Field Hockey - for those of us who care (not Dukester)

[dukaholic]

http://www.jmusports.com/Team/Schedule/20.asp?TeamID=20

the OOC schedule

AWAY
Duke
Wake
UNC
UVA
Michigan
Penn State

HOME
Northeastern
Ball State
Kent State
Radford
Richmond
American
Maryland

We have 4-5 legitimate top 10 teams on the road, and another 2-3 at home ... and that's just OOC. Add in ODU, and it's possible (if everything works out right) that we could play EVERY top 10 team (except ourselves ;))


We are playing 10 of the 16 teams from the NCAA tourney last year (and we're one of the other six...)

Left off our schedule though is the new team of JMU's former leading scorer, Veerle Goudswaard, who transferred to Michigan State - MSU's a traditional powerhouse, and we played them last year on a northern swing up through Ohio (Kent State) and Michigan (Michigan State).

[dukaholic]

And Al, since I know you'll read this thread...

Did you already tell me Crystal Carper is a new assistant coach at JMU?

I thought I remembered us talking about her, but I don't remember why. I assume this is why?

[JMUSuperfan2000]

Don't we have a field hockey thread going already for stuff like this? Or did we not start it again with the new boards?

Anyway, this is a brutal schedule, especially with all the games away! If the girls can manage to break .500, I definitely think they'll be deserving of a birth in the NCAAs again.

[dukaholic]

I didn't think the field hockey thread made it over, I know the lax one did...

They'd have to do better than 500, due to the limited number of at large berths to the tourney...I'm skeptical as to how the season will go; I don't know who will score for us. Hopefully Santanna (or someone else) will step up big time, or Perlis will shoulder the whole offensive load :roll:

[Al]

That's a great schedule. JMU could win all of the home OOC games except Maryland. The away schedule is brutal. Any new Va Beach players on the JMU roster this year?

I didn't know Goudswaard transfered to Michigan St. I thought she was just returning home. Wow. ODU usually plays MSU, but not this year.

Crystal Caper is an assistant at JMU now? I had no clue! I'm glad she's gotten into coaching. She's was a great player for ODU. She played every position except goalie. Her game winning goal against #1 Maryland her senior year was a doozy.

We have to get another field hockey thread going soon. ODU's season starts Aug 30, that's only 28 days away!

[dukaholic]

We have the freshman from South Africa, one from Zimbabwe, and one from Vienna, VA, Laura Pruett. That's all the freshman we have. We redshirted a lot of freshman last year in an effort to cut roster size down and balance the classes out more...

Goudswaard had told me she was going home, then changed her mind - she'll fit in well with the MSU team, I think, though she doesn't seem interested in playing much ... she just wants the free education, as far as I can see - which would seem weird for a Dutch player...

I hope Carper can bring that winning attitude and skills that she showed as DC All Met player of the year and then ODU national champion...

[dukaholic]

Oh, and Al, why can't JMU win the home Maryland game? huh? huh?

If I recall correctly, JMU beat the NCAA champion last year? With our backup goalie in the cage?

So don't go spewing off that we can't beat anyone! HA!

Al, with the short memory. I don't remember ODU beating any NCAA champion last year ;)

[Al]

Speaking of freshmen, I'm interested to see if ODU's Lake Braddock rookie, Saucier, redshirts or not.

I think Carper will be great for JMU. Caper actually started for 2 ODU National Championship teams (1998, 2000). I'm just hoping ODU can steal her back in a few years. :)

You know I'll always cheer for the CAA in OOC. With Carper in purple this year, I'll cheer for JMU every game except against ODU. But Maryland's loaded again this year (only lost 3 players). I think JMU will be favored in all their OOC home games except Maryland. I'd love to see the Dukes thump the Twerps!

Wake is too chicken to play ODU after ODU blasted them 6-0 in the 2000 Final Four. ;)

Don't get me started on that back up goalie for JMU. CAA Rookie of the Year my foot! :D

[Dukester]

:cry:

[JMUSuperfan2000]

What's wrong Dukester?

[dukaholic]

Dukester hates threads that aren't football or basketball related - or summer concert series related.

[myasssisdragon]

The Dragons are back at it and are looking forward to another improving year. With eight returning starters and some high ability freshmen/transfers it looks to be a good year. While our out of conference schedule isn't quite even with JMU, we do play Princeton, Virginia, and Maryland, as well as the local rivals. Does anyone think that Beth Anders attention to the National team will be a distraction to ODU? I had them penciled in as one of the three or four teams in the "hunt" for the National Championship, but now that the U.S. didn't qualify for the Olympics at the Pan Ams she will have to spend the fall getting them ready for the final qualifier in the spring. Kinda hurts the conference, although I still think that the CAA will get 3 to the tournament. Good luck to all as the season approaches, may you all win all but one. :)

[dukaholic]

Three teams into the NCAA's from the CAA this year? I'm thinking (sadly) just one.

W&M loses Ekberg. I don't even know who else they lose. But it just doesn't matter. They squeaked into the NCAA's with her, and they have no shot now.

JMU loses Van Ballegooie, Shean, Raffo, Goudswaard, Phillips...just too much talent lost there, and nobody left to put it in the cage other than Perlis. Who else will help? Seems like a rebuilding/reloading year for the Dukes. Over .500 and I'll be satisfied. I'd be ecstatic with an NCAA bid, as we just squeaked in last year as well.

Looks like it could be an UGLY start before we hit CAA play...

Northeastern - (tough game, but winnable)
Ball State - (win, most probably)
@Duke - (split with Duke last year, though dominated in both games, probably loss)
@WFU - (beat them last year, though dominated by the eventual NCAA champs - probably loss)
Kent St - (dropped at their place last year, I'd give 60-40 odds that we win on our turf this year)
@UNC - (who knows with this UNC team. We beat them here last year, but so did lots of other people that shouldn't beat UNC. I'm thinking 60-40 in their favor)
@UVA - (dominated them last year on our turf, hopefully a win)
Radford - (sure win)
@Michigan - (noooooooooo chance)

Then we hit conference play with ODU as the next game! CRAZY!

In addition we have the game @Penn St. (ouch), and we host Maryland (ahhhhhh), and Richmond and Radford (two should be wins).

We have 26 of 53 goals last season returning, and 17 of our 34 assists back...so basically, half of our offensive production is gone.

Oh, and Lori Amico is hurt (broken leg or something?) so we'll be starting a diminuitive senior who has never been on our team before, a walk-on (and transfer from Eastern Mennonite) named Lauren Hartzler from Heritage HS (do you know of her, Al?)

[myasssisdragon]

No offense, but there are beside us, Delaware returns a pretty strong team. So with ODU as a given, I think there are four other teams that could fill those 2 spots. Also, keep in mind that no matter how many good teams the ACC and the Big Ten may have the selectors will only give one of them four and the other three (the regional polls have much to do with this). The Big East stinks, as does the A-10. Four other conferences are in the play-in for two spots, that leaves only the MAC with a chance for two. That's 13, leaving 3 for the CAA. Even in a down year for some teams our conference RPI will be no lower than third.

[dukaholic]

Last year...you forgot the IVY, who has an automatic in Princeton, and then fields another real solid team every now and then. Last year's NCAA field had teams from the following conferences.

CAA - 3
A-10 - 1
ACC - 3
Big 10 - 3
MAC - 1
IVY - 2
Big East - 1
NORPAC - 1
AE - 1

People were even in an uproar that Louisville and Iowa didn't get in, and Central Michigan or Yale as well? I doubt too many people would've even noticed if W&M was left out...

I think a lot of people will even tell you that the CAA didn't deserve 3 teams in the tourney. I know people inside the CAA and her member institutions were VERY pleased to have 3, especially after JMU's late season slide (even I thought it would be CLOSE to get in, after the ODU debacle) and W&M's SOS wasn't very strong.

UD or DU will never get an at-large bid as long as they're not in the "sorority" of top schools, playing the best OOC schedules there are. Not when their conference schedule is the CAA (as opposed to the Big 10).

The ACC doesn't even have an auto-bid, and their two schools left out last year were UVA and UNC (who had their worst season in forever?).

I think that last season's 3 NCAA teams was the exception, not the rule.

I also think that with a down year for JMU and W&M, and par years for everyone else, our RPI falls behind the MAC, and maybe the IVY as well.

[Al]

Dragon's back! Good to hear from you.

3 bids for the CAA last year was unique. The CAA usually gets 2.

Holic, I've never heard of the Heritage High goalie. But the Pilot doesn't report on Newport News/Hampton sports. Heritage is a rather new high school so I'm not sure about their program.

Long time ODU assistant Sue Myers is the "Interim Head Coach" this year while Beth Anders is with the US team. But Beth will still probably pop in during practices and games. I don't think it'll have too much of an impact.

ODU lost 6 starters to graduation including national player of the year Tiffany Snow. The defense was hit the most. Starting goalie Marybeth Freeman, defenders Katie Moyer and Snow, and defensive midfielder Becky Loy are all gone.

Defense: Freeman's long time back up Tina Walker will start in goal. Melissa Leonetti will anchor the back line. She's an All American who ranked in the top 10 in assists last year.

Offense: Two words...Angie Loy. Loy should be the frontrunner for the Honda Award. Chilly Banuelos and Jenny Angat should both pick up their scoring. I've heard redshirt freshman Darcy Pinchbeck is a good scorer. I never worry about ODU's offense.

ODU's schedule is brutal, but has a lot of home games. I expect ODU to be top 5. Where's the Final Four this year?

Interesting ODU fact: every player on the roster this year is American. This is the first time in forever that ODU hasn't had at least 1 foriegn player on the roster.

On a personal note, ODU has a new assistant. Kathy Fosina-Mustain. Kathy was ODU's All American goalie in the early 90's. She won 3 national titles and owns almost every NCAA goalie record. She was also the head coach at my alma mater, Bayside High, when I was there. Took the Lady Marlins to the state semis before losing to...Lake Braddock! Thought you'd like that Holic. ;)

[JMUSuperfan2000]

I know a little bit about Lauren Hartzler. First of all she's a complete sweetie, not to mention really cute! She used to play floor hockey with us over at UREC at noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She could definitely hold her own with the guys, and I'm sure she'll do more than fine with the girls. She's aggressive and has a really good eye for the ball. I didn't realize that she still had eligibility left, though.

[myasssisdragon]

Thanks Al. I'm glad that hockey is about to start again. While I think ODU will reload as usual, Sue Myers is not Beth Anders. I do compliment the Monarchs on the All-American lineup. I really don't have a problem with the non-US players, just the ones who come over then leave after a year or two and that doesn't happen as much as it used to.

Do you like my new handle? I thought of it after comming in from digging up some stumps in the yard and my a__ was dragging.

I look forward to NCAA field hockey talk here at the JMU site. I think we need to start a new string with a better title because some of us do care.

[JMUSuperfan2000]

I look forward to NCAA field hockey talk here at the JMU site. I think we need to start a new string with a better title because some of us do care.

How many people did we have talking consistently on the last thread we had about field hockey? I'm thinking there was Al, 'Holic, me (and I claim to know nothing about the sport other than I like JMU's uniforms), and a couple others. I'm thinking the title is fine. :D

[Al]

I'm looking forward to the season too Dragon. I heard ODU practicing today, but I didn't have time to stop and take a look. ODU starts Saturday August 30 when Louisville comes to town. Then it's a rematch against Penn St on Sunday.

You're right Sue Myers isn't Beth Anders. Who is though? ;) That's why I'm hoping Beth still pops in every once and a while. Sue's been at ODU for over 15 years, so I'm sure she'll do fine. I only worry about her sideline coaching. She usually isn't on the bench during games. She tapes the games from the press box.

I'm surprised ODU doesn't have any foriegn players this year. There's usually one or two. ODU hasn't had too many of the 2 years and out players (although Lotte Bant just left after 2 years).

The preseason CAA poll is out. Thoughts?

1. ODU (6 1st place votes)
2. W&M (1)
3. JMU (2)
4. UD
5. DU
6. HU
7. VCU
8. TU

I guess some coaches don't think ODU is going to dominated like they usually do. Hmmmm... Either VCU has gotten better or TU has gotten worse. VCU usually finishes last in the CAA (but I always cheer for them since their roster is loaded with Va Beach players!).

[myasssisdragon]

In regards to the coaches poll, ODU can't vote for themselves, so that's one. I'm not sure what the other two might be thinking. My take on the conference-

1. ODU - the king (or queen) is the king until dethrowned
2. William and Mary - Lost a lot but not as many as JMU
3. Drexel - return 8 starters with better freshmen
4. Delaware - returns good attack always at least .500
5. JMU - lost many, but there subs are better than Hofstra and Towson's starters
6. Towson - there better, not good but better
7. Hofstra - lost star, where does scoring come from?
8. VCU - has two or three players in a league where you need 14-16

[dukaholic]

Who knows what two other people were thinking...wishful thinking? Or crazyspeak!

1. ODU - duh
2. JMU - lost a lot, but returns one of the league's top offensive threats in Perlis.
3. UD - don't know why, but W&M has to slide now that Ekberg's gone.
4. W&M - seems about right...
5. DU - Being in the CAA should help their main line recruiting, but they won't reap the benefits yet.
6. Hofstra
7. VCU
8. Towson

Don't know why on the last three, just picked them.

Popped by practice for a few minutes today very briefly, and didn't look too bad - though the offense didn't get much going on either end, and I fear that may be how the season plays out.

[JMUSuperfan2000]

Popped by practice for a few minutes today very briefly, and didn't look too bad...

'Holic, we know the girls are going to look good. How were they playing though? :wink:

[myasssisdragon]

A note to all. I just finished the prep work for my RPI rating for the comming season. As some teams are still adjusting schedules, modification will be made as the season nears. I will post as an attachment the weekly RPI's on Mondays. I will wait until the second full week of play to post the first addition, as without 5 or 6 games the RPI's make very little sense. Also, would anyone be interested in my including the RPI's for conferences? I thought they might be helpful as the season gets closer to the tournament.

I talked to Coach Z and she is very much looking forward to our scrimmage with Lafayette on Saturday. A good test for a young team.

[Al]

Math geek that I am, I'd love to see your RPI stats Dragon. I have a question for you: Why does Drexel play half of their home games at St Joe's?

I decided to look up some school's websites (not JMU, DU, ODU) to get a little more info about the up coming season.

Towson:
* 10-9 last year. 2nd most wins in school history.
* Lost 2 starters--Perkins (2nd team All CAA) and Schwartz (lead team in assists).
* Key returner is Julie Lambi (2nd team All CAA).
* OOC is kinda weak. They do play Kent St and Maine (where's Jeff?).
* Coach Mitzel missed 3 games last year giving birth.
* I liked this quote by Mitzel: "Old Dominion is on a level of its own right now. They were the best team we played last year, by far." :D

W&M:
* 12-9 last year. 2nd NCAA at large bid in school history.
* Return 6 starters. But lost 2 biggies in All American (and Va Beach native) Ann Ekberg and starting goalie (and Va Beach native) Claire Miller.
* OOC is pretty good. Louisville, UVa, Duke, Princeton, UNC.
* Assistant coach Quan Nim is a graduate of my alma mater, Bayside High. She's by far the best player in Bayside history. Although she turned down ODU to go to Iowa, I gotta root for a fellow BHS alum!

Delaware:
* Terrible website. The only thing that was updated was the schedule. Someone needs to tell UD that the season starts in a little over a week.
* OOC was kinda weak. This will hurt them come NCAA at large bid time. They do play Duke.
* Assistant coach Dawn Hill played at ODU in the mid 80's. Dawn was a long time ODU assistant, a Maryland assistant, the Maryland head coach (when Meharg was with the US Team), the U-21 coach, and the VCU head coach. Nice experience.

VCU:
* By far the best website. BY FAR. ODU, take notes! Click on a player's bio and you can get an audio of the coach's thoughts on the player and watch a highlight video of the player.
* Best player is Jen Howard (a Va Beach native). I swear Howard's been at VCU for 100 years. Lots of Va Beach natives on the roster. Holic, Ashley Cadwallader is a freshman from Fairfax.
* OOC is kinda weak. They do play UVa and Wake.
* Head coach is Shelly Behrens, a former ODU goalie in the early 80's.

Hofstra:
* OOC is kinda weak. They do play Michigan and Michigan St.
* Their website takes WAY too long to download. Too many pictures. I got bored and stopped poking around.

[dukaholic]

Looking at VCU's website, why would a coach go from being an assistant at UR (an NCAA team) to an assistant at VCU (a team that, at 7 wins was BETTER than usual) - especially when they're a UR alum!

Al, that Cadwallader girl actually garnered more accolades in Northern Virginia than ANY of JMU's Northern VA recruits of the past few years, at least as far as the Washington Post's all-met team was concerned. She was second team all met, while JMU's Laura Pruett was honorable mention. And Fairfax wasn't a great team either, but she still got the accolades...of course, we'll see how it all plays out, but I wouldn't be surprised if that ODU alum managed to improve VCU by leaps and bounds in the next few years...in fact, I should change VCU to 6 for this year and Hofstra to 7...

Next year, Northern VA's top prospect (and a should be high-major prospect) is WT Woodson's Sam Howard.

[myasssisdragon]

Drexel has no home field to call our own. Our nieghboring schools have been kind enough (for a price) to let us play at their facilities. We practice at Penn (2 city blocks from the DAC) and play our CAA games there. Our week day games are at St. Joe's. We have a plan for a turf field to be completed at our own property were we now play soccer, lax, and softball (opened up by no baseball). This should be done by 2005. Still need some donations. Thanks for asking not many know that we are homeless.

On another note, the 2004 US News rankings just came out and Drexel jumped from tier 3 in 2003 to the top tier at #124. We now join William and Mary #31 and Delaware #71 from the CAA. :D

[Al]

Holic,

I've always been surprised that VCU doesn't have a better program. I thought Dawn Hill was going to turn them around, but it didn't happen. So VCU looked to yet another ODU alum to lead them. They seem to have a pipeline to Tidewater. That has to help.

Cadwallader sounds like a nice steal for VCU. What's the deal with Sam Howard? CAA material? You know, ODU has a couple NoVa players on the roster with Lynn Farquar and Nikki Saucier. Another one wouldn't hurt. ;)

Dragon,

I had no clue Drexel didn't have a home field. I just assumed the Franklin Field listed on the schedule was on campus. That has to hurt in recruiting. I hope the new field comes quickly. No CAA team should be homeless!

Makes me even more greatful for Foreman Field. I just wish it was a little smaller. Field hockey is probably the 3rd highest attended sport at ODU (behind basketball), but a 20,000 seat stadium is a bit much. It's just another reminder that ODU USED to have a football team, but doesn't anymore.

[dukaholic]

Howard is probably up there in the Saucier range, at least she puts up those kinds of numbers. I haven't seen her play but I hear she's got the tools to be a great player. So, BETTER than most the CAA, a top 20 team prospect - we'll see where she ends up though.

I wonder if Drexel wasn't a city school if they'd be a lot better off in terms of hockey. The talent is allllll around Drexel, but they can't pull it in. Maybe being in the CAA and playing better teams will help as far as that's concerned.

[myasssisdragon]

Where ever Coach Z was coaching would be successful. When she took over Drexel had lost 29 straight games. It was maybe harder than starting a new program. She has gotten 5 recruits from the Pennsylvania 4A champ Central Bucks East in the last 3 years. She also has a Kempsville player from VA who was a rookie of the week last year and will start this year.

Al, I know what you mean about the size of the stadium. Franklin field sits 59,000 and when we get 400 it look like we got 5.

[Al]

Hey, I forgot Drexel had a Kempsville grad on the roster. Now I'm going to have to root for Drexel even more. ODU has one of her former high school teammates on their roster, redshirt freshman Rosanna Delutis.

Speaking of high school hockey, how's Lake Braddock looking this year Holic? Princess Anne should be the team to beat in the Beach (and maybe the state). I'm just hoping Bayside can win a game or two. With the loss of the All Eastern Region goalie who single handedly kept the Marlins in many games, it's probably going to be another rough year for BHS hockey.

59,000!?! Jeesh that's huge! ODU actually tore down the end zone to Foreman Field a few years ago to make it seem smaller. But all that did was create a new parking lot (which isn't really a bad thing).

[dukaholic]

Lake Braddock loses two studs in Saucier and a girl named Byars who's going to play at Dartmouth...but the Bruins always reload, so I assume they'll be okay.

Sam Howard's WT Woodson team should be the team to beat in the Northern Region (wow that sounds weird). Lake Braddock will be right there with them as well. Who knows about Centreville now that Starr Karl has retired, but those girls there should still have the winning attitude and knowledge that Starr brought - hopefully they'll still be able to muster up the desire and heart without her...

[Al]

I hope the Beach and NoVa can restake their claims on being the "powerhouses" of Va high school field hockey. I'm still shocked a Richmond school won it last year. :shock:

Speaking of coaches retiring, I'm interested to see how Cox does this year. They were kinda young last year, but they did okay without Nancy Fowlkes (who's still an assistant coach with the Cox football team I believe). Although they lost a good one in Katie Claxton (an ODU freshman this year), they should have a solid team.

