DTH Columns

Sept. 22, 2004 — Field hockey gains a new fan

I talked big three weeks ago and promised to show up at the field hockey home opener Sept. 18.

Well, I actually did, so here's a running diary of my inaugural field hockey experience:

12:36 p.m.: Arriving at Henry Stadium during warmups, I soak in my new surroundings.

The field is surrounded on two sides by an ivy-covered fence. Trees tower above the open field, making it seem like a forest glade with skirted pixies running around swinging candy canes.

12:50: Avril Lavigne's "My Happy Ending" comes on the PA system. Somebody needs to donate these guys a Jock Jams CD.

1:00: Game time. It's North Carolina's ball to start. They back pass. It's like soccer so far. I momentarily believe I can follow.

1:01: A whistle blows, and the players stop what they were doing and run downfield. They leave the ball where it was and one player knocks it forward.

This prompts the following exchange with my friend Phil, who's covering the game for a class:

Phil: What happened?

Me: Uhmm ... foul?

Phil: (Laughs) I shouldn't be covering this.

1:03: The team parents are hardcore. All-American Kelsey Keeran's mother, Debbie, is a squinty-eyed woman of medium height and build with corn-husk blond hair.

She's also a yeller, alternately expressing cheer, sympathy, anguish and encouragement, or all of these at once.

1:07: During a failed UNC rush, I ready myself to dial 911 in case Mrs. Keeran pops an embolism in her brain.

1:08: There's a penalty shot. Why?

Uhmm ... foul?

Actually, it's a corner, which is my new favorite play in sports.

One player sends a pass from the corner to her entire team, which is lined up versus the goalie and four defenders who the coach has deemed human sacrifices.

Old Dominion manages to make the save.

1:29: Keeran draws a corner, but North Carolina, ranked third in the country, misses the ball on the centering pass for the second time. I'm smelling a repeating theme.

1:31: There's a give-and-go-and-give-again between Keeran and Brooke Miller, but the short shot is kicked away by the goalie.

1:38: At halftime, while browsing through the media guide, I find out exactly how hardcore these parents are: Most of the players are out-of-state students.

I ask the couple in front of me - Cindy and Ken Falgowski, parents of UNC forward Kerry Falgowski - where they came down from, and they say Pennsylvania.

Cindy explains matter-of-factly, "It's our daughter's last season, so we can't miss a home game."

That, my friends, is dedication.

1:52: Four minutes into the second half, UNC gets a corner.

The Tar Heels set up, and the intended recipient of the pass whiffs as the ball passes through her legs. But Naomi Weatherald, expectantly in position, rockets a slapshot into the goal for a 1-0 lead.

I later find out this is a set play for short corners called a "slip." UNC runs it unsuccessfully three more times in the second half.

1:57: The Monarchs use a beautiful give-and-go to create an empty net, but UNC goalie Katy Tran recovers to make a spectacular diving save at the corner of the net.

ODU just missed its big chance.

2:26: The clock runs out, and the Tar Heels persevere 1-0. The second half went by pretty quickly, with more up-and-down action than the first. For a match between the No. 3 and No. 7 teams, the outcome never really seemed in doubt.

After my first field hockey game, I'm interested enough to want to come out again.

See you tonight at 7.