On Friday afternoon, Michigan and Michigan State will meet again and renew their rivalry. On the field, the two teams have had different seasons and have had different degrees of success. None of that will matter though when they take the field against their biggest rival.
Last season in East Lansing, Michigan State defeated Michigan 3-2 in a double overtime thriller. Twice Michigan came from behind to tie the game, but in the end, Abby Barker scored the final goal to pull off the upset.
Every rivalry game is emotional, and the memory of that contest will certainly be on the minds of the players. This year the narrative is somewhat similar. Michigan is ranked and Michigan State has had a few bumps in the road. The game is late in the season and both teams have seniors who have plenty of memories and want to end with a win.
This season, Michigan has been led by a group of seniors who have posted extraordinary numbers. Leading the team in scoring has been fifth year senior Leslie Smith, with 11 goals on the season. This has been her highest scoring season and she currently has 29 career goals. Also leading the team this season has been fifth year senior midfielder Ainsley McCallister, who has been a rock for the team with 16 assists this season and has started every single game. Joining McCallister on the midfield is another rock, grad student Sammy Gray, who has made 67 appearances for the Wolverines. The other two graduating players that Michigan will be saying goodbye to are Lauren Hauge and Emy Guttman, who scored a dramatic game winning goal over Northwestern recently.
While Michigan is in a three way tie for first in the Big 10, in-state rival Michigan State would love nothing more then to spoil the party. Currently Michigan State is 3-4 in conference play and a win here would help them heading into the conference tournament. The Spartans know how to fight hard, six of their eight wins this season have been come from behind victories with plenty of overtime wins and overtime heartbreak as well.
Leading them throughout this crazy season has been senior Abby Barker. The same Abby Barker who crushed the Wolverines' hopes in double overtime last season. This season, Barker has recorded 12 goals and 11 assists and has been the focal point of the Spartans offense. Michigan State has scored 40 goals this season and is averaging 2.67 goals per game. Another senior has been coming in strong for the Spartans this season, with Allie Ahern scoring seven goals on the season. With plenty of seniors playing consistently, and 11 players appearing in every single game, Michigan State will be ready for bring a strong performance against their instate rival.
Although Michigan has dominated the series recently, the game still has an air of excitement to it. Michigan has won three of the last four, but remember that the one loss was a double overtime upset thanks to a strong performance by Michigan State. This game should live up to the expectations when the players hit the field on Friday at 3:30. The game will be shown on the Big 10 Network. Look for the stars to come out when the cameras turn on, as both teams have a group of exceptional seniors who are playing in this great rivalry for the last time.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
What to Watch For (October 24-26 edition)
As the regular season winds down we have a lot of key matchups. Let's take a look at the top three games happening this weekend.
3.) #8 Virginia at #14 Boston College (Friday)
Boston College has had a crazy number of upsets this season and has had a truly absurd number of overtime games and heartbreaks. With a team like Virginia heading their way, how could you not get excited about this game? Virginia has a powerful offense led by Tara Vittese, who is a freshman with 15 goals already this season. And on the other end, Boston College has managed to make an absurd number of games go into overtime with plenty of comebacks and great team play. Don't be surprised if the Eagles get an upset here at home.
2.) #4 Penn State at #15 Iowa (Saturday)
I wrote earlier this week that Iowa was the biggest loser (of the power teams). No better way to change that then taking on the second hottest team in the Big 10 this year. The hawkeyes already beat Virginia at home this year, so the upset is possible. Look for Penn State to be ready though, as they have looked strong in recent weeks. Regardless of who wins, this is going to be a great game.
#6 Duke at #10 Syracuse (Saturday)
The only top 10 matchup of the weekend looks to be a great game. Both teams have proven at times that they are elite teams, but neither of them have shined in conference play. Duke is 2-3 in the ACC and Syracuse is 1-4. Both teams need a big win here to help them have momentum heading into conference play. This is the last big game of the season for both teams, so look for an exciting matchup in New York on Saturday.
Honorable mention games: Friday- Temple at Georgetown, Michigan State at Michigan, Cal at Stanford. Saturday- Wake Forest at North Carolina. Sunday- Louisville at Indiana.