Well, for most teams, the season starts up this weekend. Didn't Drexel have an exhibition game last weekend? Dragon, how did Drexel look?

[myasssisdragon]

The Dragons look pretty good against Lafayette. I'd say it was about even, the girls from Easton did win in the goal count 4-3. The two coaches went about the scrimmage differently though. Lafayette only brought 15 players and played it like a game and the Dragons played all 23 including the number 2 and 3 goalies (3 of the 4 goals). Talking to coach she was pleased with the freshmen (7) and was using the scrimmage to evaluate them. She aslo wanted to give some of the upperclassmen some rope to either swing free or hang. Al you'll be pleased to know the Elizabeth Seidel (Kempsville) is playing well and started at left wing. Racheal Bloemker (transfer from ODU last year) looked real good at center back as did Cali Bogovic center forward. Amanda Mouser (b-camper) also had a good day she has moved to mid-field from back last year. We don't open up till next Tuesday (Bucknell) and then on to Princeton and Virginia on the following weekend. Good luck to all in the early game. The more OoC wins we rack up the better for all of us.

[dukaholic]

We'll try to rack up a big OOC win over Northeastern this Saturday, and then a solid win over Ball State...here's hoping.

We'll definitely look a lot different moving Cordes up front, and Weaver to the back. In addition to losing half our starters from last year...things will be different to say the least. I guess now we'll find out if JMU can not rebuild, but can reload...

[Al]

Thanks for the report Dragon. Always good to see the Va Beach natives playing well. :)

I always wondered what happened to Rachael Bloemker. She was only at ODU for a year. You know, I passed right by her name when I looked at DU's roster and didn't make the connection. I hope she has a great season for the Dragons.

Good luck to the Dukes (actually, all CAA teams) this weekend. Northeastern should be a good game. I don't know much about Ball St.

ODU hosts Louisville and Penn St this weekend. First ODU games without Beth Anders on the sidelines since the mid-80's. I'm looking forward to the Penn St game. PSU swept ODU last year and ended ODU's season. I'm hoping for a little revenge. :)

[dukaholic]

If you like cute girls running around in little skirts...

and you're in town for the big game against the Flames waaaaay early...

Stop by to see the field hockey Dukes take on top-20 and 2002 NCAA tourney participant Northeastern at 12noon on Saturday in Bridgeforth. It's worth it! See the only JMU program that has ever won a Division I NCAA national championship!

[JMUSuperfan2000]

Too bad the game is at noon. I'll probably be rolling out of bed around that time and then hopping in my car to head down for the football game. Oh well. Anything in the way of volleyball this weekend? Has that season started yet?

[dukaholic]

Not til Tuesday, I'm pretty sure...they're @UNC this weekend at some tournament.

[dukaholic]

We lost 2-1 today to Northeastern...didn't control the ball real well, didn't get many fast break opportunities - we did play more of a team game than we did last year though...

[dukaholic]

We lost 2-1 to Ball State - ick, it may be a long season. We have the same problems controlling the ball as last year, but the quick strike attack isn't there this time, as Janelle Perlis has no help in transition. Last year it was Goudswaard and Perlis, and now Nelly can't just do it on her own...

Our players have a hard time controlling the ball - trapping it, making good decisions, etc. We're not very smart about finding open space to flow in to, and we're not aggressive enough.

The goalie is trying really hard, and making some great stops now and then, but we really do need Lori back. Lauren just gets herself out of position a lot, and Lori is a very solid goalkeeper...

[TJ Reaper]

But hey, a pretty confident team out of Ball State. They were on the verge of loosing their program this year, but it got saved at the last moment. They are playing this season for blood....hungry to prove something to their AD. Good story for them.....you guys gotta read the quote from their coach:


"The team played as one solid unit," first-year head coach Annette Payne said after the contest. "Our players were strong and smart with the ball. They played with a tremendous amount of intensity and heart from the beginning until the last second of the game and that is something that is really awesome for a coach to see. To beat a program the caliber of James Madison anywhere is an accomplishment, but to do it on their home field is remarkable."

Much props to JMU, but they had a little emotion to get the win today.....but we all know JMU can play better...hoping for it.

[dukaholic]

They have a solid program - no reason to cut it at all. In fact, JMU assistant coach Sally Northcroft went to BSU, and was a Honda Award winner (or finalist?) there...

They're a decent team, but no way we should lose to them. Of course, I've been skeptical of this years' teams ability to put it in the cage, and I think it'll be a recurring theme...

[Al]

Sorry about the losses JMU fans. Northeastern is a pretty tough team. I don't know too much about Ball St.

Jainez, what's going on at VCU? I saw they lost to Appy St 2-0. I didn't even know Appy St HAD a field hockey team!

Well, ODU beat Louisville 3-1 Saturday and lost to Penn St 6-2 Sunday. Yes, SIX to TWO. :shock:

Against Louisville, ODU dominated the 1st half, but in the 2nd didn't really attack much. Not to knock on Sue, but that's where ODU misses Beth. Beth never sits on a lead. She always keeps the pressure on and attacks.

The PSU loss was much closer than the score indicates. ODU dominated. Out shot and out cornered PSU. The PSU goalie was just amazing, absolutely on fire. But ODU had their chances. They missed 2 wide open shots and a stroke. The loss was the first for ODU at home since 1999 and the first time anyone scored more than 4 goals on ODU since 2000.

My take on the ODU team so far is mixed. I'm impressed with some of the freshmen (ODU started 4 and 2 of the 3 subs were rookies). Angie Loy has picked up where she left off last year. Melissa Leonetti looked solid as usual.

I didn't like them sitting on a 2-1 lead against Louisville. That's not ODU field hockey. The offense looked okay, but the finishing was a little off for both games. Again, that's not ODU field hockey. Tina Walker was shakey in goal at times. Jenny Angat was invisible (she didn't even start).

Just the first weekend. Plenty more hockey left. Maryland comes to Norfolk next weekend... :shock:

[dukaholic]

You may see another 6-2 loss when Maryland comes to town then! Watch out!

We just look bad - I don't know how else to put it. Ball State surely isn't terrible, but they're not great either, and they shouldn't make us look stupid on our own turf...

We beat Appy State 6-0 to start last year - that's not a good start for VCU...dang, and I thought they'd turn it around this year ;)

[Al]

I would be surprised if ODU lost to Maryland 6-2. ODU's problem against PSU was a combination of shakey finishing and a hot goalie. PSU seems to have ODU's number lately. Conversely, ODU seems to have Maryland's number. Especially at ODU. I can't remember the last time the Twerps won at Foreman Field.

ODU just needs to work on their finishing. Maybe it was first weekend jitters since ODU plays a number of freshmen. Jenny Angat and Chilly need to help Loy with the scoring load. Angie's great, but she can't do it by herself. Walker will get better in goal as she plays more games.

I think JMU will come around. It's only the first weekend. Unfortunately, neither JMU nor ODU have many "cupcake" games. Both teams have to step it up or their brutal OOC will kill them (like UNC last year).

VCU has no business losing to Appy St. They did beat St Louis Sunday. I don't know anything about the St Louis program though.

[TJ Reaper]

We always beat ASU, this year it was a tough game...we really have to adjust our offense, that is all. And Sunday we adjusted it and found our scorers for the year. Loosing Tavris was tough, but we will be alright from now on. The Billikens are a pretty solid squad but they aren't really all that good. We should've won that game. I was surprised that Abby let so many goals find the box...3. I can't wait to see the Stanford game. That shall be interesting especially since I have my preppy field hockey sweater all geared up! :)

Oh, and Al don't even go there.....ODU JUST lost at Foreman Field for the first time in 3-4 years.....if Penn State can do it by 4 goals, Maryland will could do it as well. ODU doesn't know how to keep up the pressure. Always scoring all the goals early and resting....CONTINUE TO PRESS!!

And don't even compare ODU with VCU...you guys are SUPPOSE to win AT home.....

[Al]

The Stanford game will be a good test for VCU. Stanford usually makes the NCAA's (mostly because they're in a weak league). ODU plays Stanford next Sunday.

"Oh, and Al don't even go there..." Where am I not going?

Yes, ODU lost for the first time in 4 years at home. Doesn't that tell you that ODU doesn't lose often at home. Maryland hasn't beaten ODU in Norfolk since the 80's.

I just said I would be surprised if ODU lost to Maryland by 4. Doesn't mean it won't happen, I'd just be surprised.

PSU has had ODU's number lately. PSU has a VERY GOOD team. You seem to not understand that Jainez. Yes, ODU doesn't lose often in field hockey, but they do lose to other top teams every once and a while. And PSU is a top team.

"ODU doesn't know how to keep up the pressure. Always scoring all the goals early and resting..."

What they heck are you talking about?!? ODU always keeps the pressure on offensively. That's what they're known for. In fact, that's why many teams dislike ODU (or more specifically, Beth). They think ODU is running up the score. I've hardly ever seen an ODU team score early and then rest.

I said I thought ODU looked like they were sitting on a 2-1 lead against Louisville. THAT'S ONE GAME for goodness sakes. The first game of the year in fact.

When did I compare ODU to VCU? I was just surprised VCU lost to Appy St. I can't be surprised VCU lost to a team they are supposed to beat? You sure seem surprised ODU lost.

Yes, ODU is "supposed" to win at home. And outside of this past loss, they have won every home game since 1999. I don't see the problem...

[dukaholic]

I think VCU will shock the world like they did last year and upset ODU in a traditionally dominant ODU sport - but this year it will be field hockey ;)

And yes, I've been drinking - there's no chance in hell :D

[myasssisdragon]

Hello all,

Our Bucknell game was cancelled as the Bisons new turf is not finished. We were hoping to have this game to get the bugs out as Saturday we have Princeton and Sunday we have Virginia. There were lots of interesting games this weekend. How about Michigan losing two and it looks like Beth Bozman has made an impact already at Duke. They had a good win over Delaware, 3-1 I think and then 12-0 vs. West Chester. West Chester is bad but 12 is alot. Good luck in the coming week!

[Al]

Hey Dragon, that's too bad about the Bucknell game. Is it cancelled or just postponed?

Michigan's start is kinda shocking. But I don't remember who they graduated. Is it a rebuilding year for them or just a bad start?

The whole Bozeman/Princeton situation was kinda strange. I'm glad to see she's doing well at Duke. It'll be interesting to see how Duke does in the ACC. The ACC is a huge step up from the Ivy League.

Good luck to all the CAA teams in OOC this weekend. Looks like some big games coming up.

[dukaholic]

It's a combination of a slow start by Michigan, and just playing Wake and UNC (who appears to be BACK!). Michigan returns 8 starters, among them All-Americans like Fronzoni, Johnson, and Gannon, and their goalie Maloney. They also return the reigning Big Ten freshman of the year. They graduated a 15 goal scorer (but they still returned an 18 and a 13 goal scorer!). I don't know much about their 6 freshman. One is from Emmaus, and then they have one each from Mizzou, Massachussetts, Kentucky, and Texas!

UNC just whooped up on Michigan, and then beat up on Iowa as well. They have Michigan State next ,and if they win that one they'll be SCORCHING - they could be 5-0 when JMU goes down to Chapel Hill. And then they could be 6-0 when ODU makes the trip :roll:

UVA started off with a 4-2 win over Northeastern. That right there means they've improved over last year!

Wake Started out with wins over Iowa and Michigan this year, so they're off to a better start than they were last year when they lost to Iowa to open up. They're gonna be NASTY again.

Interesting to me was how many quality teams Davidson scheduled. They have UNC, Wake, and Duke all on the schedule. Those three teams all play Appy State as well...

[Al]

Good to see UNC is back. Field hockey isn't the same without UNC in the top 5. I'm not looking forward to ODU playing in Chapel Hill. ODU always struggles there. Shoot, ODU lost there last year in a "down" year for UNC!

I must say, it sure was nice to see ODU thump UVa 11-0 last year. :D I'm not expecting a similar result this time around though.

I'm guessing Davidson and Appy St play a lot of ACC teams because they are so close. It's probably cheaper to play those schools than some others. Either that, or Davidson is the next field hockey superpower! :D

[Al]

CAA player of the week: Erica LaBar, UD
CAA rookie of the week: Megan Allen, UD

Nice sweep by UD. LaBar had 3 goals and 2 assists as UD went 1-1 during the week. Her 8 points led the CAA last week (ODU's Angie Loy had 7 points).

Allen started in goal for both UD games. Allen is a Va Beach native. :D I saw her play at Kempsville and I'm glad she's getting playing time so early at UD. She's going to have a great career.

Other junk from the CAA website: Hofstra went 2-0 last week. Towson won their only game. W&M lost to Louisville 2-1 in strokes. It was the first time a W&M game went to strokes since 1993. :shock: ODU's loss to PSU ended a 51 game home winning streak. :(

[dukaholic]

Speaking of rookies, JMU's Zimbabwean Bailie Versfel is going to be NASTY one day. She's got the talent, the attitude, and the strength. She's gonna be a great one. As a freshman, she's already the main hitter on penalty corners.

Here's praying for a mildly successful trip down tobacco road for the Dukes...

[Al]

I don't know why, but the word "Zimbabwean" cracked me up. :D I'm glad she's playing well. The more experience she gets, the better she'll be.

Good luck to the Dukes and all the other CAA teams this weekend. Tobacco road is always tough. I'm not looking forward to ODU making that trip either...

ODU hosts Maryland and Stanford this weekend. Maryland is 3-0 and has outscored its opponents 21-0. The article from Maryland's student newspaper (see the ODU board for the link) took a jab at ODU for being "unable to match the Terp's success thus far." Hmph. It's easy to look dominating when you play New Hampshire, UMass, and Quinnipiac.

I actually can't make it to the Maryland game. :( A long time ago (before the schedule was released), I promised a friend I'd volunteer at a soccer tournament all day Saturday.

[dukaholic]

Just be sure to keep that turf good and wet ;):D

This weekend could be ugly for us - 0-4 here we come! :(

[dukaholic]

We suck...

Duke is good, I'm sure - but 9-0? You've gotta be f'in kidding me!!!

I see you guys played close but dropped to UMD - how much of a difference is Beth's absence making there?

I see "Strong Island" scored against you - Colleen, yummmm....

Sorry to see this - looks like a one bid year for the CAA...we'll have a better guess of that once W&M stops playing teams like Vermont and Lafayette ;) I guess the Tribe could definitely make an at-large bid if they play well - we've already played ourselves out of one, barring 113 miracles.

[dukaholic]

6-0 to Wake Forest ... yes, we do suck.

What's going on?!?!

At least my buddy scored twice ;)

Too bad my buddies on JMU couldn't score...

[Al]

Ouch...tough weekend for JMU. Wake I can understand (kinda). But is Duke really that good this year?

ODU went 1-1 this weekend. Lost to Maryland 2-1 and beat Stanford 6-2. That puts ODU at 2-2 so far this year. I think it's too early to know how much losing Beth has affected the team. The team is so young, I'm not surprised they've struggled a little.

I missed the Maryland game, so I really can't comment too much on it. Angie Loy only took 1 shot. ODU isn't going to beat really good teams with Angie taking only 1 shot.

Stanford game was better. But Stanford isn't Maryland, so I don't want to read too much into it. ODU dominated the 1st half and went up 4-0. ODU outshot the Cardinal 38-5. The rookies really looked good in this game. Angie took 15 shots (10 on goal). :shock: Only got one goal for all her work though.

ODU hosts W&M next Saturday for their CAA opener and hosts UConn on Sunday. Oddly, Stanford will have to RETURN TO NORFOLK next weekend and play W&M and UConn at ODU. Talk about a terrible road swing!

[myasssisdragon]

The Dragons started this weekend really missing the Bucknell opener, as Princeton scored 3 in the first 15 minutes. After that, when the deer in the headlights look left the girls, it was a 2-1 game. For those who didn't take the high math the final was 5-1. Not a great start, but a much better second half. The Virginia game was a good one with us losing 2-1 in OT. We missed an open cage in regulation and had the first two or three opportunities in the overtime. We move on to Villanova on Wednesday (4-3 loser to Delaware Sunday) and have Sacred Heart on Saturday.

The RPI should start to make sense after next weekends games, so look for that post a week from today.

[dukaholic]

I'm not sure how much of a difference Bozeman is making at Duke.

I will say this though - they only beat Appy State by a tally of 4-0. I don't really think that bodes well for us. We will be in line to be embarrassed a good many times this year, IMO.

Sounds like a solid start for the Dragons. UVA looks okay so far, nothing great, nothing terrible. Their OOC schedule for the year does look kinda weak though - basically CAA teams, Boston College, and a bunch of weak ass teams (including Richmond ;)).

Then again, I shouldn't call other teams weak right now :cry:

[Al]

No shame in losing in overtime to UVa and Princeton is always tough. DU should bounce back this week. I look forward to your RPI, Dragon. The coach's poll comes out Tuesday. I'll be interested to see how many CAA teams make the cut.

Correction: ODU beat Stanford 5-2, not 6-2. Too much sun this weekend must have fried my brain. :)

Holic, I hate to compare scores, but didn't Duke beat UD 3-1? Hopefully last weekend was just a fluke for JMU.

BPR has their first ranking out. BPR uses some confusing formula that rates all 76 teams. UNC is #1, followed closely by Duke.

CAA schools:
#10 Hofstra (4-0)
#11 Delaware (3-1)
#16 W&M (2-1)
#18 ODU (2-2)
#37 Towson (2-1)
#42 VCU (2-2)
#54 Drexel (0-2)
#63 JMU (0-4)

http://bprratings.com/Hockey/2003/d1current2003.html

[dukaholic]

Obviously it's too early for the BPR's to make any sense - give it some time.

I'm telling you, this JMU team is going to have PROBLEMS scoring ANYTHING on ANYONE - the offense just isn't there, and it's been my concern since last year.

Combine that with pathetic ball control (ie giving the other team the ball waaaaay too often) and the other team is going to score a lot. I estimate that the other team has the ball for over 60% of every game we've played so far. It's hard to put it in the cage if you don't have it.

The goals are a concern as well. I don't know how we let up 15 goals in two games (especially since none of them were against notoriously explosive ODU!). I can't wait for Amico to return from her injury, though her foot is still in a cast :(

It's gonna be a loooong season.

[Al]

Most polls won't make much sense until teams play more games. But it's nice to have something to complain...er, I mean talk...about. :)

If Amico is still in a cast now, what's the time table for her return? Is it a possibility that she'll redshirt?

The 1st coach's poll is out: http://www.eteamz.com/nfhca/files/DIPoll-9-9-03.pdf I have to give Holic credit, since I shamelessly stole this link from him on the general board. :D

Ranked CAA teams:
#6 ODU
#18 W&M
UD and HU "receiving votes"

Scary thought: By my fuzzy math, ODU will play 17 games against teams who are ranked or "receiving votes." :shock:

[Al]

Co-CAA Players of the Week:
Jessi Balmer, UD, Jr, Forward
Jennifer Howard, VCU, Sr, Midfielder

CAA Rookie of the Week:
Doni-Melissa Jantzen, Hofstra, Fr, Forward

Both Balmer and Howard scored hat tricks last week. Jantzen had 2 goals, including a game winner. I must point out that Howard is a Va Beach native and a Kellam High grad. :D

Other useless junk from the CAA Notebook: UD has 14 goals in their 1st 4 games, the most since they scored 17 goals in their 1st 4 games in 1998. Hofstra is 4-0 despite starting 1 senior. VCU's Howard has 6 goals so far, tying her career season high she set as a freshman.

http://www.caasports.com/sports/fhockey/release.asp?RELEASE_ID=1257

[mainejeff]

Maine at #32....probably as high as we will get no matter how many games we win :wink: . Glad to join the field hockey thread for another season :D .

[Al]

How's Maine doing so far Jeff?

Some interesting results this week. Drexel lost to Nova 3-2. Any scoops Dragon? UD lost to Pacific 2-1. Pacific?

Big games this week: JMU at Kent St and #16 UVa at VCU today. DU at Sacred Heart and #18 W&M at #6 ODU Saturday. UD at Ball St, JMU at #2 UNC, and #10 UConn at ODU Sunday. DU at #3 Maryland Tuesday and JMU at UVa Wednesday.

JMU's schedule is just brutal. The first CAA game of the season is a big one: W&M at ODU. Rematch of last year's title game.

ODU is conducting a chat with field hockey coach Sue Myers. This is the first time ODU has ever had an online chat. It's Sept 15 at 12:30 pm. You can submit questions now: http://odusports.ocsn.com/chat/091003aaa.html

[mainejeff]

Al, Maine is doing pretty decent so far. They are 3-1 and have beat the teams they should. They lost on the road to Temple 2-1 which took #4 Penn State to OT on Tuesday before losing 1-0. Their schedule is lame again unfortunately.

