Unfortunate start to season of high expectations

Off to a disappointing 0-4 start, the field hockey team does not, on the surface, look as if it has much of a chance at a winning season. But the team is staying upbeat. The Lady Bulldogs blew two close games this past week that they could have won, and now are focusing all of their energy on their impending match-up against league rival Princeton; a win against the Tigers would put the Bulldogs on the right track and could turn the season around.

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Field hockey hopes to rebound with a win over power-house Princeton.

So far, circumstances have not been favorable for the Elis. Two of Yale's four opponents have been nationally-ranked, and while there have been flashes of brilliance in each of the losses, the Bulldogs have struggled with consistency. Having failed to put together a complete performance, the squad feels it has yet to play up to its potential.

The offense is working cohesively with the midfield, but in both the University of New Hampshire and William and Mary games last week, the team could not follow through on a promising start. Goalie Krissy Nesburg, PC '04, has been making spectacular saves, but the defense has been letting up in the final minutes. The one factor that coaches and players agree will convert the flashes of talent into wins is intensity.

Besides battling nationally-ranked teams for the first few games of the season, the team also has to work to make up lost practice time. "When we were playing our first second and third games, our opponents are playing their fifth, sixth and seventh game," Anne Rippetoe, TD '01, said. "It just means that while we are still getting into the flow of our season, other teams have practiced together much more. While we are still trying to gel together, our competitors have already established the team cohesion."

Another disadvantage is that all of the Lady Bulldogs' games so far have been played on turf and on the road. The Yale Athletic Department is building a new Women's Sports Complex near the intramural fields that will include a full-length turf field for the field hockey team, but so far, the team has been practicing on the football team's 65-yard scrimmage turf. "The first two games were supposed to be at home, but since the field is not yet ready, they were essentially away," Rippetoe said. Playing on turf can be a disadvantage because as opposed to grass, it produces a faster game with less left to chance.

Field hockey

Record: 0-4 Recent Results: Lost to William and Mary, 2-1 in double overtime. Coming Up: Sat., Sept. 16 vs. Princeton, 12:30 p.m.

The team has seen improvement on the turf, but adjustments are being made. For the time being, the team is focusing on imprving its intensity and consistency. "Right now we are working on really keeping our intensity up for the entire 70 minutes of the game," Head Coach Ainslee Lamb said. "That means for 35 minutes at a time we stay intensely focused. The only breakdowns so far have been in intensity. We'll have lulls and the teams that we play have had enough experience already to see the lull in us, and capitalize on it."

"So far, we have been the better team in some instances, but we did not play better on those particular days," midfielder Nikki Davis, ES '01, said. "With a stronger effort, and better defense, we can play to prove that we are the better team."

With the scheduling disadvantage, technical difficulties, and slow start, the team is looking forward to moving on to the rest of the season. "I am really pleased with the way our team maintains a great attitude, awesome desire, and work ethic," Lamb said. Rippetoe agrees. "We have great girls, great attitude and we are still working really hard. We just need to be more consistent."

This weekend the team faces Princeton, a perpetual Ivy powerhouse. The team lost to Princeton last year in a close contest, 1-0, and is ready for revenge. Lamb pointed to two factors that will decide the game. The first is staying cool. "I know our girls are going to come out ready to play," Lamb said. "We need to play our game, and not get sucked into their strategy." The second is the senior class. The coaching staff agrees that this year's senior class is a great group of leaders, each with different strengths. "They have a great impact on the field; their influence can help a lot," Lamb added.

Attitude, desire, and hard work should create success in future games, but coaches and players agree that it's best to concentrate on the present. "We are going to have face tough opponents down the road, but we have to look at the season one day at a time," Rippetoe said.

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