team’s eyes when we take the field.

This fear certainly played a critical role in our games this week. On Wednesday we traveled to Towson and finished, winning 5-0. The game was a beautifully played game of hockey. While the weather was cold and during most of the game there was a biting rain, the girls played a game of possession we have not played in quite some time. The passes through the midfield were crisp and direct as were the transfers around the back. It took us some time to finally gain a lead but when we did we left little hope for Towson to make a come back.

Melis started things off when she collected a rebound off the ‘keepers pads’ and found the cage. Just two minutes later Javi received the ball from Moei off a penalty corner and drilled the ball into the backboards. Javi was not satisfied. She scored once more in the first half, unassisted. We ran to a warm locker room for half time, which allowed just enough time for our hands to thaw and we were back on the field. Moei got her second assist of the day as she took the ball into the circle and found Heidi low. They connected and we went up 4-0. Towson was able to create some dangerous attack. However, we kept thing together defensively and earned the shutout. We answered Towson attempts with another goal of our own. Melis tipped in a shot from Moei for the fifth goal.

Regaining our wings was exactly what we needed and gave us the momentum to beat our fourth Patriot League foe, Colgate. We traveled to Norwich, NY on Friday in preparation for our game on Saturday morning. Once arriving in Norwich we found the town was having a pumpkin festival where they were trying to break the Guinness Book of World Records for the most carved pumpkins. We were excited to help them in their feat and carved six of our own. Javi and Cami had their first pumpkin carving experience. We left behind a reminder that we were there. Our pumpkins spelled out AU PLC and ended with a set of hockey sticks.

Getting back to business we got the run down from Steve on Friday evening and dreamt about beating Colgate. Saturday was a cold, windy New York day, perfect for field hockey . . . or so we kept telling ourselves as we all tried desperately to keep our fingers at least thawed. We spent plenty of time warming up and getting used to the field. Finally, once announcements were made we took the field and the game began. While there was no doubt which team was better, we were not playing as we had done earlier in the week against Towson. It took us quite a bit of time to score. However, before the half ended Moei connected on a penalty corner and scored the game-winning goal.

Half time offered us a little time to find shelter from the cold and wind. The second half, while no prettier, was much more successful in terms of scoring. We found the back of the cage four additional times, three of which were recorded as official goals. We all know Moei had a beautiful stroke, but there were magic nets on Colgate’s cages. No worries about the one that got away, Cami, Heidi, and Javi each scored to give us a 4-0 victory over Colgate. In my opinion the key play of the game was certainly Emily Berlin’s defensive save. Without her being in just the right spot a shutout would have been out of the question.

The tailgate was a needed escape for us all. The parents found a perfect spot inside to plug in heaters for all the hot dishes they had brought. A full table of hot food and another with desserts, my-oh-my no wonder my pants are snug. Thank you all who came and watched as AU Field Hockey took another step towards solidifying our position as number one in the league.

This coming week is our final in the regular season. Can you believe it? November sure comes quickly. We may have saved the best for last. Tuesday, we take on the team that uses our ‘home field’, Maryland and Saturday we will be at Bucknell to play our final league game. Wish us luck as we go for another 2-0 week.

Go Eagles!

Laura