[myasssisdragon]

The Villanova game was painful. Team captain Cali Bagovic twisted her ankle 2 minutes in and was out for the game. I got there about ten minutes into the first half and we had 2 seniors 1 junior 4 sophmores and 4 freshmen in the game. We still managed to have a 1-0 lead at the half. Within 2:37 of the start of the second half it was 2-1 Villanova. It ended up 3-2 and was not pretty. Coach had a very loud post game meeting. It must of worked as the effort was much better today against Sacred Heart. The final was only 2-1 played in a driving rain. Siedel scored her third of the season, she's the one from Kempsville. We play Maryland on Wednesday, pray for us!

[dukaholic]

We beat Kent State 4-3 in OT.

We were down 3-1 with about 9 minutes left in the game, scored twice in the last 8 or so....

We had no right to win this game, but it's about damn time we did. We DID dominate the second half, and both teams had some breaks along the way. It was good to see us get something going our way.

Tomorrow may be ugly though....

[dukaholic]

We got thrashed 9-1 by UNC.

Granted UNC is back, and their team is good, real good - but how many times do we really need to get killed this year?

Ick.

I hate the state of North Carolina.

[Al]

Kent St is a good win for the Dukes. Especially pulling it out in OT. ODU makes the trip to Chapel Hill next Saturday. I'm not looking forward to it.

Dragon, good things happen when Va Beach natives score! ;)

I'm glad Maine's off to a good start Jeff. Taking PSU to OT is impressive. ODU lost to them 6-2. :(

ODU beat W&M 3-0 Saturday and #10 UConn 4-2 today. ODU improves to 4-2 (1-0 CAA).

ODU outshot W&M 16-3 and pretty much dominated. Despite all of that, the 1st half was scoreless. Then Angie Loy took over in the 2nd half. I was impressed with W&M's defense. They used 2 goalies and both played well.

ODU outshot UConn 23-9. UConn's scrappy. ODU had a hard time putting them away. ODU led 2-0 early, but UConn tied it up in the 2nd half. Then Loy took over. Again. Loy finished the weekend with 3 goals and 2 assists.

[dukaholic]

That Loy girl is pretty good, no? ;)

W&M got trounced by UR, so they just may not be that great this year...Losing Ekberg hurts.

[Al]

Yeah, Loy's not too shabby. ;) I wish she had a few more years of eligibility. But Chilly and Janelle Engle have been stepping up lately. They're both only sophs. ODU's really young this year.

I was impressed with W&M's defense. Very scrappy. Their goalies played well considering they faced a ton of shots. But they had no offense at all. Ekberg carried so much of the load the past 4 years. She's a just a huge loss.

I saw where VCU lost to UVa 2-1. That's a pretty good showing by the Rams.

[Al]

New BPR ratings are out. UNC is still #1.

CAA (plus Maine for Jeff) rankings:
#10 Hofstra (5-0)
#14 ODU (4-2)
#16 Delaware (4-2)
#25 Maine (4-1)
#34 W&M (3-3)
#36 Towson (3-2)
#40 VCU (3-3)
#50 Drexel (1-3)
#63 JMU (1-5)

Conference rankings are also out. There are 11 conferences plus some independents.

#1 ACC (25-2) :shock:
#2 Big 10 (25-9)
#3 CAA (24-20)
#9 America East (14-19)

[dukaholic]

Wow, we're #3 even though JMU sucks - sorry about sucking guys.

I'm surprised the MAC or IVY isn't up there. Is the BPR always so heavily biased towards record without accounting much for SOS, or is that just because it's early?

[Al]

The Ivy League isn't off to a great start. The MAC is even worse.

Conference ratings:
#1 ACC (25-2)
#2 Big 10 (25-9)
#3 CAA (24-20)
#4 Patriot League (21-15)
#5 Big East (19-16)
#6 A-10 (18-18 )
#7 Ivy League (13-14)
#8 NorPac (15-27)
#9 America East (14-19)
#10 Mid America (11-19)
#11 Independents (1-4)
#12 Northeast (8-27)

From the BPR website:

"Rating is based on a combination of scoring offense, scoring defense, win-loss record, and strength of schedule to date."

I think the "scoring offense, scoring defense" part is what skews the numbers early on. It all depends on how much each factor is weighed.

The new coach's poll should come out Tuesday.

[dukaholic]

Wow, the ACC and the Big-10 are just beating up on EVERYONE!

[Al]

I know the ACC only has 5 schools, but a 25-2 record is crazy. I'd like to know what kind of SOS the ACC has so far. I know UNC has played some tough games...Maryland played ODU...

ODU's online chat with interim head coach Sue Myers was today. I had a question planned, but completely forgot to submit it. I hope ODU has more chats.

Here's the transcript: http://odusports.ocsn.com/chat/091003aaa.html

2 former ODU players checked in. Lotte Bant (2001 CAA Rookie of the Year) and Jamie Hill (goalie on 1998 national title team).

[dukaholic]

Too bad, Al. Most of those weren't even questions! What were you going to ask?

Did Lotte Bant ever have a reason for leaving? Was it to play for the Dutch national team? Or was she just doing the Dutch 2 year exchange program? ;)

[myasssisdragon]

Hey guys, I know I told you I'd post the RPI yesterday but I was out sick, so here it is today:

CAA Teams:
Rank School RPI Wins Losses
4 Hofstra 0.764 5 0
17 ODU 0.618 4 2
21 Delaware 0.592 5 2
34 W&M 0.508 3 3
38 VCu 0.495 3 3
41 Towson 0.478 3 2
57 Drexel 0.389 1 3
60 JMU 0.382 1 5

Also Here is the Conferences

Rank Conf. RPI SOS
1 ACC 0.715 0.552
2 BIG TEN 0.590 0.480
3 CAA 0.532 0.511
4 BIG EAST 0.509 0.538
5 AE 0.456 0.481
6 IVY 0.458 0.473
7 PATRIOT 0.523 0.506
8 MAC 0.424 0.447
9 A-10 0.499 0.487
10 IND 0.283 0.307
11 Nor-PAC 0.428 0.453
12 NEC 0.359 0.424

Al, added the SOS just for you. I didn't include the total RPI as there still are teams with 3 or less games and that throws off the validity. Also, we play Maryland today not Wednesday. :shock:

[dukaholic]

Good luck against UMD - you'll need it :roll:

I can't say anything though, because if we played some of Maryland's better high schools, they'd give us a run for our money right now...

[Al]

Holic, I was going to ask Sue about any rule changes she'd like to see. I also had a question about expanding the NCAA tourney.

Lotte did leave to join one of the Dutch National Teams, but I think she also took part in the 2 year Dutch exchange program. :) Too bad. She was one heck of a player. Great stick skills.

Dragon, I hope you're feeling better. Thanks for the RPI. The only surprise to me is Hofstra at #4.

Thanks for adding the SOS. Looks like the ACC plays a pretty tough SOS (as does the CAA). The Big 10's SOS isn't very strong though.

Good luck against Maryland!

[Al]

New coach's poll is out. ODU moved up a spot to #5 while W&M dropped a spot to #19. Hofstra and UD are still "receiving votes" (so is Maine).

Poll: http://www.eteamz.com/nfhca/files/DIPoll-9-16-03.pdf

CAA POW: Angie Loy (ODU)
CAA ROW: Katie Evans (UD)

Loy had 3 goals and 2 assists this weekend. Evans scored twice for UD.

Useless junk from the CAA notebook: JMU redshirt freshman Maureen Klingler will be available for the first time this week (she had to sit out JMU's first 6 games to retain her redshirt status from last year). ODU has won 53 straight CAA games. Julie Lambi became Towson's all time leading scorer. UR beat W&M for the first time since 1993 last weekend.

[dukaholic]

I heard we dropped 3-2 to UVA tonight - not toooo terrible, as I was expecting worse, but still continuing a disappointing and painful season. Can it end yet?

Luckily we haven't lost in CAA play yet ;)

The thought of JMU NOT making the CAA tournament is just - bad.

[dukaholic]

Our game against Radford is pushed back to noon tomorrow - so anyone here for the football game early, come to the game! Then tailgate! We should/WILL beat Radford.

And I didn't know Kiernan Raffo was coaching W&M now! So I have a friend on W&M and a buddy/acquaintance coaching them - sorry Al, ODU is #3 in the CAA to me ;)

[myasssisdragon]

Just got our eletric back. How is everyone, no worse for wear I hope. We lost to Maryland 6-0, but it wasn't as bad as 6-0 sounds. 4-0 first half 2-0 second half withone being a stroke. We moved the St. Joe's game up to 1:00 Thursday to miss Isabel and got away with a 1-0 win in OT. We controlled all the play from our goal to the top of their circle, but didn't get any shots. Partly because they were packing it in and partly because we don't draw enough corners. Back in action Tuesday with Rutgers and then up to Fairfield on Saturday.

[Al]

ODU lost at UNC 4-0. First time ODU has been shut out since Sept 2002 (ironically, at UNC). ODU always struggles in Chapel Hill, but 4-0!?! ODU's at #4 Duke Sunday. I'm hoping for the split, but ODU's offense has been inconsistent so far this year.

I'm a W&M fan too. Quan Nim (who attended my alma mater, Bayside High) is an assistant there. Plus, Raffo is a Va Beach native. Speaking of assistants, how's Crystal Carper doing at JMU?

A 3-2 loss to UVa isn't too bad. Has JMU ever not made the CAA tourney? Good to see DU got a solid win against St Joe's.

As for Isabel, I made out okay all things considering. I lost power early Thursday morning and didn't get it back until Saturday night. I read that 95% of Southeastern Va was without power Friday morning, so I'm lucky I got it back when I did. Trees fell everywhere, but luckily had I no property damage.

It's still a madhouse around here. Trees are everywhere, power still out for most folks, and most stores and restaurantes are still closed. I'm just sick of canned foods and crackers. I'd kill for a good steak, some fresh veggies, and an ICE cold drink. ;)

[dukaholic]

Al, Crystal is doing well here - she's very easy going, and apparently that's a very good fit in with the girls since it contrasts Sally and Irene...

And I've got some ice cold brews for ya here, Al, if you ever make the trip!

Good luck against Duke. I know they tagged us 9-0, which isn't saying much...but good luck. I'm predicting a loss for you guys, maybe 4-1? Here's hoping you can bring some respectability back to the CAA.

We did beat Radford, 4-1 today. 'Bout as expected. We really REALLY miss Lori Amico though. I know Hartzler is doing everything she can in goal back there, but why we wouldn't have a backup scholarship goalie is beyond me. Kiki went down last year, so Lori wins CAA ROY ;):D This year Lori goes down and we really just get creamed all over the place.

I mean, Radford got one shot all game. One shot. On their only penalty corner of the game. And of course it finds the cage. It was assisted by a Lake Braddock alumna though, so I can't complain!

And congrats to Baillie Versfeld scoring her first career goal. I'm sure there will be more, as she's stroking corners as a freshman and she beats the crap out of the ball.

And for the record - JMU is the last team to have beaten Wake Forest ;)

[dukaholic]

We played Michigan.

9-1.

Val Cohen started the comeback 59 minutes into the game. We were already down 9-0. The comeback didn't last long.

Wow.

Good news - Lori Amico is back .. bad news - we still suck.

[stuball888]

Glad to see that field hockey is getting some attention. Since our football team stinks this year it looks like field hockey and soccer will be our better fall sports. What is unique about Hofstras filed hockey team is that we are so young. We have 13 freshmen on the team and start 7 of them. This program has struggled so long but the hard work of 4th year coach kathy DeAngeles is paying off. They have to be kicked off the practice field. They are eager to learn and are a great bunch to be around. I think they will not be a top 10 team but will turn some heads this year. They are two years away from a run at the elite in this sport.

[Al]

Stu, I'm glad you joined the field hockey thread. I hope you keep us up to date on Hofstra's season. Plus I expect a full report on the HU/ODU game. :)

Holic, hot beer is better than no beer! :) I finally found a Farm Fresh that is selling perishable goods, so I had steak and potatoes tonight. I ate like it was my last meal.

Good to hear Amico's back, even if she did cheat Chilly out of ROY! ;) She'll probably need a few games to get back into game shape.

I'm glad Crystal's doing well in Harrisonburg. It will be strange seeing her wearing purple at the CAA tourney. That is, if ODU hosts and JMU makes it. I don't want to count my chickens too soon.

ODU lost to #4 Duke 3-2. Duke scored the game winner in the final minute of the game. It was only Duke's 2nd win all time against ODU. The good news is that 2 freshmen (one from Va Beach!) scored for ODU.

I'll be interested to see how far ODU drops in the poll. All 4 of ODU's losses are to teams that were ranked in the top 5. Plus ODU has 3 wins over ranked teams. I'm guessing ODU will be around 7th.

Next up: ODU at JMU!

[dukaholic]

I'll give you a full report of ODU@JMU if I live through it - I have a feeling that what will transpire will be a sad, sad event.

Though ODU doesn't look as strong as they usually do - if Beth was there and you guys attacked the whole time, you could beat this JMU team by 20 :(

Apparently, we just like giving up really high goal totals.

[myasssisdragon]

Here is the RPI for this week.

CAA
Rank Team Rpi
5 Hofstra 0.7357554
25 Towson 0.559088516
26 ODU 0.559085205
35 W&M 0.516801993
43 VCU 0.47744903
49 Drexel 0.439426572
56 JMU 0.400944451

Top 10 National
Rank Team Rpi
1 NCU 0.782417372
2 Wake 0.77026779
3 Maryland 0.758018576
4 California 0.754614867
5 Hofstra 0.7357554
6 Penn State 0.699146134
7 American 0.698289379
8 Richmond 0.696511598
9 Duke 0.686025979
10 Brown 0.651416151

[Al]

Great job as always on the RPI, Dragon. I think you left out UD though. Is that the Drexel fan in you? ;)

I'm not writing ODU off by any stretch, but the future looks very bright. The bulk of the team are freshmen and sophomores (9 of the 15 players who play).

All of ODU's losses were close except for UNC. Even the PSU loss (4-2) was much closer than the score indicates. So ODU's not too far off from the top 5.

According to the ODU website, ODU's worst record ever was 16-9 in 1995 (the team still finished 6th). The worst finish for ODU was in 1993, when the team finished 7th nationally (17-4-2 record).

With the tough schedule they play, ODU may break the loss record this year if they don't step it up. Don't want to break any dubious records.

[dukaholic]

We'll add another L to that record on Saturday, Al :lol: :shock: :wink: :roll:

ODU at #7, UD at #15. W&M receiving votes at #21, HU receiving votes at #22, and Towson getting a vote, tying them for #29.

And JMU ... yeah, about that...

At least Wake is still #1! The ACC has the top 4 teams, and if you add up the rankings of ALL the ACC teams you get 22 - for an average of 4.4 per team!

Can I tell you how much it pisses me off that Richmond is #16 right now and JMU sucks? I bet this year Richmond wouldn't have to play a bunker against ODU ;)

But really, there seems to be waaaaay more parity in NCAA field hockey this year, as there are only really 3 elite teams, with everyone else vulnerable...ODU, Michigan, Michigan State - they're not unbeatable this year...

A team like Delaware can get in the top 20 with a win over Northeastern, despite losing to Pacific earlier this year :shock: 6-2, with losses to Duke (solid loss) and Pacific and wins over the northern directional schools (Northeastern and Northwestern).

Boy Jeff, if Maine is going to come south to play G'town and Towson, why not play a real school? If Maine had a year like they had last year, they'd be ranked now :lol:

Al or Dragon or anyone else, is G'town a new D1 program? I don't remember them being around, but they're playing a full D1 schedule (and gave Maine a run for their money it looks like).

The NFHCA website under schedules and results for each individual team lists a link for GMU but of course there's no schedule there or anything. I wonder if GMU is going to start a team up, or if that's completely a mistake...It does the same thing with Denver and Duquesne.

Rutgers is 4-4 this year, so they're exponentially better with Bozeman already...

And I have a friend who has been writing and sending videos of herself as a goalie into JMU - and Horvat hasn't emailed her back or anything, even with a simple "no thanks." She's arguably the best goalie in Northern Virginia this year. Next year, we still don't have a backup for Lori, so unless Irene already has someone lined up, she is sooooo stupid. Food for thought: two of the top 4 teams in the country start goalies from Northern Virginia.

[Al]

ODU is the only ranked team without a winning record (4-4). :shock: Kinda like UNC last year. Good to see UD back in the polls (Pacific?!?).

There's parity to an extent, but it seems to be the same old, same old. The top 10: 4 ACC schools, 4 Big 10, ODU, and Princeton. There is a ton of parity outside the top 10 though.

UR being ranked is a joke. Have you seen who they've played? Vermont, AU, Lafayette (loss), Stanford, W&M, Harvard, and Indiana. They're living off the Indiana upset.

Georgetown has had field hockey since 1981 according to their website. Their head coach is a Maine grad and their assistant is Liz Sanders, a 2001 JMU grad.

GMU has a club field hockey team. I doubt their moving up to varsity anytime soon. Unless the GMU D1-AA football rumors are true. Then GMU may have to add women's sports for Title 9 purposes. GMU SHOULD have varsity field hockey. There's a ton of talent in NoVa.

Isn't Beth Bozeman the coach at Duke now? The former Duke coach is the coach at Rutgers. I think.

2 top 15 teams start Southern Va natives in goal: ODU (Tina Walker, Suffolk) and UD (Megan Allen, Va Beach). Not bad considering Tidewater's known more for field players than goalies. :)

[Al]

CAA POW: Jessi Balmer (UD, Jr, M)
CAA ROW: Kara McEneaney (HU, Fr, F)

Balmer had 2 goals in UD's 2 wins. McEneaney had 2 goals and an assist in HU's 3 wins. A UD player seems to win POW almost every week!

Useless crap from the CAA notebook: UD upset 2 ranked teams last week. Hofstra is still undefeated at 8-0. JMU's game against Radford was their first game of the year not against a team ranked or receiving votes in the poll. :shock: Towson got their first ever win against Maine last week (sorry Jeff).

[dukaholic]

Isn't Beth Bozeman the coach at Duke now? The former Duke coach is the coach at Rutgers. I think.

Good call, Al. Got myself confused with that whole coaching carousel that went on.

Richmond did put a pretty good spanking on W&M too though, 4-1 I think? Not that W&M is a powerhouse, but they should be a solid ballclub.

What I meant by parity, I guess is that even the #4 - 7 teams are sporting losses. I mean, ODU has a bunch, Michigan has a bunch - usually at this point of the season they'd all be undefeeated or have one loss, against one of the other good teams.

Wow, I somehow don't remember G'town field hockey at all. I guess they're about as well known as their football team :D

I would love to see GMU get a field hockey team - do you even know if they have a turf field or not? I live up there but I don't remember one being around...never really explored GMU either though! Of course they could be like ALL NoVA teams and just play on grass ;)

[Al]

I didn't mention UR's win over the Tribe as impressive because W&M isn't ranked. Although I think they may have been ranked when UR beat them. Not sure. I do agree W&M will be a solid team this year.

Look out, I'm about to get all statistical... :D

I looked up the teams ranked #4-7 from last year and compared their record to this year's.

2002:
#4 Michigan (18-4)
#5 Maryland (17-5)
#6 Penn St (19-5)
#7 Kent St (17-7)

2003:
#4 Duke (5-1)
#5 Michigan (5-3)
#6 Penn St (6-1)
#7 ODU (4-4)

So last year, teams 4-7 had 21 losses. This year (so far), teams 4-7 have 9 losses. Not too much of a difference.

ODU and Michigan are skewing the numbers. They're the only 2 schools in the top 13 that have more than 2 losses. But Michigan's 3 losses are to the top 3 teams. ODU's 4 losses are to teams #2, #3, #4, and #6.

The new conference rankings by BPR are out. The CAA has dropped to #5. The top 6: ACC, Big 10, Big East, Patriot, CAA, America East.

I don't know much about GMU's club team. They have a website, but when I tried it, it was "forbidden." Here's the link: http://www.gmu.edu/org/fieldhockey/

They play in the NFHL (National Field Hockey League). I linked the league's website below. JMU, ODU, UD, W&M, and GMU all have teams. ODU's club team doesn't play on the turf at Foreman Field. They play on grass at Powhatan fields. Don't know about GMU, but JMU's club team plays on turf.

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~sroman1/

[dukaholic]

Look out, I'm about to get all statistical... :D

I looked up the teams ranked #4-7 from last year and compared their record to this year's.

2002:
#4 Michigan (18-4)
#5 Maryland (17-5)
#6 Penn St (19-5)
#7 Kent St (17-7)

2003:
#4 Duke (5-1)
#5 Michigan (5-3)
#6 Penn St (6-1)
#7 ODU (4-4)

So last year, teams 4-7 had 21 losses. This year (so far), teams 4-7 have 9 losses. Not too much of a difference.

ODU and Michigan are skewing the numbers. They're the only 2 schools in the top 13 that have more than 2 losses. But Michigan's 3 losses are to the top 3 teams. ODU's 4 losses are to teams #2, #3, #4, and #6.

21 losses in 92 games...as opposed to 9 losses in 29 games...the first is an average of a loss in every 4.5 games or so, thit year is closer to a loss every 3 games :roll:

Granted, yes, ODU and UMich are skewing it. PSU is still good ;)

I can't believe we're behind the freakin Big East and Patriot now - God, we suck...I do think if JMU was 6-2 that we would be at least in 4th, if not 3rd - sorry guys!

