Inside The Circle - Week 6
10/11/2001 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 9, 2001
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Welcome to this week's installment of "Inside the Circle," an inside look at Maryland field hockey. Each week throughout the 2001 season, junior Kateri Simon (Fallston, Md.) and senior Autumn Welsh (Macungie, Pa.) will combine to bring you the latest Terp happenings from the student-athlete's point-of-view.
Use Kateri and Autumn's journal to follow the Terps' 2001 campaign all season long. If you would like to submit question to our authors about field hockey, the Terps or anything (within reason!), send us an e-mail.
This week, in the sixth edition, Autumn talks about the Terps' sense of urgency at this point in the season and the lessons the team learned from having to battle to win in their second consecutive overtime match. Through the tests and tough times the team becomes closer and more focused on becoming the best it can be.
Time is running short my friends. I only wish we knew what we had, while we had it. My fellow teammates and I have learned a valuable lesson this past week...time is precious -- don't waste it.
Friday we headed down to Duke to face yet another ACC rival. The bus ride down was filled with carefree smiles and lighthearted conversation. Just a bunch of girls hanging out, telling stories, doing hair...being girls. Somehow though, 25 prime, top-ranked athletes lost their competitive edge. I don't know how, or why, or what we could have done differently, but for some reason we showed up on that Duke turf Saturday morning feeling excited to just run around and play together. We should have instead felt hungry for a win, hungry for brewing up another stew of defeat in the NCAA.
After a 4-0 goal differential we realized that our attitudes had to change. We needed to step it up. It's unfortunate that it took those four goals to open our eyes, but that's just one of the many mysteries of sport.
Somehow we found a way to fight back. There's no sense focusing on the details of the game after that. We pulled off a win, just barely, but we did it. There was little satisfaction after leaving that field at Duke. We had accomplished something unheard of in our sport - overcoming a four-goal deficit to win the match. Not normal. But we didn't care...our hearts hurt too badly after such a poor start that day.
It was a growing experience though. Off the field, in the locker room, no coaches -- just us girls -- found a way to make the best of a bad situation. We talked, and we cried and we opened our hearts to each other. Freshman shared their thoughts on being a part of such a wonderful group of people. Seniors' eyes were filled with tears as they spoke of that feeling we once had of truly playing to our potential. Players both young and old expressed their love for each other, and for the game, and for the Terps.
Sunday vs. Rutgers gave us the opportunity to redeem ourselves, and on paper we did. But ten goals and a shutout later the feeling from the Duke field still looms in our heads.
But we do realize something -- Maryland field hockey has yet to hit its peak. We have room to grow, and we're determined to do so.
Every second with each other is precious...we'll be sure to take advantage of that in the future.
This is #3, signing off.
