Spring Break
Field Hockey: Quest for a championship run
Russell Blair
Issue date: 8/27/08 Section: Sports
Head coach Nancy Stevens has made her expectation of success for the 2008 UConn Field Hockey team quite clear.
"Our goals are the same year in and year out, to win the Big East regular season championship, win the Big East Tournament, and advance to the NCAA Tournament," Stevens said.
While Stevens' expectations may seem high, UConn has flourished under her 18-year tenure, reaching the NCAA tournament 12 times and winning the Big East regular season and tournament championships 10 times apiece.
Coming off their fifth consecutive Big East Tournament championship and an appearance in the NCAA Semifinals in 2007, UConn has been picked to finish first in the seven team conference, adding even more pressure for the team to succeed.
"Well, it's better than being picked last," Stevens joked. "There's two kinds of pressure, the pressure to win when you aren't winning, and the pressure to continue winning when it's expected of you. It's better to have that kind of pressure, coming from a position of strength, its more enjoyable."
UConn's main strength lies in its diversity, having strong players in the back, midfield, goal, and offense. While it may be hard to find a weakness on paper, the team still needs to come out and play 100 percent each and every game.
"They still need to get up for every game, if you come out and play 80 percent, you can't expect to win. We are the team everyone circles on their calendar, we have a huge target on our back, everyone wants to knock us off so we must play our very best in every game," Stevens said.
With the loss of two-time all-American Lizzy Peijs, Stevens has turned to younger players to step up and make an impact.
"Freshman Rayell Heistand has earned a starting position in the backfield which allows us to move senior back Jennifer Kleinhans up to the midfield. This way we can ensure we still have a two-time all-American in the midfield," said Stevens.
Kleinhans is just one of six returning senior starters that Stevens is looking towards to help lead the team, the rest include Meghan Wheeler, Katie Scully, Lindsey Leck, Lauren Aird, and Gina Uguccioni.
The Huskies have recently begun practicing on the newly renovated field at George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex, a restoration effort highly praised by coach Stevens.
"The previous field was 13 years old, and an all new astro-turf has been laid out, making a huge difference in our practice quality. This will also help to reduce lucky bounces and make sure that the best team really does win, it's a great playing surface," said Stevens.
Tomorrow the Huskies take the field in Storrs in an exhibition game against Durham University from England.
"This is a great learning experience for our team against a really good team, their coach coached the 1984 English Olympic Team. Also in English universities their players are often much older, leading to even more of a challenge for our team," said Stevens.
"We play a very up-tempo open game with lots of scoring opportunities to create a really exciting collegiate athletic experience. We really hope to get people to come out and watch," said Stevens.
Russell.Blair@UConn.edu
"Our goals are the same year in and year out, to win the Big East regular season championship, win the Big East Tournament, and advance to the NCAA Tournament," Stevens said.
While Stevens' expectations may seem high, UConn has flourished under her 18-year tenure, reaching the NCAA tournament 12 times and winning the Big East regular season and tournament championships 10 times apiece.
Coming off their fifth consecutive Big East Tournament championship and an appearance in the NCAA Semifinals in 2007, UConn has been picked to finish first in the seven team conference, adding even more pressure for the team to succeed.
"Well, it's better than being picked last," Stevens joked. "There's two kinds of pressure, the pressure to win when you aren't winning, and the pressure to continue winning when it's expected of you. It's better to have that kind of pressure, coming from a position of strength, its more enjoyable."
UConn's main strength lies in its diversity, having strong players in the back, midfield, goal, and offense. While it may be hard to find a weakness on paper, the team still needs to come out and play 100 percent each and every game.
"They still need to get up for every game, if you come out and play 80 percent, you can't expect to win. We are the team everyone circles on their calendar, we have a huge target on our back, everyone wants to knock us off so we must play our very best in every game," Stevens said.
With the loss of two-time all-American Lizzy Peijs, Stevens has turned to younger players to step up and make an impact.
"Freshman Rayell Heistand has earned a starting position in the backfield which allows us to move senior back Jennifer Kleinhans up to the midfield. This way we can ensure we still have a two-time all-American in the midfield," said Stevens.
Kleinhans is just one of six returning senior starters that Stevens is looking towards to help lead the team, the rest include Meghan Wheeler, Katie Scully, Lindsey Leck, Lauren Aird, and Gina Uguccioni.
The Huskies have recently begun practicing on the newly renovated field at George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex, a restoration effort highly praised by coach Stevens.
"The previous field was 13 years old, and an all new astro-turf has been laid out, making a huge difference in our practice quality. This will also help to reduce lucky bounces and make sure that the best team really does win, it's a great playing surface," said Stevens.
Tomorrow the Huskies take the field in Storrs in an exhibition game against Durham University from England.
"This is a great learning experience for our team against a really good team, their coach coached the 1984 English Olympic Team. Also in English universities their players are often much older, leading to even more of a challenge for our team," said Stevens.
"We play a very up-tempo open game with lots of scoring opportunities to create a really exciting collegiate athletic experience. We really hope to get people to come out and watch," said Stevens.
Russell.Blair@UConn.edu
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