[dukaholic]

Good news - Veerle Goudswaard, former JMU star - is tied for second on Michigan State in goals with 3, and leads them in assists with 4 - she is second in points with 10.

I miss Vee :(

[Al]

Rember the top 7 teams won't remain the same all year anyway. The ACC and Big 10 teams will all play each other and that'll add some losses. It's a interesting topic though. We should come back to it at the end of the year and see what happens.

I did some conference stats on the Hofstra board. The Big 10 and ACC are clearly the top 2 conferences. It's not even close. But I did a little research on the Big East, Patriot League, and CAA (look out...more stats!).

Big East:
#11 UConn (5-2)
#18 BC (4-3)
Rutgers (5-4)
Providence (5-2)
Villanova (4-4)
Syracuse (3-5)

The Big East is 0-12 against ranked teams and 1-4 against the CAA (UConn lost to ODU, Rutgers lost to UD, Nova lost to UD and VCU and beat DU).

Patriot League:
American (5-1)
Holy Cross (6-2)
Colgate (3-3)
Bucknell (4-1)
Lafayette (5-4)
Fairfield (3-5)
Lehigh (3-5)

The Patriot League is 2-2 against ranked teams (Lafayette beat UR and PSU) and 0-2 against the CAA (Lafayette lost to W&M, Fairfield lost to HU).

The CAA is 5-18 against ranked teams.
ODU (3-4): Beat UConn, Louisville, W&M; lost to UNC, Maryland, Duke, PSU
UD (2-1): Beat Northeastern, Northwestern; lost to Duke
W&M (0-2): Lost to Louisville, UR
VCU (0-2): Lost to UVa, Wake
Drexel (0-3): Lost to Princeton, UVa, Maryland
JMU (0-6): Lost to Northeastern, Duke, Wake, UNC, UVa, Michigan

The Patriot league is a joke. They've only played 4 ranked teams and haven't even beaten a CAA team yet. The Big East is better, but not by much. They get credit for playing more ranked teams, but they still haven't beaten any them.

I don't care what BPR says, the CAA is better than those 2 conferences.

[Al]

The best rivarly in the CAA (in my humble yet biased opinion) is fast approaching...JMU vs ODU!

ODU has their game notes up: http://odusports.ocsn.com/sports/w-fieldh/spec-rel/092403aab.html

Useless facts:
* ODU lead the all time series 41-6.
* Last ODU win: 2002 CAA semis, 14-1.
* Last JMU win: 1995 CAA finals, 2-1.
* The 1995 ODU loss was the last time ODU lost a CAA game. ODU has won 53 straight CAA games.
* ODU has lost only 4 times in 12 years in the CAA. 3 of those 4 losses where to JMU.
* Of the 9 ODU players who scored in the 14-1 win, only 3 are still on the team (Angie Loy, Jenny Angat, Chilly Banuelos).
* JMU and ODU have met in 8 of the 12 CAA title games. ODU has won 7 of the 8.
* Either a JMU or an ODU player has won every CAA POY award.
* ODU and JMU are the only CAA teams to have won a national title.

Also, the ODU website has a Q&A with senior All American defender Melissa Leonetti. Interesting tidbit: She still has a year of eligibility left and is thinking about joining the ODU lacrosse team this spring.

http://odusports.ocsn.com/sports/w-fieldh/spec-rel/092403aaa.html

[Duke Dawg]

Holic,

Basically everything I know about our field hockey team comes from your guys posts on this thread.

But what in the heck has happened to our team this year? We're getting pummelled by everyone !

Are we just young? Not that good? Is it coaching? :?: :?: :?:

[dukaholic]

What is happening to our team -

We lost over half our scoring, and we don't seem to have any threats that have really stepped up. Between Goudswaard (a regional All-american) transferring and the graduation of both Elle van Ballegooie and Carrie Phillips (both All-CAA performers in the past) we're talking about 50% of the scoring being gone.

Add in that last year we lost the past two CAA Defensive players of the year (Ballegooie and Ryan Shean) and our defense has struggled as well.

Irene knew we were going to struggle scoring, so she moved Defenseman Amy Cordes up front to help out there. Unfortunately, that leaves people in the back who aren't experienced, and just don't make the best of decisions. Throw in a D3 goalie transfer playing for the injured reigning CAA ROY, and you spell disaster.

Coaching - bleh, I know some of the girls don't like Irene, and that's to be nice. I definitely think that our team lacks in stick skills and ball control, and I thought the same thing last year even when we were beating Duke and Wake - they controlled the ball and we broke out and capitalized on our opportunities.

Now teams are dominating the ball, to the tune of 70% time of possession. You can imagine how many scoring opportunities you have when you have the ball 30% of the time, and usually that is in your own territory in front of your own cage. I would think that Sally and Crystal (asst coaches) would be able to teach better stick skills, but we don't have them at this point.

Our team is also very foolish when talking about using space. You know, ball movement, cutting, movement without the ball. It's a very "Americanized" style that we play, and not a team game. We need to get better, crisper cuts and passes. If you know ANY field sport, you can see that we are too stagnant.

We're gonna get whupped by ODU, and we'll probably even get it handed to us by Richmond :( I do hope they can prove me wrong though.

[myasssisdragon]

I've got some good news from Dragon land. The administration is putting a big push to have a astro-turf field in by next fall. Playing a home game would be nice.

[Al]

That's great news Dragon. Nothing beats a real home field advantage.
Is it realistic that Drexel can build a turf field in a year?

Holic, Crystal should be able to help JMU with stick skills. Beth drilled her to death at ODU during her 4 years. ;)

Do you think Irene is on the hot seat? If she doesn't get the results this year and some players don't like her... Or maybe I'm still thinking about the Bud Childers thread. :)

[dukaholic]

I think our program should be stronger than it is...

If I were running things, Irene Horvat would be on the hot seat.

Great to hear about a turf field for Drexel - and yes, you can get a turf field down in a year. We tried to do it, and almost succeeded ;)

[myasssisdragon]

They tell us they can get a field done. The space is already available and one of our trustees is a contractor who I believe will do the initial layout. The rest is getting the money finalized.

As for Irene at JMU. I really hate to here about coaches losing their jobs because of player complaints, I hope that doesn't happen. That being said, results are many times related to team unity and a belief in the coaches plan. It's very hard to rebound if you've lost them. I think JMU's struggles are most likely a combination of many things, mostly it's schedule and recruiting. Also, former goalies as players don't often make good head coaches (Michele Madison is the only exception I can think of). Being the goalie is an individual mindset in a team game, a hard thought process to change. I hope it all works out, obviously I have a soft spot for coaches. It's not an easy job. The onlookers messure the final success, did you win or lose, and the coach must messure much much more than that.

[dukaholic]

We dropped to ODU 5-0. I hate your uniforms, Al. At the very least the girls should tuck their shirts in!

ODU did not impress me like I thought they would. Though the score was 5-0, JMU had at least 3 GREAT scoring opportunities - a 1-on-none that Walker stopped, a corner that was soo close to scoring but Walker made an amazing safe, and a breakaway 2-on-1 that we just didn't convert - this is the aspect of our game where we miss Goudswaard the most.

Two of ODU's goals came on breakaways - one was a ball that Amico let get through because it was going into the cage from out of the circle - but it hit the post and an ODU player tapped it in.

Though it was a 5-0 final, it very well could have been a 3-2 decision...

I was predicting a 9-0 blowout!

We did have the field watered down HEAVILY, which I didn't like ;)

We played as crisp a game as we've played all season probably. Passes and movement were better, but ODU is just a better team - not as great as I thought they'd be still though.

[dukaholic]

As far as Irene goes - I don't know anything about her relationship with the administration, etc etc. I don't know how many years she has left on her contract either, or anything like that.

I do know that this program should be in far better shape than it is at the present moment. And one thing I didn't talk about before, Dragon touched on...RECRUITING. We haven't had a really good recruiting class since our senior class now, which included High School All-Americans Perlis, Cordes, and Santanna, as well as Lindsay Keller.

Our younger players just aren't talented enough to contribute really - and there is NO - absolutely NO excuse for JMU to have recruiting problems in a female field sport! As we all know, this school sells itself to sooooo many - not to mention our perenially strong field hockey program, a great campus, friendly atmosphere, good academics, and a top-notch schedule.

There is NO excuse not to be getting the BEST players in the country to play here. Even if we're not getting the absolute BEST, the creme de la creme, we should be getting the second best players...which would perenially make us a 7-12 ranked team, rather than what is going on this year. And it doesn't look like it is going to be better next year.

We all know that hockey has a few (6 or so) always strong programs. Even if JMU isn't in that bunch, we should be JUST behind it. We were a top-10 team 6 out of the 7 years before Irene Horvat took over, including a National Championship and another Final Four appearance. Two other times in those 7 years, we made it out of the first round of the NCAAs.

Irene inherits a top ten team and hasn't been back to the top-10 since...hasn't made it out of the first round of the NCAA tournament...It's not my team, but if it was, Irene Horvat would not be here much longer...numbers don't lie, and we're not winning like usual and not recruiting like usual...

[dukaholic]

One more post - a question for Al.

Is there something wrong with Chilly? She dressed, but she didn't start, and I really don't think I saw her in the game the whole time. Maybe she played a tiny bit, but she was sitting a LOT! What's the story there?

[myasssisdragon]

We got a win today, 2-0 over Fairfield. Coach said it was another game with us controlling the ball but not scoring. Anyway, the way this year is going, a win is a win. It looks as though almost anything could happen in the conference so we have yet to give up hope. We have West Chester tuesday, Bill and Mary friday at Penn, and then ODU at Penn sunday.

[Al]

I've never really liked ODU's uniforms. But the wife beater/mini skirt combo is still better than the purple and gold unitard look. ;)

I'm glad Walker made some big saves. That's good for her confidence. She's seems to be getting better each game.

All 5 ODU goals were scored by freshmen. 3 freshmen to be exact. 2 of them are true freshmen: Claxton (who's from Cox High in Va Beach) and Sensenig. Loy had 3 assists, but no goals.

I don't know what's up with Chilly. She did start the first 6 home games. I don't know about the dreadful trip down tobacco road. I hope it's not an injury. She only has 3 goals and 1 assist this year. Maybe Sue's trying to shake things up and light a fire under Chilly (pun intended).

I agree that JMU should be a consistent top 10-15 team. Holic, do you know who was JMU's coach when the Dukes won national title and went to the Final Four? Christy Morgan, the former ODU All American and 2 time Olympian. See what happens when you fire an ODU alum! ;) :D

Solid win for the Dragons. The Bill and Marie game will be interesting. If DU can swing the upset, that could set the tone for their CAA season. Good luck, but not too much luck against ODU though. :)

ODU's at UVa Sunday. Big road test.

[dukaholic]

I did know about Christy Morgan, but I didn't know she was fired - twas before my time!

You should be able to beat UVA - I predict a 4-1 win for the Monarchs.

Chilly definitely wasn't hurt. If she was, it was an injury that she could run and work out through ;)

Walker definitely did look good.

Crystal Carper was hurt, however ;)

[Al]

I don't know if Christy Morgan was fired either. Just a guess. I think she's still coaching, I just can't remember where. It wasn't at a program near the caliber of JMU.

I'm glad Chilly isn't hurt. She should have more than 3 goals this year. I hope not starting gets her heading in the right direction.

From ODU's game report, it sounds like Amico played well in goal too. I like Amico. She stole the ROY award from Chilly last year, but I still like her. :) I'm glad she's healthy again.

JMU beat ODU 5-1 in women's soccer Friday. So it's basically an even split this weekend for the schools.

Cystal's hurt? That's what happens when you go to the land of the purple! ;)

[dukaholic]

Christy Morgan was the head coach at Davidson, but has since left to pursue interests outside of hockey as per http://www.collegesportingnews.com/article.asp?articleid=20267

The Dukes beat UR 3-2 today, scoring 43 seconds into the second overtime period. The last two JMU goals came on corners that were smashed by Zimbabwean freshman Baille Versfeld. She's gonna be something...

We were up 1-0, let them tie it up...then we went up 2-1 with 5:15 left in the game only to see UR score with around 2 minutes left. We just seem like a team that doesn't know how to win right now.

If I was the coach (which I'm not, obviously) I would move Cordes and Keller back to the back position. There's just too much indecision back there, and neither is an effective forward anyway. They're playing mid (or link?) I suppose, but they're both playing up an awful lot. Cordes has no stick skills at all, but is a damn good tackler, so she needs to move back...Keller CAN play up, but I think would be more effective in the back.

Hell, if we're not gonna score with them up there, we may as well move them back so the other team doesn't score as much. Then Val Cohen can see more minutes up front, along with DeYoung and Klingler (two semi-promising young players).

Amico saved 4 of 9 shots on goal against ODU. I hardly call that good...she's probably still working herself back into the flow of the game, though she looked slightly better against UR today. I like her too - she stood on her head last year when she led us to wins over Duke and WFU.

[Al]

ODU beat UVa 4-1 today. Just as Holic predicted. You gotta play the lottery this week. ;)

Freshmen Katie Claxton and Anna Rogers continued their scoring streaks. Rogers had 2 goals and Claxton 1. Loy had 2 assists. She's becoming the assist queen. That's nice, but I'd like to see her score more.

I just love it when any ODU team beats UVa. Makes my day. :D

That's a big win for the Dukes! Hopefully a win over a ranked team will boost JMU's confidence. That should also knock UR down (if not out) of the poll. Something else that makes my day. :D

[myasssisdragon]

Here's this weeks RPI for both CAA and Top 15.

CAA
Rank Team RPI Wins Losses
7 Hofstra 0.675 8 1
15 Delaware 0.615 7 2
17 ODU 0.601 6 4
30 W&M 0.536 4 3
33 Towson 0.530 5 3
40 VCU 0.497 4 5
50 Drexel 0.442 3 5
54 JMU 0.435 3 8


ALL
Rank Team RPI Wins Losses
1 Wake 0.805 9 0
2 UNC 0.736 9 1
3 Maryland 0.732 10 1
4 Duke 0.732 8 1
5 American 0.685 6 1
6 Penn State 0.675 9 2
7 Hofstra 0.675 8 1
8 Richmond 0.659 8 2
9 Harvard 0.634 5 2
10 Bucknell 0.631 5 1
11 U. Conn 0.623 6 3
12 Iowa 0.618 7 3
13 Michigan 0.618 6 3
14 MSU 0.615 7 3
15 Delaware 0.615 7 2

[Al]

The new coach's poll is out.

Holic...brace yourself. Are you sitting down?

JMU got a vote! :shock:

ODU holds on to the #7 spot and UD moves up 3 spots to #12. W&M, Hofstra, JMU and Maine are receiving votes. UR moved up 2 spots despite their loss to JMU.

PSU continues to be ranked below ODU despite having a better record AND having beaten ODU 4-2 AT ODU earlier this year.

Strange poll. http://www.eteamz.com/nfhca/files/DIPoll-9-30-03.pdf

[Al]

CAA POW: Anna Rogers, ODU, Fr
CAA ROW: Baillie Versfeld, JMU, Fr

Rogers had 4 goals and an assist in ODU's 2 wins. Versfeld had 2 goals (including a game winner) and an assist for JMU. I know I'm biased, but can someone explain to me how a freshman (Rogers) can be the BEST PLAYER last week, but not the best FRESHMAN? :roll:

CAA notebook junk: UD has won 4 straight games, their longest streak since 2001. Hofstra lost their first game of the year, 1-0 to Quinnipiac. JMU is 2-0 in overtime this year. ODU has won 54 straight CAA games dating back to 1995. VCU has yet to win or lose back-to-back games this year.

The CAA is 38-28 against non-conference opponents. The CAA has a winning record against every league except the ACC (1-11) and Big 10 (1-2). And for Jeff, the CAA is 4-1 against the America East. ;)

[dukaholic]

Al, I'm pretty sure that an SID can nominate a player for only ONE award. Therefore, ODU's SID thinks Rogers has a good shot at POW, so she is thus nominated. If ODU saw that some girl for W&M had 5 goals and 2 assists, Rogers would have been nominated for ROW...

I'm pretty sure that's how it works, but I can ask a buddy of mine who is in the know in sports information within the conference...

[dukaholic]

Correction: Rogers was nominated for ROW by ODU's coaches and SID, but someone within the CAA saw the other nominations from around the conference and only felt it fair that Rogers be POW. Then, the conference wants to split the awards to recognize more people...

[dukaholic]

From the polls:

ODU stays at #7, UD moves up 3 spots to #12. W&M is at #28 in votes, Hofstra is at #31, and 3 schools are tied at #37 with ONE vote - JMU, Maine, and Appy State.

I can't believe our program is at the level of Appy States...

I also can't believe that a 3-8 team got a vote ;)

Richmond beats UVA, Towson, and loses to JMU and moves up 2 spots to #14. UVA was only #12 when they were beaten - I guess JMU still does get respect ;)

Wake is the unanimous #1.

[mainejeff]

This poll is just ridiculous, but we all know that, so no sense beating a dead horse. Who are the 32 people this vote in this poll? I really hope that they are not all field hockey coaches, because if they are, they don't even know their own sport! Ahhh, long live the Sisterhood.........

[Al]

Thanks for clearing up the ROW/POW stuff Holic. I remember a few years ago ODU had a freshman women's basketball player win CAA player of the year, but she didn't win rookie of the year. Strange how these awards work out sometimes.

JMU has played a brutal schedule and is better than their record indicates, but a 3-8 team should not get votes in a top 20 poll.

I'd bet the farm JMU would beat Appy St head to head. Appy St got votes for their "big" win over Catawba. Catawba?!? Isn't that D3?

I guess UR's win over UVa offsets their loss to JMU. Or JMU isn't considered a "bad" loss. Or UR's coach votes in the poll and was so impressed with the Dukes that she gave them a vote.

Wake should be the unanimous #1 after their 3-1 win over Maryland.

[myasssisdragon]

Only the Coaches vote in this poll and very few spend even 5 minutes looking at who beat who. The only poll that actually has any merit is the NCAA Regional Poll that is done by commitee with 3 or 4 coaches from the region and one administrator. They will have the first conference calls this week for this poll.

The Coaches Poll is still and most likely will always be a "how did my friends team do this week" poll. The shame of it is there are not enough people like ourselves that pay attention to who's doing what. That being said, I think we should have our own poll. The four (Al, Dukaholic, Maine Jeff, and myself) of us could vote each week and post the poll. Anyone interested? I could send everyone the full RPI rating with records and games played that week every Monday evening and we could vote on Tuesdays. If we do this I think there should be a rule of no under .500 teams. Just a suggestion.

Let me know what you all think.

[dukaholic]

I'd be up for it...that way Maine can get screwed in another poll every week :D

I think the top half of the poll would look very similar to the coaches poll, for the most part. I think those RPI numbers are misleading as I don't think American, Hofstra, Richmond, Harvard, Bucknell, and UConn are that strong...bit seems to me that the RPI puts a greater emphasis on record rather than SOS (which should please Jeff ;)), but we all know that you're only as good as the teams that you can beat so if you wanna be in my top ten you better beat somebody *cough* Hofstra *cough*.

And I agree with the no under .500 teams as well. Just because you play the best and play them close, doesn't mean you're good. You're only as good as the teams you beat!

And with just a quick look at it and nothing more, I would have mine as follows...though I have not looked at EVERYTHING (I have work in ten minutes!) so this will be quick and about as educated as the coaches ;)

1. Wake Forest
2. UNC
3. UMD
4. Duke (wow, go ACC)
5. PSU
6. Iowa
7. MSU
8. Michigan
9. ODU
10. Princeton
11. Delaware
12. Northeastern
13. UCONN
14. BC
15. UR
16. UVA
17. Louisville
18. Indiana
19. Boston
20. W&M

Like I said this was in a rush and therefore similar to the coaches....but it will change when I have more time!

[Al]

The NCAA Regional Poll thing impacts the NCAA tourney selection and seedings. That poll is WAY more important than the "Sisterhood Poll."

I'd be up for voting for the CAAZone Field Hockey Poll. I agree with Holic that my top 10 would be pretty similar to the Sisterhood's. But I need to do some research to figure out 11-20.

BPR has their team and conference ratings out. The CAA is tied with the Patriot League for #3. What a joke. A Patriot League team still hasn't beaten a CAA team yet. Plus Patriot League teams have played a grand total of 4 ranked teams. JMU has played twice that by themselves!

But for those that care:
#10 ODU
#11 UD
#17 Hofstra
#24 Maine
#31 W&M
#32 Towson
#41 VCU
#49 Drexel
#59 JMU

[myasssisdragon]

Well it shoulds like a go. I'll get the data posted on Monday morning. If everybody responds back by say Tuesday noon, I'll do the math (20 points for 1st, 19 for 2nd, etc.) and repost the final tally by Tuesday evneing. We can then have something else totalk about until the weekends games.

[mainejeff]

I'm up for it. SOS is important, but in my poll winning counts for something too, which means Hofstra and Maine will be ahead of teams that are hovering around .500. Should be fun.....

