Cagey Veteran: Paige Pickett's Thoughts
9/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Sept. 11, 2009
Well, field hockey season is officially underway and we couldn't be more excited! We kicked it off with a nice long nine-hour bus ride to Iowa.Since school wasn't in session yet, we had a LOT of free time. We watched movies, played games like Times Up, and shared snacks with each other. Marcia [Pankratz] even scavenged the bus to see which one of us brought the "good stuff" (i.e. Cheetos or chocolate). Once we got to the hotel, we excitedly waited to hear who we would be rooming with for the next few days. We woke up on Saturday morning and realized it had finally come: Game Day!
After getting in our usual pregame meals (for some of us ... Alicia Mayer ... that includes Milky Ways), we all got ready for the first game of the new season. We came out very strong against North Carolina, and scoring the first goal really got us fired up. Even though we didn't get the W, that game really showed us that we can play with the best. The same went for the Wake Forest match; we really set the tone and showed them what Big Ten field hockey was all about. We headed home knowing there were some things to work on, but at the same time we were happy with our effort.
Tuesday came around and we have a nickname for it: Terrible Tuesdays. Really, we just incorporate a lot of competition drills into the practice to boost the level of play. Of course if you are on the losing team, you run. You also run if the attack corner isn't executed correctly. All that week, we worked hard because we knew we had a big weekend ahead of us. Temple is known to be a feisty team, and Maryland was ranked No. 1 in the country.
Maryland was hot and humid. Practice was pretty basic, but I remember still being soaked afterwards. Our first game (against Temple) was an evening game under the lights. However, the sun hadn't quite managed to go down yet which worked in our favor the second half when it was beaming into Temple's eyes. It took us a while to really get our groove, but as soon as Zara [Saydjari] scored that first goal -- it's like everything clicked. We passed stick-to-stick-to-stick and really found each other - and the back of the net. The second half was a great game to watch. The Maryland game was very intense, but like UNC and Wake, we stuck right with them all throughout the second half. Even though they got the best of us for five minutes, we got our heads back on and stayed in the game with them.
The beginning of the season is always difficult for us. We start off playing the best, and I think that works in our favor. Now we know our potential, we know what we are capable of. When we play with our hearts and "just play" the game, we can do great things. I hope we completely fill up our stands this weekend for our home opener (Sept. 12 at noon vs. UConn). The team is excited and eager to see where the rest of the season takes us.
Go Blue!