3.) #8 Virginia at #14 Boston College (Friday)
Boston College has had a crazy number of upsets this season and has had a truly absurd number of overtime games and heartbreaks. With a team like Virginia heading their way, how could you not get excited about this game? Virginia has a powerful offense led by Tara Vittese, who is a freshman with 15 goals already this season. And on the other end, Boston College has managed to make an absurd number of games go into overtime with plenty of comebacks and great team play. Don't be surprised if the Eagles get an upset here at home.
2.) #4 Penn State at #15 Iowa (Saturday)
I wrote earlier this week that Iowa was the biggest loser (of the power teams). No better way to change that then taking on the second hottest team in the Big 10 this year. The hawkeyes already beat Virginia at home this year, so the upset is possible. Look for Penn State to be ready though, as they have looked strong in recent weeks. Regardless of who wins, this is going to be a great game.
#6 Duke at #10 Syracuse (Saturday)
The only top 10 matchup of the weekend looks to be a great game. Both teams have proven at times that they are elite teams, but neither of them have shined in conference play. Duke is 2-3 in the ACC and Syracuse is 1-4. Both teams need a big win here to help them have momentum heading into conference play. This is the last big game of the season for both teams, so look for an exciting matchup in New York on Saturday.
Honorable mention games: Friday- Temple at Georgetown, Michigan State at Michigan, Cal at Stanford. Saturday- Wake Forest at North Carolina. Sunday- Louisville at Indiana.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Week 7 coaches poll
Another week gives us another coaches poll. Let's dive into it and see how the teams look.
Biggest Winner: Wake Forest. The demon deacons lost a heartbreaking overtime game two weeks ago to top ranked UNC. This past weekend, Wake Forest came in ready to win and they took down then #6 Virginia on the road and #10 Syracuse. The squad moved up two spots to #11, but they could jump into the top 10 with a win over North Carolina this upcoming Friday.
Biggest Loser: Honestly this was tough to pick this week. There was no shocking upset or team that looked like they were headed in the complete wrong direction. Because of that, I am picking Iowa as the biggest loser this week. They lost on the road at unranked Michigan State. Road games are always tough, but top teams take care of those games. To make things harder for the hawkeyes, they have to face #4 Penn State on Friday and go on the road at #2 Maryland to close out the season. The Hawkeyes need a big win heading into the conference tournament to give them momentum.
Other Thoughts:
-Boston College rebounded nicely after dropping Louisville. Back up to #14.
-Nice win for Michigan, knocking off Northwestern.
-Can't go up when you're already on top, but UNC defeated their rival, Duke, on the road to solidify their top spot.
-Stanford just can't stop winning. Nine game winning streak now.
-Unrelated to the poll, but I cannot wait to see the conference tournaments start. Definitely going to be an exciting time
Biggest Winner: Wake Forest. The demon deacons lost a heartbreaking overtime game two weeks ago to top ranked UNC. This past weekend, Wake Forest came in ready to win and they took down then #6 Virginia on the road and #10 Syracuse. The squad moved up two spots to #11, but they could jump into the top 10 with a win over North Carolina this upcoming Friday.
Biggest Loser: Honestly this was tough to pick this week. There was no shocking upset or team that looked like they were headed in the complete wrong direction. Because of that, I am picking Iowa as the biggest loser this week. They lost on the road at unranked Michigan State. Road games are always tough, but top teams take care of those games. To make things harder for the hawkeyes, they have to face #4 Penn State on Friday and go on the road at #2 Maryland to close out the season. The Hawkeyes need a big win heading into the conference tournament to give them momentum.
Other Thoughts:
-Boston College rebounded nicely after dropping Louisville. Back up to #14.
-Nice win for Michigan, knocking off Northwestern.
-Can't go up when you're already on top, but UNC defeated their rival, Duke, on the road to solidify their top spot.
-Stanford just can't stop winning. Nine game winning streak now.
-Unrelated to the poll, but I cannot wait to see the conference tournaments start. Definitely going to be an exciting time
Monday, October 20, 2014
Ivy League Roundup (October 20 edition)
Four teams are tied for first place. Four teams. This past week did not separate many teams from contention and the Ivy League is heating up. Let's start by looking at what happened in the last week, starting with the games.