[Al]

Hey Jeff...ODU is hovering around .500. ;)

The ODU website has a Q&A with ODU All American Angie Loy:
http://odusports.ocsn.com/sports/w-fieldh/spec-rel/100203aab.html

Among the highlights: Her hometown (Loysville, PA) is named after her family, her family owns a dairy farm, and she likes to do laundry on her day off.

[myasssisdragon]

I'll include win %, SOS and RPI. I'll attache an excell spreadsheet if that's o.k. with everyone.

We just lost to W&M 2-1 and totally dominated in the loss. We had the ball in our offensive end at least 80% of the time and held them to very few shots. So frustrating. The good part was that we played 6 freshmen and 4 sophomores in the 15 players we used today and they were the most effective. Well, on to ODU, be nice to us AL. It's a tough start to the CAA season for us, but even if we start out 0-2, we still only need to win 4 to make the playoffs and the youngin's are getting better each game. Always the optimist. P.S. Bruiser Flint was guest coach on the bench today. He really is a great guy and very supportive of all the programs.

[dukaholic]

From Loy's interview...


Beth Anders...She has taught me so much about the game of field hockey itself and how the game is not just hitting ball, but working it the whole way down the field and working together as a team.

Boy, I wish Irene would teach our girls that...

Dragon, sounds like a good game for your team - too bad they couldn't pull it out (though my buddy on W&M would KILL me if she knew I said that!). I'm happy for her and the Tribe.

[dukaholic]

We lost to UD 2-1. Cordes had a penalty stroke stopped with 30 seconds left in the game. I don't know what to say.

This team just doesn't know how to win. Simple as that. No offense to UD, but I still believe we should be beating the teams like them. Nice to see we didn't get blown out by 9 though.

[myasssisdragon]

Dukaholic, I know somone who went to the UD - JMU game and they said JMU had a goal taken back not long before the stroke attempt on a questionable call. Too bad you couldn't get the win. As any good Dragon, I hate Delaware.

I just looked at our stats and we outshot W&M 8-3 and had more corners. I hope our youngsters can keep their heads up and take something positive away from these games.

[dukaholic]

Drexel sounds like an up and coming young program. If you guys can get that field built up and somehow sway some of the local girls to come to DU, you can be a very good program. Even if you get the 4th and 5th best at each position in the Philly area, that's good enough to make you guys a top 20 team!

Thanks for the scoop about our game, Dragon. My biggest concern with this JMU team is that we forget how to win, how to put a game away. And that when we get in some of these 2-1 games with Towson, Hofstra, VCU, Drexel, etc - that we come out on the wrong end. We already know this is a long season for the Dukes, but dropping more 4 conference games will be painful - and we're already 0-2...

[Al]

ODU won at Hofstra 2-0. Angie Loy scored both goals. The stats were pretty even. ODU outshot HU 10-9 and both teams had 8 corners. Just a little too much Loy for HU. ODU still hasn't been scored on by a CAA team.

I look forward to the Drexel/ODU game report, Dragon.

I said this before, W&M is scrappy. ODU dominated them as well, but "only" won 3-0. The final score could have been much more lopsided. Looks like the same thing (outside of the final result) happened against Drexel.

Holic, JMU may be 0-2 in the CAA, but that's 2 losses to arguably the 2 best teams (at least the 2 teams ranked right now). Unless their confidence is completely shot from the brutal OOC schedule, I see JMU losing, at worst, 4 CAA games. But they don't call me "Al the Optimist" for nothing. ;)

[myasssisdragon]

We lost 3-1 to ODU today. They got up 2-0 early and actually held on. If they didn't have Loy I think we might have won. Again, 5 freshmen and 4 sophmores. Learning as we go. Still just need those four wins to make CAA's. It's not over till it's over. I'll have the spreadsheet posted early Monday. Of to watch the Eagles. Have a good Sunday afternoon everyone.

[dukaholic]

We took it to Towson for a 6-0 win today. Looks like our team came to play like they always should - outshot them 22-7, outcornered them 8-3 ... just dominated them.

Good to see from our ladies, who have been playing like a team that could be ranked #20 or so for a little (beat UR, lost to UD by 1, whooped Towson). This team will hopefully play well the rest of the CAA season, though the W&M and HU games still scare me a little. Even the Drexel game is a very losable game for us, but hopefully we're starting to become the team that we should've been all along...

Dragon, in your opinion how did ODU look? I wasn't impressed with them really when they came to Harrisonburg, as we played them pretty evenly though the scoreboard says otherwise...Do you see this as a very down year for the Monarchs as well?

[myasssisdragon]

ODU is not the same team. I don't think their depth is as good as in the past and regardless of what anyone might say they miss Beth very much. As soon as we started to pressure them they just looked to pass everything to Loy and got out of any team concept. Also, the post game scream they were given (audible to anyone in Franklin field) not only down graded them but was very unflattering to us. Sue called us some names and said how embarrassed the team should be for not winning by more. If I'm not mistaken they only beat Hofstra by two goals as well and really haven't won a big game all year. I think she should be embarrassed for not having the team better prepared and not making any in game adjustments other then screaming at the team.

[myasssisdragon]

Hey guys, I can't seem to attach the excell data file. Any suggestions. If I had e-mail addresses I could send it that way.

[Al]

Good win over Towson for JMU. I saw where W&M upset UVa and then beat Hofstra 2-1. Looks like W&M is starting to come around.

This is definately a "down" year for ODU. But that's by ODU's standards. The reality is, if ODU isn't top 3 and in the Final Four, it's a "down" year. I'm still a homer and haven't given up though.

Remember, ODU lost 5 starters, including 3 All Americans and the national player of the year. ODU plays 6 freshmen and 3 sophs. Only 3 seniors on the team and 1 (goalie Walker) hasn't played much until this year. ODU is just really young.

But ODU misses Beth more than anything. Which sorta scares me. While Beth should come back to ODU next year, she won't coach forever. What happens to ODU when Beth retires?

I'd have to disagree that ODU hasn't won a big game all year. ODU has beaten 4 ranked teams. All 4 of ODU's losses have come to top 5 teams, and outside of UNC, ODU was in all 4 games. ODU is 4-0 in the CAA, outscoring their opponents 13-1. Not too shabby. Even for a "down" year.

ODU has never been the deepest team in the nation. They usually redshirt most of the freshmen and are doing so again this year. So a huge chunk of the roster doesn't play. Right now, there's only 3 or 4 bench players available. And most are freshmen.

I don't know anything about the pre-game scream. Usually it's something mudane like "ODU!" or "Our house!" or "Our time!" Shame on ODU if they don't show the class they should show to a fellow CAA team.

And I'd just like to add...thank goodness for Angie Loy! I wish there was another Loy sister coming up the ranks.

[dukaholic]

Al, I don't think we believe that ODU beating the likes of UCONN, W&M, etc are BIG wins...you are 0-4 in games against top 10 teams, and that's what Dragon is talking about, I presume. ODU has that mystique - they are SUPPOSED to beat "ranked" teams...

And I think Dragon said something about a post game scream (by Sue) ...

I figure I'll get my top 20 in here. I've looked at it a little closer, and some of the coaches decisions look okay to me...I have no complaints with the top 6, and to me (and probably everyone else) the 13-20 spots are a total crapshoot.

1. Wake Forest
2. North Carolina
3. Maryland
4. Duke
5. Michigan
6. Iowa
7. Michigan State
8. Penn State
9. Old Dominion
10. Delaware
11. Northeastern
12. Princeton
13. Richmond
14. Harvard
15. Connecticut
16. Indiana
17. Boston College
18. William and Mary
19. American
20. Hofstra

Let's see what you all think :)

[Al]

Holic, technically ODU is 1-4 against the top 10. UConn was #9 when ODU played them. UVa was #12, Louisville #14, and W&M #18 when ODU played them.

But I agree that ODU hasn't beaten anyone in the top 8, which, in my opinion, are the "big" tests. That's why I'm calling this a "down" year. ODU still has to play Michigan, Princeton twice, UNC, and at Maryland. Plenty of chances to impress. Or lose. :(

Reading comprehension is not always my thing. ;) I got confused on the scream thing. In my defense, field hockey players are always screaming something! :) Shame on Sue if she degraded Drexel in front of their team and fans. Concentrate on ODU and forget about the opponent. Or at the very least, leave that crap to the lockerroom.

Alright, here's my top 20. Warning: I just got back from a VERY long and VERY boring class, so I plead the 5th if I completely screw this up.

1. Wake
2. UNC
3. Maryland
4. Michigan
5. Duke
6. Iowa
7. ODU
8. Michigan St
9. Penn St
10. Princeton
11. UD
12. Northeastern
13. Indiana
14. UConn
15. BC
16. UR
17. Louisville
18. W&M
19. Harvard
20. Ohio St

11-20 are tough to pick. It's either pick a team who's lost a few or pick a team with a good record who's played mostly cupcakes. I think the CAA homer in me may have overrated the CAA teams a bit. ;) If Maine had pulled out the Ohio St game, they would have been my #20, Jeff. :)

Now, for my ODU ranking. I was going to put PSU ahead of ODU since they beat ODU, but PSU lost to Indiana (a good team but PSU shouldn't lose to them) and UNC (close game though). 0-2 is a tough week no matter who you play. Both Michigan St and ODU beat unranked teams this week, so I just went with last weeks coach's poll which had ODU higher.

But I wouldn't be unhappy if PSU and/or Michigan St were ranked higher. There's a case for both. I'm just an ODU homer. :D

[dukaholic]

And I'm clearly not an ODU homer ;)

Though I did have W&M and Hofstra ranked :roll:

Like you said, 11-20 is just a toss up. Who knows, and who really cares either ;)

[mainejeff]

You won't see any sub .500 teams in my poll like you do on a weekly basis in the "Sisterhood" poll (sorry UVA). Good to see Boston U. pick up votes after being outscored 13-0 by Wake and Duke also :? ....anyway......

1. Wake Forest
2. North Carolina
3. Maryland
4. Duke
5. Old Dominion
6. Penn State
7. Michigan
8. Princeton
9. Iowa
10. Michigan State
11. Richmond
12. Boston College
13. UConn
14. Delaware
15. Northeastern
16. William & Mary
17. Ohio State
18. Hofstra
19. Harvard
20. Maine (I couldn't resist :wink: )

[dukaholic]

I miss my buddy Vee...


Junior Veerle Goudswaard earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors, helping the Spartans to an undefeated weekend, scoring eight points with two goals and four assists in two games. Goudswaard had a hand in both game-winning goals to push the Spartans to a 9-3 overall record, 2-0 in the Big Ten.

[myasssisdragon]

Sorry I didn't get the data posted , still trying to figure that one out. Here is my version of the top 20. Now that all have been posted I'll compile all four and post our overall.

1 Wake Forest
2 Maryland
3 North Carolina
4 Duke
5 Penn State
6 Michigan State
7 Michigan
8 Old Dominion
9 Princeton
10 Delaware
11 Richmond
12 American
13 Harvard
14 Connecticut
15 William & Mary
16 Boston College
17 Iowa
18 Hofstra
19 Maine
20 Holy Cross

[myasssisdragon]

Here is the first official CAAZONE Field Hockey TOP 20


Rank Team Points
1 Wake Forest 80
2 North Carolina 75
3 Maryland 73
4 Duke 67
5 Michigan 61
6 Penn State 56
7 Old Dominion 55
8 Michigan State 53
9 Iowa 46
10 Princeton 45
11 Delaware 39
12 Richmond 33
13 Connecticut 28
14 Northeastern 25
15 Boston College 24
16 Harvard 19
17 William & Mary 17
18 American 11
19 Indiana 8
20 Hofstra 7

Others Recieving Votes: Indiana 5, Ohio State 5, Louisville 4, Maine 3, and Holy Cross, 1

[Al]

The coach's poll is out:
http://www.eteamz.com/nfhca/files/DIPoll-10-7-03.pdf

ODU remains at #7, UD moves up 1 spot to #11, and W&M sneaks back into the poll at #19. Hofstra received 6 votes.

Somehow, UVa is still ranked. They're 5-6 and the only team ranked with more than 4 losses. They went 0-2 last week, losing to Maryland and W&M (which is still ranked BELOW UVa). :roll:

Most of us had the same top 10 as the coaches, just mixed around a bit. Except Dragon, who put Iowa at #17. Where's the love for the Hawkeyes? ;)

POW: Jordan Steele, W&M, Sr, F (3 goals, 1 assist)
ROW: Megan Allen, UD, Fr, G (1.42 GAA, Va Beach native!)

CAA notebook jank: UD has won 7 in a row and plays at W&M and ODU this week. Hofstra has lost 3 straight after starting 8-0. 8 of JMU's 9 losses have come to ranked teams. ODU has won 56 straight CAA games. The CAA is 41-28 in nonconference. Only the ACC (11-2) and the Big 10 (2-1) have winning records against the CAA.

[dukaholic]

Will someone please explain to me who the 1 vote is for Appy State??? JEEEEEZE!

Our poll was similar to the NFHCA one...with ours probably placing a little more emphasis on record than the "sisterhood" - yet most of it was very similar...

[dukaholic]

Okay, two losses later we just aren't that good a team.

We DOMINATED both games. HAD 17 - SEVENTEEN - corners against AU and we converted ONE. And we lost 2-1.

We had eight corners against Hofstra - I'm pretty sure Hofstra had ONE. Guess what? They scored on their only attempt, and we didn't score on ANY.

We were better than both teams, but could not execute and make the big plays when it counted...grrrrrrr. Soooooo frustrating.

I can see why HU doesn't let up many goals. Once the ball gets in the circle they seem to have about 8 girls jump in front and block the cage. NO rebounds. Fiesty bunch...

On the bright side, I met some of our lacrosse freshman at the game - including HS All-America Maria Bosica. And man, they are cute ;) Nice girls. Supie, I don't know if you remember Erin Chantler and what she said last year, but Monica Buck seems to have E.Chant syndrome. When I asked her what position she played she said "bench."

[Al]

Tough losses for JMU. Especially the Hofstra game. At 1-3, JMU will probably need to win out to make the CAA tourney (I'm not sure, it's too early to do the math).

ODU creamed Towson 11-0 Friday. ODU moves to 9-4 (5-0 CAA). Chilly Banuelos didn't play. Considering everyone outside of the manager played in the game, I thought that was interesting. I didn't go to the game, so I don't know the scoop. Maybe I'll find something out Sunday.

Speaking of Sunday, ODU hosts #11 UD. Big game. If ODU wins, they will most likely host the CAA tourney. UD was undefeated in the CAA (and riding a 7 game win streak) until they lost at W&M Friday.

[dukaholic]

We probably do need to win out... ODU, UD, W&M are about locks in the tourney, and HU is getting there...wow, we've fallen hard.

I saw W&M beat UD. Wow, way to go Tribe! I hear they have a huge FH fan there, he needs to find this board!

How'd ODU fare today?

[Al]

I had something unexpected come up, so I had to miss the game. I figured this game would be okay to miss since the biggies (UNC, Princeton, Michigan) are coming up in a couple weeks.

Well, well, well...

ODU beat UD 6-5 in overtime! :shock: Sounds like I missed one heck of a game!

ODU went up 2-0 early, but UD came back to tie. UD had 1 goal leads twice in the 2nd half only to see ODU tie it up. Freshman Rachel Daubert scored the game winner with about 13 seconds left in the 1st OT. Angie Loy had a goal and 3 assists (including assisting on the game winner).

Despite being 6-0 in the CAA with a game to play, ODU still hasn't clinched the top seed and CAA tourney hosting rights. W&M and VCU are both in 2nd place with 1 loss. ODU owns the tie breaker with W&M, but VCU still has 3 games to play (W&M, ODU, JMU). Another VCU loss means ODU gets to host.

[Al]

I just checked out some of the scores from around the country. Wow...upset city!

Duke had a nice weekend to say the least. First they knock off Wake. Then they beat Maryland!

Maine got a big win over Boston. Congrats Jeff!

BC upset UConn. Then UConn knocked off Princeton. Michigan St beat Iowa. Louisville took Michigan to 2 ovetimes. UVa got thumped by UNC (I betcha they're still ranked Tuesday). Holic's favorite team, Appy St, lost to both UNC and Radford. :)

In the CAA, VCU is quietly 3-1 and in 2nd place. They beat Hofstra and Drexel this weekend. JMU beat Drexel 3-0 (anybody got a report?). W&M thumped Towson.

The next poll should be interesting...

[dukaholic]

Oh yeah, we beat Drexel. I was hungover so I didn't make it...

I did hear that MANY of the starters were benched and girls that barely ever play for us started. I suppose Irene was trying to mix it up, light a fire...these girls need it...

I still think Hockey has more parity in it this year than last year. You can run your numbers again, Al - just a hunch from what I'm seeing I guess - less completely dominant teams.

And good old Veerle Goudswaard knocked in one of the 3 goals for MSU in their win - God I miss her. We've lost 6 games by one goal - and I really think she would make a huge difference - we're talking about possibly 6 wins that she could've led us to, and PROBABLY at least 4. The games where we have 17 corners and lose would NOT happen if she was still around.

Finishing on our opportunities - namely scoring - was my concern at the onset of the season. And it looks like I was exactly right.

We're 5-11, but I could EASILY see us being 9-7 if Vee didn't leave. Even with all the problems we are having, I really think she would make a goal difference most games, at least.

[mainejeff]

I'll get the new poll going for this week.....

1. North Carolina
2. Duke
3. Wake Forest
4. Maryland
5. Penn State
6. ODU
7. Michigan
8. Michigan State
9. Boston College
10. UConn
11. Princeton
12. Iowa
13. Richmond
14. William & Mary
15. Northeastern
16. Ohio State
17. Delaware
18. Maine
19. Harvard
20. American

[TJ Reaper]

VCU is doing a GREAT job this year guys. We are playing crazy defense. I have seen both games this weekend (glad they are home) and let me tell you...we were on offense for the whole game! We had like 25 corners to Hofstra's 7 Sunday. We had so many chances to score, but didn't take them....we dominated both Drexel and Hofstra. I am happy that we are winning games now versus loosing close ones. Look for VCU to be ranked by the end of the year :) AFTER we beat the Monarchs (we will...the girls want it so badly and know how to beat them now)......

[Al]

I agree that there's more parity among the top 8 than usual, but it's still the same stinking teams (although I shouldn't complain since ODU is one of those stinking teams). I'll run my numbers again later on today and see how it compares to last year.

ODU (6-0) and W&M (4-1) seem to have locked up a spot in the CAA tourney (baring anything crazy). VCU (3-1), UD (2-2), JMU (2-3), and Hofstra (1-3) are going to fight for the last 2 spots. Hofstra probably needs to win out. JMU too. VCU has the hardest schedule left of the 4 teams.

Go VCU! I like any team with an ODU alum as a head coach and a bunch of players from Va Beach.

VCU is having a nice season, but at 7-6 and without a win over a ranked team, they will have a hard time getting ranked. You never know with that coach's poll though. :roll: The end of their schedule is a killer: W&M, ODU, at UR, at JMU. Get 2 or more wins out of that stretch and VCU should be ranked.

Food for thought: ODU is 32-3-1 all time against VCU. Last year ODU beat VCU 10-0. :D

Hey Jainez, you seem to know your field hockey. You should participate in the official CAAZone Field Hockey Poll.

[dukaholic]

It's hard to get different stinkin' teams when the same ones are the REALLY good ones ;)

And Jainez can't know his stuff too much - he thinks VCU will beat ODU :lol:

[Al]

Jainez is just a VCU homer. Delusional, but a homer. ;)

So I looked up the top 8 this year and compared their records (so far) to last year.

2002:
1. ODU (21-4)
2. Wake (20-2)
3. Michigan St (23-3)
4. Michigan (18-4)
5. Maryland (17-5)
6. Penn St (19-5)
7. Kent St (16-7)
8. Northeastern (18-5)
Total losses: 42

2003:
1. Wake (12-1)
2. UNC (13-1)
3. Maryland (12-3)
4. Duke (11-2)
5. Michigan (11-3)
6. Iowa (9-5)
7. ODU (10-4)
8. Penn St (12-3)
Total losses: 22

2003 is on the same pace (almost) as last year. It's basically the same teams, except Duke (#10 last year) and Iowa (#20 last year). Of course I had to use last week's poll since the new one doesn't come out until tomorrow. Most of the teams will stay the same, just shuffle around a bit. Iowa may be replaced by Michigan St (11-3).

[Al]

My votes for the CAAZone poll:

1. Duke
2. UNC
3. Wake
4. Maryland
5. Michigan
6. Penn St
7. ODU
8. Michigan St
9. Iowa
10. Boston College
11. UConn
12. Princeton
13. UR
14. W&M
15. Northeastern
16. Delaware
17. Harvard
18. Maine
19. American
20. Holy Cross

I gave some of the little guys a vote this time around. With the bottom teams, I went more with record than SOS.

#1 was tough. UNC's only lost to Wake...Wake's only lost to Duke...UNC and Wake have beaten Duke... I don't know, it's a toss up. I went with Duke since they had a great weekend.

