Field hockey enters opening weekend on a roll

Last year at this time, the Yale field hockey team looked at an opening weekend against two of its strongest opponents--New Hampshire and Maine. The Bulldogs wound up dropping both contests.

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Anne Ripptoe (10), TD '01, and the Eli squad are looking for a little respect.

Fast forward to 1998. This weekend, the Bulldogs will challenge the same two opponents in their first two games of the season. Only this time, the Elis are planning on one important difference: the outcome.

"Last year, we were a little apprehensive coming into the season, since we didn't really know how we'd match up with some other teams," goalie Courtney Lane, SY '00, said. "But this year, everyone has taken the confidence from our spring season into the fall. Everyone is in great shape--and we are excited and ready to play."

Lane is referring to a spring which saw the Blue take the momentum from the close of their regular season, when the team won five of its last six games, into two spring tournaments, both of which ended with Yale as champion. Such confidence-building, along with the revenge factor, has Yale primed for a solid opening weekend. Kate Niles, BK '00, the Bulldogs' third-leading scorer last year, views this weekend as a chance to start something special.

"[Last year's losses] provide a huge motivation factor for us," she said. "These are two of the stronger teams we'll play all season. Two wins this weekend would give us a lot of respect in the conference. This weekend will determine a lot of the rest of the season."

The Elis look forward to this season as a chance to gain solid footing in the ECAC standings, and to gain some regional and national respect. They already have such respect from Maine coach Terry Kix, whose team they will face on Sun., Sept. 13. Despite her team's 3-0 record, Kix sees Yale as a tough opponent. "Yale is very well-coached," she said. "We expect them to come out disciplined and focused. They will execute well, but we plan to come in and do the things we do well--and hopefully, in the end, we'll be successful."

Kix's praise is directed at second-year coach Marisa Didio, who enters this season with optimism, tempered with the knowledge that the Bulldogs are still in the middle of an improvement process. "We are moving more in the right directions than in the wrong ones," Didio said of the team. "One of the things I stress is that they need to think of themselves as on the elite level--and they are working to approach that level. They have the ability to test this schedule."

Last season, Yale had trouble coming through in tight games. With only a 4-6 record in one-goal contests last year, the Bulldogs looked to address the problem in preparation for this season.

The answer appears to be depth. Several players commented on the strength and versatility of this year's freshman class. Captain Lindsay Hobbs, PC '99, said that depth will be one of the keys to the season. The squad will rely on the bench to boost its performance. "The most important thing about our depth is that in practice, everyone is really pushing everyone else," she said. "This is a great simulation to prepare us for regular-season play."

The second year under Didio seems to have instilled the Bulldogs with a new level of confidence. While adjusting to a more agressive attacking style and a new coach, the team stumbled to a 3-8 record early last season. Yet in addition to a new style of play, Didio instilled a heightened level of desire in this Bulldog team, and the Elis now appear ready to thrive in the new system. "Our goal is always to win the Ivies--and this year, that is a very realistic goal," Erin Arruda, JE '00, said.

An Ivy League title is a realistic goal at this point in the season because the Blue understand what it takes to win. "Last year, [Didio] told us there are three ways to approach a game," Arruda said. "You can play not to lose, you can play to win, and you can play to dominate. And by the end of last year, we understood that. And we are so ready to play this year."

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