October 15:
Maryland 8 at Princeton 1
October 18:
Yale 2 at Dartmouth 4
Brown 0 at Princeton 4
Cornell 1 at Harvard 2
Columbia 4 at Penn 3 (overtime)
October 19:
Longwood 0 at Penn 5
Columbia 2 at Delaware 1
Yale 3 at Connecticut 8
New Hampshire 1 at Harvard 0 (overtime)
Dartmouth 0 at Mass-Lowell 1
League Standings:
1) Columbia 10-4 (3-1)
Cornell 8-4 (3-1)
Dartmouth 5-8 (3-1)
Princeton 4-9 (3-1)
5) Harvard 8-5 (2-2)
6) Brown 8-4 (1-3)
Penn 5-7 (1-3)
8) Yale 2-11 (0-4)
Game of the Week: The honor this weeks goes to Columbia and Penn for their 4-3 overtime thriller. Something about sudden death makes games more exciting. Congrats to both teams!
Team of the Week: Columbia wins for team of the week. The squad went 2-0 over the weekend with a win over Penn to move into a four way tie for first place in the league.
Upcoming Game to Watch: Dartmouth at Columbia, Sunday at noon eastern. Columbia has been on a tear recently and is looking to break the deadlock at the top. Dartmouth on the other hand had been down until conference play started, where their NCAA hopes and dreams now lie. Both teams are coming into this match strong and it should be a great one.
General Notes:
-Last week's Cornell-Harvard game of the week definitely did not let us down. With the win, Cornell is tied for first in the league.
-With three match weeks to go, the conference still has plenty of contenders. This upcoming weekend should be incredibly exciting to see who truly can do it.
-Don't rule out Harvard this season. Going at Princeton and at Dartmouth will be a tough task, but if the Crimson play at the level they have shown in earlier matches, they could pull it off.
Thanks for reading and enjoy the games!
October 15:
Maryland 8 at Princeton 1
October 18:
Yale 2 at Dartmouth 4
Brown 0 at Princeton 4
Cornell 1 at Harvard 2
Columbia 4 at Penn 3 (overtime)
October 19:
Longwood 0 at Penn 5
Columbia 2 at Delaware 1
Yale 3 at Connecticut 8
New Hampshire 1 at Harvard 0 (overtime)
Dartmouth 0 at Mass-Lowell 1
League Standings:
1) Columbia 10-4 (3-1)
Cornell 8-4 (3-1)
Dartmouth 5-8 (3-1)
Princeton 4-9 (3-1)
5) Harvard 8-5 (2-2)
6) Brown 8-4 (1-3)
Penn 5-7 (1-3)
8) Yale 2-11 (0-4)
Game of the Week: The honor this weeks goes to Columbia and Penn for their 4-3 overtime thriller. Something about sudden death makes games more exciting. Congrats to both teams!
Team of the Week: Columbia wins for team of the week. The squad went 2-0 over the weekend with a win over Penn to move into a four way tie for first place in the league.
Upcoming Game to Watch: Dartmouth at Columbia, Sunday at noon eastern. Columbia has been on a tear recently and is looking to break the deadlock at the top. Dartmouth on the other hand had been down until conference play started, where their NCAA hopes and dreams now lie. Both teams are coming into this match strong and it should be a great one.
General Notes:
-Last week's Cornell-Harvard game of the week definitely did not let us down. With the win, Cornell is tied for first in the league.
-With three match weeks to go, the conference still has plenty of contenders. This upcoming weekend should be incredibly exciting to see who truly can do it.
-Don't rule out Harvard this season. Going at Princeton and at Dartmouth will be a tough task, but if the Crimson play at the level they have shown in earlier matches, they could pull it off.
Thanks for reading and enjoy the games!
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Ivy League Roundup (October 14 edition)
There may have been a break from conference play, but that does not mean that we are going to take a break from talking about Ivy League field hockey! Teams still played, so let's take a look at the games. Lots of midweek action took place, so we will start there.
October 8:
Brown 1 at Quinnipiac 3
Bryant 0 at Yale 1
October 9:
Monmouth 4 at Penn 2
October 10:
Towson 3 at Columbia 5
Delaware 2 at Princeton 1 (2OT)
October 11:
Albany 3 at Dartmouth 1
Yale 0 at Maine 4
October 12:
Lehigh 2 at Brown 4
Penn 0 at Maryland 9
Harvard 3 at Fairfield 0
Massachussetts 2 at Columbia 3
Syracuse 5 at Cornell 0
October 13:
Providence 0 at Brown 2
Holy Cross 4 at Dartmouth 5 (OT)
League Standings:
1) Cornell 8-3 (3-0)
2) Columbia 8-4 (2-1)
Dartmouth 4-7 (2-1)
Princeton 3-8 (2-1)
5) Brown 8-3 (1-2)
Harvard 7-4 (1-2)
Penn 4-6 (1-2)
8) Yale 2-9 (0-3)
Player of the Week: The honor this week went to Junior Christina Freibott of Columbia. She recorded a goal and four assists during the last week, which made her worthy of the award. This is the first time that she has won it. Congratulations Christina!