[dukaholic]

1. Wake Forest
2. Duke
3. North Carolina
4. Michigan
5. Maryland
6. Michigan State
7. Penn State
8. Old Dominion
9. Iowa
10. Northeastern
11. Richmond
12. Boston College
13. William&Mary
14. Delaware
15. Harvard
16. Princeton
17. American
18. Connecticut
19. Indiana
20. California

(Maine, Hofstra, Holy Cross, Louisville are next for me, probably in that order too - but that counts for nothing here!)

There REALLY aren't many teams over .500 at all!

[TJ Reaper]

Guys.....you don't understand...VCU WILL beat ODU....I had a vision of it. I think the score will be 3-2 in OT.

Very true.....That's why I am proud of my girls for having a winning record (we already have the same amount of wins from all of last season).

[dukaholic]

Jainez - I love your optimism and support for your team - but excuse me when I say you're freakin out of your mind. You may want to seek help ;)

VCU is full of players that ODU could have had and didn't WANT! It's like JMU lining up against VT in football. We recruit the same area, we wanted EVERY single one of their players, and they didn't want ANY of ours.

Basically, you have a HUGE HUGE HUGE talent disadvantage. So your only chance would be better player development, better coaching, and good luck.

You may have luck on your side, but if you think you're going to win, especially in OT - you're out of your mind. EVEN if VCU got to OT against ODU, they'd crap their pants and have noooo chance. Plus ODU's superior ball skills and individual talent would pay off in a more open field 7-on-7 format.

For the record, I do think that this year's ODU team is down, and that this year's VCU squad is improved. But one thing differs from Field Hockey and Women's Basketball - well, I can think of two things. One is, that hockey, like football, lines up more players - so depth is VERY important, moreso than basketball. With 5 on the floor, you can get one or two girls hot and ride them. In hockey, you have to have the whole team in sync, and that's hard when you're overmatched at every position.

And two - ODU's mystique in women's basketball had been tarnished by other programs beating them. They are still the best, but they're not UNBEATABLE. ODU, in hockey, is still unbeatable for the CAA - and has been for the last 5 years (since Christy Morgan left JMU....)

[boozeANDammo]

they'd crap their pants and have noooo chance

Now THERE'S something I wouldn't wish upon anyone to behold with their own eyes! :shock: :wink:

[Al]

Well said Holic, well said.

Although ODU women's basketball has a strong tradition, it's NO WHERE NEAR the caliber of ODU field hockey. They aren't even in the same zip code. ODU field hockey is more like Tenn women's hoops. Or UConn.

Actually, it's almost been 8 years since ODU lost a CAA game. ODU's won 58 straight CAA games dating back to the 1995 CAA title game.

I did a little snooping around in the ODU field hockey media guide. Craziest stat: ODU has played 70 teams all time. Only 7 have a winning record against ODU: Bridgewater, High Point, Longwood, Richmond Club, Sweetbriar, Va Beach Club, and West Hampton :shock:

ODU is 32-3-1 all time against VCU. VCU's last win was in 1976. Since VCU joined the CAA in 1995, ODU is 11-0 against VCU. ODU has outscored VCU in that time period 83-2.

CAA POW: Angie Loy, Sr, ODU (7 points in 2 wins)
CAA ROW: Rachel Daubert, Fr, ODU (3 goals, including a game winner)

CAA notebook jank: UD's 5 goals against ODU were the most ODU has ever given up to a CAA team. It was also the most goals scored in a loss for UD. JMU's 11 losses are the most for them since 1992. Towson's 11-0 loss to ODU was 2nd worst in school history. VCU's 3 CAA wins are the most for them since 1992. The CAA is 41-30 against OOC. Several CAA teams play ranked teams this week. Come on CAA!

Coach's poll: ODU #7, UD #15, W&M #16. Wake remains #1.

[TJ Reaper]

Thanks for the motivation, holic.......the field hockey girls loved it!

ODU....you will go DOWN at CARY STREET!!!!!!!!

[dukaholic]

Good for them :D Too bad the best team around Richmond is James River ;)

Well, actually the Spideys aren't that bad this year...

Plus, they can be motivated all they want - I don't care if they beat ODU :D

[Al]

Forget talent, coaching, fundamentals, leadership, experience, blah blah...

The secret to beating ODU? Have a fan from another school tell the honest truth on a sports message board about another team's weaknesses compared to ODU.

Why hasn't anyone thought of this the past 58 straight ODU wins?

:roll:

UVa is STILL ranked. At 7-7, they are ranked #20. What kind of monkey crack are the coaches smoking?!?

[dukaholic]

Forget talent, coaching, fundamentals, leadership, experience, blah blah...

The secret to beating ODU? Have a fan from another school tell the honest truth on a sports message board about another team's weaknesses compared to ODU.

Why hasn't anyone thought of this the past 58 straight ODU wins?

:roll:

UVa is STILL ranked. At 7-7, they are ranked #20. What kind of monkey crack are the coaches smoking?!?

:lol:

Hey Jainez - if the girls need any more motivation at all - just tell them that Shannon Taylor is the BEST hockey player in Richmond - now that Jamie Whitten is at Wake Forest ;) Taylor is easily the best player on defending state champion James River's squad, by the way, and probably will be one of the top 5 recruited players out of Virginia this year (including the beach, Al)

SHE is the kind of kid you guys need to be getting if you want to entertain dreams of beating ODU, except you'd need 20 of her and a whole lot of luck still :D

[Al]

ODU lost at Maryland 3-2. Maryland was up 3-0 at half and completely dominated. In the 2nd half, ODU woke up and dominated, but too little too late. ODU's at Princeton Sunday.

ODU has played 5 top 5 teams and lost all 5 times. 4 of the games went down to the wire. Ugh!

I saw where UD lost to Lafayette. I think that's 4 straight losses for UD. Plus they play at Maryland Sunday. :shock:

Good too see Drexel get a win over LaSalle. You still around, Dragon?

VCU thumped St Francis 9-1. Michigan St beat Hofstra 5-2.

[dukaholic]

That 9-1 victory is only a precursor to what VCU will do to ODU ;)

Veerle Goudswaard had two goals in that game for MSU. Boy, we could've used two Vee goals against Hofstra :roll:

[mainejeff]

Maine lost at Northeastern 4-0 on Saturday, but the Huskies are by far the class of the conference, so it wasn't unexpected. Today the Black Bears play at Colgate.

[TJ Reaper]

No...ODU has played 6 and lost to 6.....I think ODU is ready to loose to VCU now!

VCU was the only CAA team to pull in a victory today. ODU, W+M, and DEL all lost to top 15 opponents though...but they all are ranked in the top 20 so they should've won some of the games.

VCU WILL win sunday guys....it's the buzz!

[dukaholic]

Yep, ODU is shaking right now at the thought of playing those vaunted Rams.

St. Francis has a great program there. VCU must have played amazing for that 9-1 win.

I talked to Angie Loy the other day. She said Sue was extending each practice this week an hour longer than usual, in order to work more on fundamentals that the Monarchs will need against VCU. Sue is also looking to the freshman to continue to step up, because Angie will not be able to beat VCU alone.

Good luck Monarchs, you'll need it :roll:

[TJ Reaper]

'holic.....okay, I get your point!

Allz I am saying is that ODU vs. VCU WILL BE THE MATCH OF THE YEAR in the CAA. We will win that game because my girls want it so badly. I told you that you motivated them to do better.....what you said really made them think about WINNING THE GAMES THAT COUNT.....and they are ready to compete...

Plus, ODU lost 6 of 6 vs. top 20 teams this year......is ODU falling off? No. But are they more vulnerable to loose???? Yessssssss....


Goes back to last year. RIGHT BEFORE THE ODU VS. VCU WOMEN'S BB GAME, I was the one that said that ODU was going down tonight because my girls WANTED TO BEAT THEM BECAUSE OF THE SH*T THAT PEOPLE WERE TALKING! this board had a part in motivating them to win and will have a part in motivating my field hockey girls to win. We won by 11 points agains't ODU last year......I predict a 4-2 VCU win next Sunday.......we will wait and see duker.

[TJ Reaper]

'holic.....okay, I get your point!

Allz I am saying is that ODU vs. VCU WILL BE THE MATCH OF THE YEAR in the CAA. We will win that game because my girls want it so badly. I told you that you motivated them to do better.....what you said really made them think about WINNING THE GAMES THAT COUNT.....and they are ready to compete...

Plus, ODU lost 6 of 6 vs. top 20 teams this year......is ODU falling off? No. But are they more vulnerable to loose???? Yessssssss....


Goes back to last year. RIGHT BEFORE THE ODU VS. VCU WOMEN'S BB GAME, I was the one that said that ODU was going down tonight because my girls WANTED TO BEAT THEM BECAUSE OF THE SH*T THAT PEOPLE WERE TALKING! this board had a part in motivating them to win and will have a part in motivating my field hockey girls to win. We won by 11 points agains't ODU last year......I predict a 4-2 VCU win next Sunday.......we will wait and see duker.

[dukaholic]

I'd ask you if you wanted to place a friendly wager on the game, but that would be like taking candy from a baby (and I don't do that unless it's for a Butterfinger ;))

ODU by a 4-0 margin.

[Al]

ODU lost at Princeton today 2-1. ODU once again got down early (this time 2-0), but the comeback fell short. ODU gets another chance at Princeton in 2 weeks in Norfolk.

Jainez, what the heck are you talking about?!? ODU has not lost 6 of 6 vs the top 20. ODU has played 11 top 20 teams, winning 5 and losing 6.

ODU's top 20 opponents so far (rankings listed as of game time):
#2 UNC (lost 4-0)
#3 Maryland (lost 2-1)
#4 Penn St (lost 6-2)
#4 Duke (lost 3-2)
#4 Maryland (lost 3-2)
#10 UConn (won 4-2)
#11 Delaware (won 6-5)
#11 Princeton (lost 2-1)
#12 UVa (won 4-1)
#14 Louisville (won 3-1)
#18 W&M (won 3-0)

Compare that to VCU's record against the top 20 (0-3 record):
#1 Wake Forrest (lost 8-0)
#12 Delaware (lost 1-0)
#16 UVa (lost 2-1)

And what does ODU losing to top 10 teams have to do with VCU?!? Last I checked, VCU isn't ranked in the top 20. Last I checked, VCU isn't even receiving votes.

Is ODU vulnerable to lose? Yeah sure, to a top 10 team. ODU has outscored teams that aren't ranked in the top 10 by 46-12. ODU has outscored unranked teams by 26-3.

Wait, I forgot, unranked VCU will beat ODU because ODU has lost to top 10 teams. That, and the fact that Holic upset the VCU players on a message board.

[dukaholic]

Goes back to last year. RIGHT BEFORE THE ODU VS. VCU WOMEN'S BB GAME, I was the one that said that ODU was going down tonight because my girls WANTED TO BEAT THEM BECAUSE OF THE SH*T THAT PEOPLE WERE TALKING! this board had a part in motivating them to win and will have a part in motivating my field hockey girls to win. We won by 11 points agains't ODU last year......I predict a 4-2 VCU win next Sunday.......we will wait and see duker.

Yes, but you predict VCU to win every game anyway :D

And Al, be nice ;) be nice, Al! :D

By the way Al, if you have a media guide handy...can you give us the results of the last - let's say 10 ODU vs. VCU games?

[Al]

I'm always nice. ;)

You know me...I always have a media guide handy. Here are the scores of the last 11 ODU-VCU games (since 1995 when VCU entered the CAA):

1995: ODU won 6-1 and 6-0 (CAA quarters)
1996: ODU won 16-0
1997: ODU won 4-0
1998: ODU won 6-0
1999: ODU won 6-0
2000: ODU won 13-0 and 8-0 (CAA semis)
2001: ODU won 1-0 and 7-1 (CAA semis)
2002: ODU won 10-0

Of course it's hard to compare scores. ODU had some great teams in the last 8 years and VCU had some pretty bad ones. That's why you see some really inflated scores (16-0?!?) VCU has drastically improved this year.

Here are the overall records of ODU and VCU during that time frame:

ODU:
1995: 16-9 (5-1 CAA), made Elite 8
1996: 19-5 (6-0), made Final Four
1997: 22-3 (6-0), made Final Four
1998: 23-2 (6-0), won national title
1999: 17-7 (5-0), made Elite 8
2000: 25-1 (5-0), won national title
2001: 18-5 (3-0), made Elite 8
2002: 21-4 (7-0), made Final Four

VCU:
1995: 3-16 (0-6 CAA), made CAA quarters
1996: 3-18 (0-6), made CAA quarters
1997: 2-18 (0-6), made CAA quarters
1998: 5-16 (1-5), made CAA quarters
1999: 4-16 (1-4), made CAA quarters
2000: 5-14 (1-4), made CAA semis
2001: 3-17 (0-3), made CAA semis
2002: 7-12 (2-5), didn't qualify for CAA tourney

[GMU/Towson fan]

Yes when you pick VCU to pull off every major upset and win every game, you are bound to be right eventually. I mean its not very prophetic when you are wrong over half the time. Like the old saying goes " even the blind squirrel finds the nut sometimes."

And after seeing his recent posts I am wondering if Jainez is going blind and can't see that VCU isn't really on the Monarchs level in field hockey right now or in the past few years.

Hate to break it to you, but ODU will not only win the game next weekend....but thier team will go undefeated in the CAA this season.

[TJ Reaper]

I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE STATISTICS! THIS IS A RIVALRY THAT OUR GIRLS HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR! THEY ARE READY TO KICK BUTT ON SUNDAY AND WILL DO IT!

i am not saying odu won't bring the heat, but we will bring it as well....so don't expect to just come here and kick OUR asses without knowing that we will be ready to beat some butterfly ass too......

al, we won 9 games this year already.....we are progressing as you can see. I am extremely proud of my girls here because they are getting the job done and playing some GREAT defense. We were picked last this year to finish 2nd to last (in front of Towson) and now we are tournament bound for the first time in our program's history (because of the fall of JMU FH....we still have to play you guys @'burg though). With our win over ODU, we will possibly get into the RV of the rankings and get some recognition for our big turnaround. Whatever you think about the Rams, justforgetaboutit!!!!!!

[dukaholic]

The Dukes can still make the CAA tourney, oddly enough. This, in large part, due to VCU's win over Hofstra. Thanks VCU!

JMU is 2-3, Hofstra is 1-3, and VCU is 3-1. For JMU to get in the tourney we need a few things to happen...but they're all conceivable.

If JMU wins out, we're in (barring that VCU win over ODU AND VCU beating W&M - I don't see either happening).

If JMU loses to VCU, it's over...no shot. But if we lose to W&M and beat VCU, then we just have to hope that ODU and W&M beat VCU as well - and hope for UD to hold over Hofstra (or for Hofstra to lose to someone else).

It's very conceivable. I give JMU less than a 10% shot at winning out, but I'll give us a good 70% shot at beating VCU. And then a 70% shot at UD beating Hofstra, and a 100% shot of VCU losing to either W&M or ODU.

Of course both Hofstra and UD are seeing who can fall farther in the second half of the season....

All in all, I think our chances of making CAA tourney play are about 50%...wow, last year we were talking about a different tourney... :roll:

[Al]

I don't mind you being a homer, Jainez. Heck, I often take heat from ODU fans for being too optimistic about ODU. Just watch your facts. ODU is not winless against ranked teams. If they were, they wouldn't be ranked #7.

I agree that the results from the past few years only tell part of the story. VCU is very much improved (as I've mentioned several times). Of course, when you only win 2-5 games a year, you have no where to go but up. And I must mention that VCU's improvement has been in part due to their coach, a former ODU goalie. ;)

But THIS YEAR'S stats don't lie.

It's funny how people don't care about stats when the stats make their team look bad. :roll:

VCU isn't CAA tourney bound yet. They're in the hunt though. ODU (6-0) has clinched a spot and can clinch home field and the #1 seed with a win over VCU or another VCU loss. W&M (4-1), VCU (3-1), UD (2-2), JMU (2-3), and HU (1-3) all have a shot at the CAA tourney.

CAA games left:
W&M: at VCU, JMU
VCU: W&M, ODU, at JMU
UD: at HU, at DU, TU
JMU: at W&M, VCU
HU: UD, TU, at DU

To make the CAA tourney (according to my fuzzy math):
W&M: A sweep gives them the #2 seed. 1 win and they're in. 0 wins and they'll need help.
My take: #2 seed.

VCU: A sweep gives them the #1 seed. 2 wins and they're in. If they only get 1 win, it needs to be against JMU (for the tie breaker). 0 wins and they're out.
My take: They have the toughest schedule. JMU game is huge.

UD: A sweep and they're in. 2 wins and they're in unless they lose to HU (then they need HU to lose again). 1 win or less and they need help. They hold the tie breaker over JMU and VCU.
My take: They have the easiest schedule. They're in.

JMU: They need help from other teams. A sweep plus another VCU loss and they're in. A sweep plus 2 UD losses and they're in. They can afford to lose 1 game if UD or VCU fall apart. Must beat VCU for tie breaker.
My take: VCU game is huge. I think they'll sneak in.

HU: A sweep and they're in if VCU beats JMU. They can afford to lose 1 game if VCU or UD fall apart.
My take: UD is big game. I think they'll just miss out.

[Al]

What happened to Dragon? We still doing the CAAZone poll?

The new coach's poll is out and the CAA is well represented:
#9 ODU
#14 W&M
#17 UD
RV VCU (4 votes)
RV Hofstra (3 votes)

I actually agree with the poll (I know, I'm shocked too!). It looks about right. ODU deserves #9 and they're ranked behind all 5 teams that have beaten them. Jainez, VCU didn't even have to beat W&M or ODU to receive votes! :)

CAA POW: Karlijin Jansen, VCU, Fr, M (10 points in 2 wins)
CAA ROW: Jessica Cowperthwait, HU, Fr, G (26 saves against 2 top 10 teams)

CAA notebook tid bits: UD has lost 4 in a row. UD was held without a shot or penalty corner against Maryland. :shock: JMU and Towson were both idle last week. VCU has won 4 in a row, their longest streak since 1992. The CAA is 45-37 in OOC.

[dukaholic]

9 of the VCU freshman's points were against St. Francis, with 4 goals and an assist. Not trying to take anything away from her (maybe I am) but it was beating up on an overmatched opponent...

I like JMU's chances of making it down to Norfolk still. Our biggest help will need to come from Towson or Drexel, who will likely need to beat HU if JMU wants to make it...I don't see us beating W&M...I overlooked HU when I was thinking about qualifying earler, I think...

[Al]

I think the CAA likes to spread the weekly awards around. I still don't get how a freshman can be the player of the week, but not the rookie of the week...

For the record, St Francis is 0-14 and the only winless team in division 1. They've been outscored 89-5 this year. The goal against VCU was only the 4th game they've actually scored a goal in (1 goal against Rider, 1 against Appy St, 1 against VCU, 2 against Bucknell). They're closest game of the year was a 4-0 loss to Towson.

I think JMU has a decent shot at the CAA tourney. JMU can afford to lose to W&M, but must beat VCU. Then VCU must lose to W&M and ODU. That would knock VCU out. Then you have to hope that whoever loses the UD/HU game loses another game.

[dukaholic]

It's the UD/HU second loss that I'm worried about. VCU doesn't pose too much of a threat in my mind (though I may wind up eating those words).

W&M is a huge game for us this weekend - if we can get that one, and it is winnable - we'll be in the driver's seat for our spot in the CAA tourney. That damn tourney shouldn't be allowed to go on without JMU. Damn, how we've fallen...

Which leads me to my next point...

Remember me talking about our problems a few weeks ago, and one that I pointed to was recruiting. Well now I know why we don't get many good players in here...

I have a friend of mine from back home, probably the best goalie in Northern VA, the same area that produced Wake Forest goalie Katie Ridd and Duke goalie Christy Morgan. This girl played under Starr Karl, who incidentally, molded both Ridd and Morgan's careers (Morgan played at C'ville for a few years before Westfields opened up - and Ridd played for Karl's Rampage teams at national indoors - both may have played festival with her too, can't remember)

Well, this girl wanted to come to JMU AND play hockey, more than anything. JMU would be her first choice, without hockey, bar none. But she has the opportunity to save her parents a lot of money, so she's going to play somewhere (and for money). If it wasn't about the money, she could walk on here...

So last summer she fills out the form on JMU's website. The prospective student-athlete interest form. No big deal. Come September she has called, e-mailed, written, and even sent a videotape of her playing to Coach Horvat.

She hears nothing. Not a thing.

Until today. She's going to make her decision in two weeks, she has taken official visits to American, UR, and has one this weekend at W&M. She is not planning another official. She already knows what JMU has to offer...

Obviously to me, Irene just either is NOT recruiting at all, or is putting all her eggs in one basket or something. Maybe she thought she had another goalie lined up (and man we NEEEEEED a goalie) and it fell through. I don't know. But you HAVE TO make contact with people, so you have a plan B. This would have been the easiest recruiting get in the world. But now it may be too late.

The girl is going to watch W&M and JMU play this weekend. She has a friend that plays at W&M. The only way we get her now is if JMU's play blows her away this weekend, IMO.

I'm just really frustrated about where the program is now, and where it should be - and if I saw it getting better in the future than I wouldn't worry. But I don't see it getting better - in fact, I can see it getting worse. We don't have talent here, not like we used to. I don't know where it is going to come from either. Maybe once the signing period starts Irene will surprise me with a few highly touted players, but this one instance did not impress me.

[Al]

Both Hofstra and UD have to play at Drexel. I think that's the 2nd loss. Call me crazy, but I think Drexel will upset one of them. If JMU needs help from Towson to make the CAA tourney...JMU's in trouble.

The UD/Hofstra game will be interesting. I think HU can pull the upset. UD is really fading down the stretch. How did they not get a shot or corner off against Maryland? I know Maryland's good (they swept ODU this year, dangit), but they aren't the best team ever. They aren't even the best team this year. UD is a solid, top 20 team. They should at least be able to get a SHOT OFF against a top 5 team...

I can't believe Irene didn't even email the recruit. Even if you aren't interested, it's common courtesy to at least say, "Thanks for your interest in JMU." Wouldn't have taken more than a minute. Like you said, it never hurts to have a plan B.

I bet Irene has another goalie in mind. Maybe she already has a verbal commitment from one. There can't be any other reason for replying so late to the NoVa star. Unless this season has finally gotten to her and Irene has gone insane.

One thing I would do at JMU is ease up on the scheduling. If JMU played VCU's schedule (no offense Jainez, I just picked a random CAA school and with the big showdown coming up, the Rams are on my mind), JMU would have a much better record.

ODU plays #5 Michigan tonight. I hate Friday night games. I can hardly ever make it to them. I'm going to try though. This would be a huge win for ODU. It's the Battle of the Banuelos sisters. Chilly v Erika. Except Chilly hasn't played in a while and I think Erika is injured...

[dukaholic]

Chilly isn't playing again, as far as I know....

JMU, in my opinion, may want to ease up on scheduling a little, but not a lot. If we do, we run the risk of forfeiting our membership to "the sisterhood" and becoming Maine - though geographically, we'd still be able to get games against good teams.

I'm sure Irene has her eyes on another goalie - after what happened this year especially. She learns what happens when you don't have a solid backup. Last year we did, and we beat Wake and Duke, among others. This year we didn't, and we got shelled by lots of crappy teams (not to say that it's all the goalie's fault, but it's a factor).

It was still a crappy job done by her, in my opinion. The fact is, that she IS showing interest in her now, but it's most likely too late. Her other goalie in mind may have backed out or something, who knows.

[TJ Reaper]

What a day in CAA Field Hockey men.....

Drexel at Towson....Towson 4-3 (I thought: TU 2-1)
--you can just tell that this game was sucky. There probably was a lack of defense and I am very surprised that Drexel didn't win. Good job by the Tigers, but 7 goals?

JMU at Penn St....PSU 6-2 (I thought: PSU 5-1)
--This was a given. I was HOPING that JMU wouldn't let PSU run over them, but PSU is no joke this year....

Michigan at ODU....Michigan 4-0 (I thought: UM 4-1)
--No comment at all.....

Delaware at Hofstra....UD 2-0 (I thought: UD 3-2)
--I thought it would be close because HU is actually a good team. They were playing at home and could've made it close...stat's not out yet, but I am sure it was closer than it looks....

W+M at VCU....W+M 1-0 (I thought: VCU 1-0 DOT)
--This was the game that I was more worried about vs. the ODU game. This game was controlled by VCU. In the last 5:00, we had 3 SHOTS go wide (like 10 inches wide). VCU was the controller....W+M scored on a breakaway (it was not even warranted). I left very upset because it was a game we SHOULD HAVE WON! We outshot, out-cornered, out-hustled them. We broke through their offense so many times....but anyway, on to ODU.



CAA field hockey SUCKS this year. The End.

[Al]

Wow, some shockers. Thanks for the scores Jainez.

I'm stunned Towson beat Drexel. Where's Dragon with the scoop?

For JMU, ODU also lost to Penn St 6-2 earlier this year. :(

UD over HU. I thought HU might put up more of a fight. Now JMU becomes a fan of whoever plays HU. You guys need one more HU loss.

VCU did a great job against W&M. Except in the final score. W&M doesn't seem to win pretty. They're scrappy.

ODU v Michigan...ick. I didn't make it to the game, thankgoodness. Sounds like Michigan completely out played ODU. Just like the UNC game earlier. Another loss to a top 5 team. Double ick.

At least Chilly started.

[dukaholic]

ODUsuperfan told me Chilly was hurt - so much for that I guess.

UM is a good team, and I still think ODU is overrated...sorry Al. I think everyone in our conference this year is overrated, from what I've seen on the field and in results. And I mean just about everyone.

[Al]

Chilly must have been injured at some point this season. ODU has had problems finishing this year (I can't believe an ODU team has problems finishing!), so there was no reason not to play Chilly if she was healthy. She was the 2nd leading returning scorer on the team behind Loy.

I think ODU is ranked just about right. They're #9. All 7 teams that have beaten ODU are ranked ahead of them. All 10 teams that ODU has beaten are ranked below them. Can't get much more accurate than that.

This is definately a down year for the CAA. But look at all the quality players CAA teams lost. JMU lost their best defender, their top scorer, and their goalies (well, Amico did come back). W&M lost Ekberg and their goalie Miller. ODU lost 6 starters including the national player of the year. Didn't UD lose their goalie?

Most CAA teams are very young. There's always next year. Now I sound like a Cub fan... :roll:

[TJ Reaper]

VCU DEFEATED #9 OLD DOMINION, 5-4

I HAVE BEEN SAYING FOR A WEEK OR SO NOW THAT WE WILL WIN THIS GAME AND OUR LADIES DID IT! ODU FANS HAVE BEEN MAKING COMMENTS LIKE "YOU GUYS ARE NOT ON THE SAME LEVEL AS ODU"....WELL, WE SURELY LOOKED LIKE "PENN ST" OR "MARYLAND" TODAY WITH OUR 5-2 LEAD IN THE SECOND HALF (ANGIE LOY SCORED ON A PENALTY STROKE AND A SHOT). I AM SO PROUD OF OUR LADIES! WITH THIS WIN (AFTER RECEIVING VOTES LAST WEEK), VCU WILL MOVE INTO THE NATIONAL RANKINGS FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!!!!!!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR PLAYERS, COACH, AND STAFF!! WE DID IT!

FACTS:

ODU LEADS THE SERIES 32-3 (2 WINS IN THE 70'S; 1 TODAY!)

FIRST REGULAR SEASON LOSS FOR THE MONARCHS IN 8 YEARS!!!!!

CAA STREAK IS OVER: The Lady Monarchs have not lost a CAA contest since a 1-2 loss to James Madison in the championship game of the 1995 CAA Tournament. Since then, Old Dominion has won 44 regular season games and 14 CAA Tournament games for a grand total of 58 consecutive conference wins.

ODU STILL HAS TO PLAY #4 UNC AND #8 PRINCETON
VCU STILL HAS TO PLAY #13 U OF R AND AT JAMES MADISON

[dukaholic]

WOW!

Congratulations to the VCU field hockey team and coaches. I'll eat my crow - and good thing you didn't take me up on any bets, VCUJ ;)

I still don't give too much credit to your prognostications though.

Now in order to get to Norfolk JMU has to win out - over W&M and over VCU. We'll find out if we beat W&M soon....

Congrats to VCU again.

And oh yeah - Al, I said you guys were overrated ;)

On the bright side, Lady Monarchs soccer beat VCU, as did JMU Volleyball yesterday :D

[dukaholic]

My friend on W&M's hockey team's away message on AOL says something about bowing down to #18 because she came through with the hat trick today. #18 is Kelly McQuade.

I assume that means we lost, because we couldnt' score 3 goals on W&M if our lives depended on it.

ODU will get their revenge on VCU in the first round of the CAA tourney (if Delaware beats DU and TU going out) or if UD wins one of them and JMU beats VCU.

And if ODU plays VCU again, I'll give you some more bulletin board material, Jainez ;) I'll give you loooooots more :D

[Al]

This crow tastes pretty good. ;)

Big time congrats to VCU. What a huge win for their program. Like I said, when ODU isn't playing them, I'm a VCU fan. Their coach is an ODU grad and most of their players are from Tidewater.

Although, ODU "fans" (I'm really the only ODU field hockey fan on this board) didn't say VCU wasn't at ODU's level. That was GMU/TU fan.

VCU should be ranked next week. Although you never know with those crazy coaches. I wonder how far ODU will drop... Not a good year for ODU field hockey. I'm counting down the minutes until Beth Anders returns.

I think (I could be completely wrong), ODU will still host the CAA tournament. ODU is 6-1. W&M also has 1 loss, but that was to ODU, so ODU wins the tie breaker. VCU has 2 losses.

I saw where VCU lost to ODU in women's soccer. What the heck is that about? That was VCU's 1st CAA loss. And only ODU's 2nd CAA win (ODU has won 3 games total all year). Crazy day in the VCU-ODU rivalry!

[TJ Reaper]

Damn right, Al. I don't know why, but I felt that we would lose today @ODU (wasn't surprised when I saw the score @ODUSports). Here are the scores so far today:

HOFSTRA DEFEATED TOWSON, 2-0
VCU DEFEATED OLD DU, 5-4
W&M DEFEATED JMU, 8-3
UD VS DU, 7:00 PM TONIGHT

CAA TOURNAMENT PARTICIPANTS: 2003

#1 OLD DOMINION
#2 WILLIAM & MARY
#3 DELAWARE
#4 VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH
(projections)

IF DELAWARE LOSES TONIGHT, WE WILL BE 3RD SEED.
WE WILL WIN AT JMU...THEY REALLY SUCK (SORRY 'HOLIC...IT'S TRUE).

HOW FAR DO U GUYS THINK VCU WILL BE IN THE RANKINGS? 1-0 VS. #14, 5-4 (LED 5-2) VS. #9, 1-0 VS. #15, ALL SEASON VS. RANKED TEAMS LOST BY 1 GOAL.....WHAT DO YALL THINK?

[dukaholic]

I think they'll come in at #17 or so.

Have you been reading this thread VCUJ? I already know JMU sucks. Don't be surprised to see them excited to play though - we're opening up a new complex this week for field hockey - our first game there will be a massacre at the hands of Maryland, our second game there (and senior night) will be against VCU. The game means nothing but pride now, but we may surprise someone, who knows. But yes, I know we suck.

[Al]

I was almost as stunned by the ODU soccer win over VCU than I was by ODU losing to VCU in field hockey. Not quite, but almost. I support any and all ODU sports, but to be brutally honest, ODU women's soccer just isn't that good. They keep a lot of games close, but can never score enough to win.

VCU should be ranked. Where? Who knows with those dippy coaches. I'd say around 17 or 18. A lot depends on the scores of the other ranked teams. If other ranked teams get upset, VCU could be higher.

I'd say ODU drops to about #12. Again, who knows with those dippy coaches.

ODU and W&M are set for the CAA tourney. The other 2 spots are up for grabs still. UD and VCU should get the final 2 spots, but JMU and HU are technically still in it. They need some serious help though.

[dukaholic]

JMU lost to W&M 8-3. Kelli Duggan and Kelly McQuade both had hat tricks for the Tribe...including Ekberg last year, 3 Tribe seniors have had hat tricks against JMU in the last two years. That's not good...

JMU is DONE. This team sucks, and has no heart. I'll blame recruiting, coaching, and all that - but this team just doesn't go out to win. I don't care if you're Appy State playing W&M, you don't lose 8-3.

[Al]

8-3 is a shocking score. I didn't think W&M could score 8 goals in one game this year.

Don't count JMU out against VCU. Isn't that senior night for JMU? Senior night can be quite emotional and can motivate players to play better than they usually do.

Speaking of seniors...who does JMU lose this year? Is it a matter of JMU relying on young players or are the upperclassmen just not stepping up?

Like I said earlier, most CAA teams are pretty young. I know ODU is. Same with Hofstra, Drexel, and W&M. I don't know about VCU. Jainez?

All these rookies getting experience now has to pay off in the future...I hope.

[dukaholic]

JMU loses Val Cohen, Amy Cordes, Lindsay Keller, Janelle Perlis, Dana Weaver, and backup goalie of one year, Lauren Hartzler.

Val Cohen has not stepped up at all. Janelle has had a very off year as well (but she's also been the focus of every defense). Dana has had her best season to date. Lindsay and Amy have both been playing new positions (both been playing up after playing in the back for three years) and I don't know what the hell Irene is thinking with that strategy. That's why you see a lot of 8+ goals against JMU!

As for underclassmen, it's partly that we're waiting for them to grow up, and partly that they're not as talented as they need to be at this level. I really think that Irene has under-recruited since she's been here, and we'll continue seeing it in the near future.

Next year we'll rely on Heidi Beck, Alissa Santanna (who has been a huge disappointment since coming here as a HS All American), and Baillie Versfeld. Beck and Santanna will be seniors next year.

I don't see who from our current Sophomore and Freshman classes will step it up, outside of Versfeld. Abby Hummel has shown some promise, and Hollie DeCecco as well...If the schedule is the same as it was this year, JMU won't win 8 games again.

JMU has scored 33 goals this year. 15 have been by seniors, 6 by juniors, 5 by sophomores (4 of them by DeCecco), and 7 by freshman (5 by Versefeld).

[TJ Reaper]

VCU is not young this year at all. We have 7 seniors, 6 of who I KNOW have a BIG BIG BIG impact on the success of this year. Included in that is our leading scorer (Howard), our top back players (Bataan-nothing got pass her today, Smith), OUR WONDERFUL GOALIE Abby, and Nicole Sullivan and Abby Tyson. But.......

Next year we return 2 top juniors in Madeia and Casey (who are also a big part of this year....esp. Madeia at forward...Casey is great as a midfielder..she scored twice today). We also will rely on a very nice recruiting class (2003) including CAA POW Karlisle Jensen. The RAMS are set for next year and 2005. ODU will be TOUGH AS HELL with so many returning players for the next few years, but hopefully we will stay competitive with them.

[JMUSuperfan2000]

Since I haven't been paying any attention whatsoever, what's our record this year? I know we're bad and all, but to not even be top 4 in the conference?!? Ugh! :oops:

[dukaholic]

We are 5-13, 2-4 in conference play.

I know, icky :(

No CAA tourney for us. Wow. Never thought I would say that.

[Al]

I just looked at the game report on the ODU website. ODU outshot VCU 26-13 and led in corners 9-5. ODU's finishing just isn't what it used to be... :roll:

Good stuff on the teams guys, thanks for the info.

ODU has scored 53 goals this year. 16 are by a senior (Loy), 3 by a junior (Beth Maddox), and 9 by sophs (Janelle Engle 5, Chilly 4). A whopping 25 goals have been scored by 6 different freshmen! :shock:

ODU will graduate 3 players: Angie Loy, All American defender Melissa Leonetti, and starting goalie Tina Walker.

Wow, VCU will be hit hard by graduation next year. But they seem to have a pipeline to Tidewater, so they'll be okay. ;)

Speaking of which, it's almost high school tournament time. How's Lake Braddock doing this year, Holic? Who are the top teams in NoVa?

The Beach is crazy this year. First Kempsville was the top team, then it looked like Cox was going to take over, but Tallwood ended up winning the regular season title. So Tallwood gets a bid to the Eastern Region tourney and Cox and Kempsville should duke it out for the 2nd bid. My beloved Bayside didn't qualify for the district tourney...again. :(

In the regional, it should come down to the 2 Beach teams, Maury of Norfolk and Lakeland of Suffolk. Of course I'm biased towards the Beach, but you never know. Maury made states last year so they have experience. Lakeland beats up the weak Southeastern District teams, but they have some nice OOC wins.

[dukaholic]

The Northern Region Tourney starts October 29. I can't even find District results for the Patriot District online - but I can only assume LB won it. I believe it's been at least since the early-mid 90's since LB hasn't been District champs.

The Northern Region Tourney will be a three dog race between WT Woodson (Dukester's alma mater, I'm pretty sure), Centreville, and Lake Braddock.

An interesting story about Lake Braddock (and its homecoming queen) is at topofthecircle.com (http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Bench/9876/NOTES03delmarva.html)

[Al]

Lake Braddock looks tough again. I'm interested in James River. Can they repeat or was last year a fluke?

Top of the Circle does a good job of covering field hockey, but a pretty lousy job of covering Va Beach field hockey. There are very few articles on the Beach and those are mostly copied from old Va Pilot articles.

I just found this website:
http://www.womensfieldhockey.com/home.shtml?p=home

I've never seen it before. It has a top 20 poll (I don't really agree with the poll, but what's new) and lists national player and rookies of the week.

The picture on the cover of their recruiting guide is from an old ODU-Maryland game. The ODU player is current JMU assistant Crystal Carper (at least I'm pretty sure).

[dukaholic]

Wow, Al, that does look like Crystal!

Haven't we shown you that link before? Last year when Ekberg, Shean, Goudswaard, Loy, Snow, Leonetti, et al were receiving post-season awards from them - they really don't do ANYTHING at all...

I think a CAA player was their "National Player of the Week" this year - maybe a girl from UD, Labar? Does that sound right?

LB's always tough - defense defense defense there. Never could score enough to win the big one though... Shutting down those old Cox teams to a 0-0 tie in regulation was something else. Funny when you'd see Kim Miller scored 56 goals in a season and our whole team had 30 :)

[Al]

I'm pretty sure that's Crystal. Crystal always wore the blue bandana.

You may have shown me that website before. My memory is absolute garbage sometimes.

It's definately not the greatest field hockey website out there. Did you read some of the stuff written under the team names in the poll? "Blue Hens blue with recent results." Who writes that crap!?!

But at least they support the sport. I wish more folks did.

Cox looks pretty good this year. No where near the Cox teams of the 90's, but still good. Kim Miller is an assistant coach at Cox now. I'm actually rooting for Cox to make states. I want to see Julie Swain, who replaced Nancy Fowlkes as Cox's head coach, get the monkey off her back. It's always tough to replace a legend.

Speaking of Nancy, she's still an assistant football coach at Cox. Cox football is on pace to have their first winning season in...forever. That woman wins everywhere she goes!

[dukaholic]

Yeah, I think womensfieldhockey.com puts out some annual preview or something - the site is only one page, and not very comprehensive at all. But yes, any coverage is better than no coverage.

I still can't fathom a woman coaching football - just seems so odd to me. Impressive that she can do it, and that presumably, the players respect her.

Imagine Kim Miller coaching you as a 15 year old? I mean, jeeeeeze - if that girl told me how to play hockey, I'd sure be listening up.

[Al]

The Va Pilot had a brief (and I mean brief) article on Kim deciding to coach. She said she always wanted to and the Cox job just opened up. The players were almost in awe of her.

I imagine it's quite handy having her around for drills and scrimmages. She can show the players the right way to do things and beat the crud out of them in practice.

I wish she'd coach at Bayside. :( Actually, I think the current Bayside coach does an admirable job considering what she has to work with. Plus, she's a former ODU player. :)

The Pilot stated last year that Nancy was the only female high school football assistant coach in the country. There was a series of articles on her during last season in the Pilot and she seemed to know what she was talking about. She did admit that seeing guys hit each other up close was startling to her at first.

The players seem to really respect her. She's a legend at Cox. Not just with the field hockey players or the female athletes, but the whole school. Besides, Cox football has stunk for a very long time. I think they just reached the point where they will try anything. Their head coach is some local businessman.

[Al]

New coach's poll is out: http://www.eteamz.com/nfhca/files/DI_Poll_-_10-28-03.pdf

3 CAA teams are ranked:
#12 ODU
#14 W&M
#18 UD

VCU received 7 votes. I thought VCU might sneak in there, but I think SOS is hurting them. And they've really only beaten 1 quality team, ODU. I thought ODU would be ranked #12...and I was right! Although I don't agree with UConn being ahead of ODU. ODU beat UCOnn 4-2 earlier this year.

[dukaholic]

I told you ODU was overrated at #9, Al ;)

:D

JMU is overrated, even if we're #76. We should be in D3 right now :roll:

[Al]

Co-CAA POW this week:
Casey Smith, VCU, Jr, M (Va Beach native!)-scored twice and had an assist in win over ODU
Kelly McQuade, W&M, Sr, M-had a hat trick against JMU

CAA ROW: Megan Allen (Va Beach native!), UD, GK-2 shutout wins

CAA tourney notes:
Field is set: ODU, W&M, UD, VCU
ODU is the #1 seed
W&M is the #2 seed
UD can clinch the #3 seed with a win over Towson
VCU can clinch the #3 seed with a win over JMU and a UD loss to TU

5 CAA seniors will play in the NFHCA All Star game: UD's Breault and Henry, JMU's Perlis, and W&M's McQuade and Steel.

I don't remember the last time an ODU player was invited to the All Star game. Why in the world isn't Angie Loy in the All Star game?!?

CAA notebook jank: JMU's 13 losses ties their most ever (1992 season had 13 loses) and their 5 wins ties their least ever (1992 season had 5 wins). But 2 years after their last 5-13 season, JMU won the national title (had to put that in for ya, Holic!). ODU's 58 CAA game win streak is over. ODU's 4-0 loss to Michigan was their first home shutout since 1996. VCU's win over ODU was their first since field hockey became a varsity sport at VCU. The CAA is 45-40 in OOC.

[dukaholic]

Al, if I'm not mistaken the "all-star" game is played the same weekend as the Final Four - as part of the weekend's festivities.

And we were 6-13 in 1992 ;)

I see no signs of us becoming a top ten team like we were in 1993 next year - nor do I think we will have even 2 girls who could start for the national championship team (whoever that may be)

And we had 15 losses in 1980...

[Al]

Look at Holic...with all the stats from past years! You've learned well, grasshopper. ;) :D

Actually, I was just going by the CAA website. They did say that the 13 losses were the most SINCE 1992. So I just read that wrong. But this was the quote about the wins: "The record for fewest wins is five, also set in 1992..." Maybe they were talking about NCAA record (1980 was the AIAW).

ODU is also on track to have their worst season in the NCAA years. :(

The most losses ODU has ever had was 9 in 1995. That team went 16-9, but finished 6th nationally. This year's team has 8 losses with UNC, Princeton, the CAA tourney, and the NCAA tourney coming up (hopefully).

The fewests wins ODU has ever had was 13 in 1981. But that team went 13-2-2 and finished in 3rd place. This year's team has 10 wins with a possible 8 games to go (if they make it to the NCAA finals). ODU would only be favored in 2 of those 8 games though (the 2 CAA tourney games).

The worst finish for ODU was 7th place in 1993 (17-4-2). ODU is in 12th place now and will most likely need a few upsets next weekend and a strong run in the NCAA's to make it to 7th place.

As for the All Star game, I think you're right. When ODU hosted the Final Four in 2000, I think there was an All Star game. I didn't go due to the weather (rain and sleet all that weekend). Since ODU is usually a Final Four favorite, I guess the ODU players aren't nominated. But ODU is far from a Final Four favorite this year.

[dukaholic]

I'm surprised Perlis was named to the team really - it must have more to do with her reputation than her results this year. She hasn't made as many opportunities to score as she has in the past, and she hasn't been finishing well either. Granted, the opportunities have been scarcer this year, but still...her 6 goals this year are a career low - her freshman year she had 9 goals, sophomore year 11, junior year 12....and now this...

And I guess when you're ODU you just command that kind of respect...

[dukaholic]

Okay, I don't know why Loy hasn't been named to the All-Star team. I don't believe Snow was last year, either.

I still think they play final four weekend - but Duke, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Iowa, Princeton etc etc are all represented. So...apparently Angie Loy isn't good enough ;) Or ODU/Loy doesn't want to nominate Loy...or someone is stupid :)

On the bright side, MAINE has two representatives...

[Al]

Is there a list of the All Star game roster? I'm too sick and lazy too look it up...

I'm pretty sure ODU nominates players. At least they used to.

Kim Miller played in the 1999 All Star game. At least I think it was Kim Miller. Someone from the 1999 team played in the All Star game. That team only had 2 seniors, Ashleigh Miller and Kim Miller (no relation, Ashleigh was from Canada I believe).

No ODU player has been nominated since then. Not even Marina DiGiacomo, who is arguably the best college field hockey player EVER.

So if Marina (2000 Honda Award winner), Adrienne Yoder (the 2001 Honda Award runner-up), and Tiffany Snow (2002 Honda Award winner) didn't make the All Star team, ODU must not nominate players anymore.

[dukaholic]

http://www.eteamz.com/nfhca/files/2003DivisionISeniorAll-StarPressRelease.pdf

The rosters are there for the all-star game, Al.

[dukaholic]

JMU played its best game of the year so far, opening up their new turf field complex, but fell to Maryland 2-1. JMU went up with no time left in the first half, as a Bailie Versfeld blast from outside the circle was deflected in by Casey Cahill.

UMD went on to score two goals to win the game. They thoroughly dominated (something like 11 corners to 1) but for a LONG time the game had the same feel that the WFU game of last year had. A vastly superior opponent outplaying us in every facet of the game, but can't finish - and JMU sneaks a quick goal.

It was the best game I've seen them play all season, bar none. Colleen Barbieri was injured and played only sparingly for the Terrapins.

The new complex is SWEEEEEEET. Bleachers aren't up yet so we were all sitting atop a hill, a good long way from the action, but the field is supposedly a dream to play on - far better than the hugely crowned football field - and I assume a better turf for hockey as well. It really had the look of the hockey fields that the ACC teams have - a seperate hockey facility. I'm very impressed.

W&M upset Princeton today, 3-2. The Tribe is now 12-4, with UNC left before the CAA tourney. I think a trip to the CAA final assures a place in the NCAA tourney for them - but they may have what it takes to knock down ODU at Foreman - who knows. I have no clue how UR beat W&M 4-1, but that must've been an abberration. The Tribe is for real.

[Al]

Great effort by the Dukes against Maryland. I'm glad JMU has a nice, new facility too. It's always good to have a facility separate from football.

ODU hosts UNC today. Then Princeton Sunday. I'm a little scared about the UNC game. It could get ugly.

I think ODU will upset Princeton. I don't want to jinx them, but I'm not impressed with Princeton. ODU lost 2-1 up in Jersey a few weeks ago, but ODU dominated the game. The Princeton goalie had a great game. Even the Princeton coach said their goalie kept them in it. This game will be senior night and I'm sure Angie Loy wants to go out with a bang.

W&M is coming on strong. ODU beat W&M 3-0 in Norfolk really early in the season. ODU dominated the game, but W&M's defense was scrappy. The rematch would be a good one (assuming both teams can make it to the finals).

[dukaholic]

We beat VCU 3-2, with a goal 40 seconds into overtime. We had a 2-0 lead at the half, and let up a bit - VCU tied it up at 2...

40 seconds into the OT though, Alissa Santanna and Janelle Perlis were on a 2 on 1 break...Santanna put the ball on net (or cage?) and it was about belly-button high - the VCU goalie got a pad or stick on it, popped the ball straight up in the air, and Perlis came through to smack it into the cage.

Great way for our seniors to go out.

I'll tell you what though, I LOVE VCU's philosophy. They're a lot like Wake Forest (obviously less talented) but they'll put the ball on net from anywhere. I like that. When the ball is in the circle and flying towards the cage good things happen - deflections, corners, etc. You get lots of opportunities.

That said, while VCU outshot JMU by a TON today, and out cornered us as well, the game was played probably 60% with JMU on the offensive. We just play around with the ball too damn much. We probably had more GREAT scoring opportunities than VCU, but VCU makes opportunities with their attacking style more than we're willing to gamble.

Great game overall, and nice to see us get our first win at the facility.

(Does this mean we're better than ODU?) ;)

[Al]

Great win by JMU! Great way to end the season on a good note too. I wonder if there was a let down by VCU from their big win over ODU?

Saturday, ODU lost to UNC 4-2. ODU led 2-1 at half. All UNC in the 2nd half. UNC has a great team this year. UNC and Maryland swept ODU this year...ick.

ODU "upset" Princeton 8-2 today. This isn't an upset. I don't care about the rankings. ODU is the 7th or 8th best team in the nation. ODU dominated Princeton in Jersey, but ran into a hot goalie. This time, the Princeton goalie wasn't as hot (nothing against her looks, it's hard to tell with goalies...they wear so much gear). ;)

ODU dominated from the start and led 4-0 at half. Everybody got in on the fun scoring wise. Freshman Jena McClane scored twice and had 2 assists (she better be CAA ROW...). Freshman Dana Sensenig scored twice. Chilly scored twice. And Angie Loy had a goal and an assist in her last regular season home game.

[dukaholic]

W&M lost to UNC 1-0.

Now, if W&M beats ODU in the conference tourney, who thinks ODU gets in the NCAA's? I don't...though today's win definitely would help their case...

[Al]

ODU would definately be on the bubble. It would probably depend on what happens in the other conferences.

ODU is 11-9 now. 8 of the losses have come to top 8 teams: #2 Duke (by 1 goal), #3 Maryland twice (by 1 goal twice), #4 UNC twice (blowouts), #6 Michigan (blowout), #7 Penn St (final score was misleading), and #8 Princeton (by 1 goal). 6 of the wins are against teams that are either ranked or receiving votes in last week's poll.

The ACC and Big 10 will get multiple bids. I think the CAA is the only other conference with a chance for multiple bids. Unless Harvard sneaks in as the Ivy's 2nd team behind Princeton.

The ACC will get 4 bids (Wake, Duke, Maryland, UNC). UVa is the odd man (woman?) out.

The Big 10 has 5 NCAA candidates: Michigan, Michigan St, Penn St, Iowa, Ohio St. They will probably get 3-4 bids.

Where ODU would run into trouble is if Northeastern doesn't win the AE or if UConn doesn't win the Big East or if UR doesn't win the A10. Would ODU get in over those teams?

[dukaholic]

I think ODU would slide in on reputation alone, if nothing else. Hard to say that they don't deserve it, but kinda hard to say they do too...

Just a question on a scoring rule here - at our game today (and probably other days too) our SID awarded two assists on a play that wasn't a corner. Now, my thought was that the only time you can award a second assist is if it's a corner - and the sender and the stopper (or whatever you call those positions, I'm sure there's a better name) can both be credited...

Also, in probably the strangest corner that I've ever seen - JMU makes a short pass to Lindsay Keller instead of sending it across the circle. Now since it was a short corner, there is only Lindsay and the goalie pretty much, the defense mostly went out to the top...now Lindsay has a clear look (and shot) at the goalie - but for SOME reason, the play was for her to flick it. As the goalie can see her perfectly, this makes NO sense to me whatsoever. I understand sending it up top, and then the goalie is possibly screened off by defenders (and the goalie usually goes down no matter what) and then flicking it...but when there is no disruption of sight lines and no fake that has the goalie thinking blast - why the heck would you flick it?!

It was just very strange - it more or less bothered me - and it was extremely ineffective.

[mainejeff]

ODU would not get in over Northeastern (unless NU lost in the semis), but would over UConn and Richmond IMHO.

[dukaholic]

If ODU loses in the conference tourney, they'll have 10 losses. I don't think they can get in at all really then, but I'm not sure. A team like Richmond that is currently 16-3 would be hard to keep out.

Northeastern lost to lesser opponents than did ODU, but at 15-5, it'd be hard to keep them out. Still, their top wins this year are against Boston College, Holy Cross, and Harvard...not very impressive. They dropped games to UVA, Delaware, and UCONN. If they had one more win I'd feel a lot more comfortable saying they're in - but they don't. I don't know if they're in just yet. Of course the AE championship should be won by them, and it should all be moot.

While Connecticut lost to Harvard and Boston College (while it seems like everyone else beat Harvard) they boast wins over Princeton, Northeastern, and Yale. They did lose to ODU though. At 15-4, they may be in.

All three have great records, but they don't boast many impressive wins. It'll be interesting to see how the committee looks at them (or if they even have to). They may just win their tournaments and make it a moot point.

Before this win against Princeton I really thought ODU would be out if they lost to W&M. That sounds so weird - ODU not making the NCAA's. It would be crazy. Their most impressive wins so far are against Princeton (by far the best), W&M, UCONN, and then either UVA, Delaware, or Louisville. For the schedule they played, they really didn't pull out any of the big games. UMD, Duke Penn State, UNC, Michigan - all beat ODU this year, some of them beat 'em twice! (and I don't think you should be able to play anyone OOC twice in the same year...)

[Al]

Holic, here's what the NCAA stat page states about assists:

"The only time that double assists can be given is on a direct corner goal. The push and the stick stop are both given assists if the sticker scores on a direct shot. If there is any kind of option (tip, deflection, etc.) then there cannot be two assists."

ODU should get at at large bid over Northeastern, UConn, and UR. Forget me being an ODU fan or the sisterhood. Look at who the teams beat, who they lost to, and head to head.

Losses:
Northeastern (5): #2 Duke, #5 Michigan, #11 UConn, #20 UD, UVa
UConn (4): #7 Penn St, #12 ODU, #16 Harvard, #17 BC
UR (3): #2 Duke, Lafayette, JMU
ODU (9): #2 Duke, #3 Maryland, #4 UNC, #5 Michigan, #7 Penn St, #8 Princeton, VCU

Big wins:
NE: #17 BC, #16 Harvard, New Hampshire, Holy Cross
UConn: #8 Princeton, #10 Northeastern, Yale, New Hampshire
UR: #14 W&M, #16 Harvard, #19 AU, VCU
ODU: #8 Princeton, #11 UConn, #14 W&M, #18 UD, UVa, Louisville

Head to head:
UConn beat NE 2-0
ODU beat UConn 4-2

ODU played a much tougher schedule than the other 3 and has more losses because of it. But ODU has also beaten more ranked teams than the other 3 schools. UConn is the only team not to lose to an unranked opponent and has a win over a top 10 team. But ODU beat UConn. UR beat 3 ranked teams, but lost to 2 unranked teams. NE lost to 3 teams ODU beat.

To be honest, I doubt all 4 schools will lose in their conference tournaments. UR went 6-0 in the A10, NE went 6-0 in the AE, and UConn went 4-1 in the Big East. UConn has the best chance at losing (maybe to BC in the finals).

ODU has always played UNC twice in the regular season. ODU started playing Maryland twice a few years ago. Last year was the 1st year ODU played Princeton twice. UNC and Maryland I understand since those are the biggest rivalries in the sport. I don't know about Princeton. Bozeman and Anders are good friends, but Bozeman's at Duke now...

[dukaholic]

Hey, I was right about the assist thing, YAY!

[Al]

Maybe it's just me, but I see a lot of double assists in box scores (not just ODU). Either teams are good at scoring directly off corners or some SID's don't know the rules.

Where the heck is Dragon?

CAA POW: Angie Loy, ODU (2 goals and 3 assists in 2 games)
CAA ROW: Jenna McLane, ODU (2 goals and 2 assists in Princeton upset)

CAA notebook stuff: Drexel won their first CAA game of the year over Hofstra. 3 of JMU's 6 wins came in overtime this year. ODU ended a 5 game losing streak, their longest in school history. Towson started the season 6-3, but lost 8 of their last 9 games. VCU lost consecutive games for the first time this year. The CAA finished 48-45 against OOC.

[dukaholic]

I brought the assist thing to the SID's attention here. They'll probably forget by next year, but I figured I should mention it ;)

[Al]

Conference tourney is next weekend at ODU:

Saturday's semis:
#1 ODU (6-1) vs #4 VCU (4-3) at 12 pm
#2 W&M (6-1) vs #3 UD (5-2) at 2:30 pm

Sunday's final is at 1 pm

Any ideas on the CAA awards? Rookie of the year will be the most competitive. Lots of good freshmen in the CAA. My picks:

Coach of the year: Shelly Behrens, VCU
VCU was picked 2nd to last and ended up 4th. Plus VCU knocked off ODU. Behrens is a lock. W&M's Hawthorne did a great job this year though. W&M lost a ton of talent, but still tied for 1st.

Player of the year: Angie Loy, ODU
Leads the CAA in points, goals, assists, points per game, blah blah. Loy's a lock. VCU's Howard, UD's LaBar, and W&M's Steele all had great seasons though.

Rookie of the year: Megan Allen, UD
This one's tough. There were a lot of good rookies this year. Allen did a great job in goal, helping UD make the CAA tourney and stay ranked all year, so I give her the nod. Plus she's from Va Beach. ;)

Defensive player of the year: ???
Another tough one. I don't see the other teams enough and it's hard to judge a defender on stats. So I'll be an ODU homer and go with ODU senior Melissa Leonetti. 2 time All American and leader of the top defense in the CAA. She also has 8 assists.

[dukaholic]

I'd have to agree with all of those awards. I don't know who else is really a big name for the ROY - but I've been seeing Allen's name everywhere. Loy is a lock, and VCU's coach has to get the nod. The fact that they're in the tourney says it all.

Can Horvat get worst coach of the year? I think she's earned it.

The DPOY moved away from being an offensive award last year when Shean got it - plus, we were by FAR the best defense. So they may pull some tomfoolery with that pick - if W&M has any good defenders or something. WHO KNOWS?

[Al]

The Hofstra goalie played well (she's a rookie, I think). Towson and Drexel had a couple solid freshmen. But none of those teams were as successful as UD. ODU had a ton of freshmen play well, but no one really stood out. Allen should win.

I have no clue who the nominees should be for D-POY. I just mentioned Leonetti since she's a player I'm familiar with. If an ODU player does win it, it should be Leonetti. But that doesn't mean an ODU player will win it.

ODU has outscored the CAA 33-11 this year. Only 3 CAA teams have scored goals against ODU: VCU with 5, UD with 5, and DU with 1.

I thought that was pretty impressive until I looked up last year's numbers. ODU outscored the CAA 52-5 last year! Including the CAA tourney, ODU outscored the CAA 68-6! JMU scored 4 of the 6 goals against ODU.

So I'd have to say ODU had the best defense in the CAA last year. No offense (pun intended!) to JMU. I'm sure the Dukes were right up there. But ODU allowed 6 goals all season and JMU allowed 21 in just 2 games against ODU.

[dukaholic]

I'm sure ODU had the best defense last year - but part of that was also having the best offense too. When Tiff Snow has the ball on the other teams side the whole game, the defense looks REALLY good ;)

JMU didn't have anywhere near as good a defense - but JMU also didn't have any fundamental skills on controlling the ball. Our midfield wasn't really strong. We had forwards in Goudswaard and Perlis, and that's really where it all came from for the Dukes. It was long ball, smack and run.

[dukaholic]

Al,
Last night Centreville and Lake Braddock both lost before the region finals - meaning neither will be at States.

Annandale vs MADISON (they always stunk!) and Jefferson vs Woodson will fight it out for the two state title berths. Woodson is the one I'd feel most comfortable with at states, but they have the toughest draw. Jefferson beat LB 3-0 last night?!?! I can't remember the last time I saw an LB team let up 3 goals.

How's the tidewater region tourney shaping up?

[Al]

Wow, some shockers in NoVa hockey! Sorry to hear about LB. It'll be strange to have states without them.

The biggest upset down here was in the Beach tourney. Princess Anne (the 5 seed) won. They upset regular season champ Tallwood and then Kempsville in a double overtime thriller that lasted 2 days!

The regional tourney starts today. Maury vs Gloucester (Maury should win), Lakeland vs PA (too close to call, should be a doozy), Kecoughtan vs Granby (Kecoughtan is 18-0), and Tallwood vs Nansemond River (Tallwood should win).

Tallwood should make states. They're in the easy bracket. In the other bracket, Maury, Lakeland, and PA are all good enough to make states. Of course I'm going with the Beach and PA. :D

Interesting article in the Pilot on high school field hockey and the turf vs grass debate: http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=61634&ran=191585

The state finals this year are at the National Training Center in Va Beach (turf). But some coaches are ticked off because it gives Beach teams an advantage since they play there a lot during the season and are used to turf. Beach teams get to play at the NTC for free while other schools have to pay.

The Lakeland coach really fussed about having to pay. Someone needs to tell her that Va Beach tax payers PAID for the NTC. Our high schools should get to play there for free. When the city of Suffolk (where Lakeland is located) builds their own state of the art turf field, then Lakeland can play there for free and charge other schools.

Speaking of Lakeland, there was an article about their star forward in today's Pilot (no link). She's supposed to be the next Kim Miller (tiny, fast, and big time scorer). She's only a junior, but she's already being recruited by ODU, UNC, UD, Penn St, W&M, and Duke. Someone needs to remind her where Miller went to college. ;)

[Dukester]

:cry:

[dukaholic]

Sisson of the VHSL said that several teams from Northern Virginia are doing the same — spending some time at college fields with artificial turf and practicing in their gyms.

Well I've heard of teams going to UMD's camp and playing on their turf in the summer - I don't know where local to NoVA you'd find a turf field. I guess American Univ and Georgetown - or wherever they play...or going down to Mary Washington. I've never heard of in-season practicing at a college to practice for turf...


Wet or dry, players will experience considerably better footing than on grass.

I don't necessarily agree with that...

The difference, to me, is NOT in the bumps of the field - but in the change of pace of the game. Everyone else around the state works so hard, and there's so much timing involved in hockey (though less than at the NCAA level) that playing on a surface that is three times faster HAS to throw you off. A good offensive team that is used to playing on grass will never win on turf if they're not used to it. The only way a team can win if they're not used to it is to be supremely talented, or to be a defensive team that gets lucky.

A bumpy field does not give an advantage to any individual team - like referees, the bumps would make or break things both ways. Turf, every year after year, would just give a hand up to the teams that are used to it. I guess my feeling is that the girls still aren't good players really. The quality of play is still pretty poor at this level. And since it's not good enough where a few bumps really matter, IMO, then it should be fair.

I didn't know Cox played on grass...