Game of the Week: A lot of good games were played, but the honor goes to Dartmouth and Holy Cross. Their 5-4 two overtime game was thrilling and high scoring, so it wins for game of the week.
Team of the Week: Brown was the team of the week. They went 2-1 on the week with wins over Providence and Lehigh and a loss to Quinnipiac.
The teams return to Ivy League action this next weekend and the race for the championship is heating up. Cornell currently leads with three wins and no losses, but Columbia, Dartmouth, and Princeton are sitting close behind with only one loss. The biggest upcoming game to watch in the next week is Saturday when Cornell travels to Harvard. Cornell is 3-0 in Ivy play, but Harvard is 7-4 overall and has faced tough opponents. Harvard on the road is a touch matchup for Cornell, and that makes this the game to watch this upcoming weekend.
October 8:
Brown 1 at Quinnipiac 3
Bryant 0 at Yale 1
October 9:
Monmouth 4 at Penn 2
October 10:
Towson 3 at Columbia 5
Delaware 2 at Princeton 1 (2OT)
October 11:
Albany 3 at Dartmouth 1
Yale 0 at Maine 4
October 12:
Lehigh 2 at Brown 4
Penn 0 at Maryland 9
Harvard 3 at Fairfield 0
Massachussetts 2 at Columbia 3
Syracuse 5 at Cornell 0
October 13:
Providence 0 at Brown 2
Holy Cross 4 at Dartmouth 5 (OT)
League Standings:
1) Cornell 8-3 (3-0)
2) Columbia 8-4 (2-1)
Dartmouth 4-7 (2-1)
Princeton 3-8 (2-1)
5) Brown 8-3 (1-2)
Harvard 7-4 (1-2)
Penn 4-6 (1-2)
8) Yale 2-9 (0-3)
Player of the Week: The honor this week went to Junior Christina Freibott of Columbia. She recorded a goal and four assists during the last week, which made her worthy of the award. This is the first time that she has won it. Congratulations Christina!
Game of the Week: A lot of good games were played, but the honor goes to Dartmouth and Holy Cross. Their 5-4 two overtime game was thrilling and high scoring, so it wins for game of the week.
Team of the Week: Brown was the team of the week. They went 2-1 on the week with wins over Providence and Lehigh and a loss to Quinnipiac.
The teams return to Ivy League action this next weekend and the race for the championship is heating up. Cornell currently leads with three wins and no losses, but Columbia, Dartmouth, and Princeton are sitting close behind with only one loss. The biggest upcoming game to watch in the next week is Saturday when Cornell travels to Harvard. Cornell is 3-0 in Ivy play, but Harvard is 7-4 overall and has faced tough opponents. Harvard on the road is a touch matchup for Cornell, and that makes this the game to watch this upcoming weekend.
Week 6 coaches poll
Hi all. Another tuesday brings us another coaches poll to look at an examine. So let's get started.
To start, North Carolina retained their number one ranking. This was never really in doubt though, because the tar heels outscored their opponents 15-1 over the weekend.
Biggest winner: Definitely Stanford. The cardinal only has one loss on the season with that loss coming to #11 Albany. Why did the cardinal just now move up to #3 though? Over the weekend they went on the road to take down #8 Northwestern (now #9) and #14 Michigan. Stanford may not have the impressive or grueling conference schedule that others have, but Stanford simply does not lose and the coaches are taking notice. Because of this, Stanford has been rewarded with the highest rank in program history.
Biggest loser: A tough one, but Boston College. The eagles have faced top notch opponents all season, but have lost four of their last six games, and all of the losses have come in overtime. If that sounds like a lot of overtime games, it is. The eagles have played the most overtime games in division one this year. While Boston College has slid down to #17, it is entirely possible for them to rebound. They face Louisville next weekend, and a win on the road will definitely put the eagles on the right track.
Other thoughts:
-UCONN is climbing back up the rankings, now up to #4.
-Maine enters the rankings for the first time this year at #20.
Biggest winner: Definitely Stanford. The cardinal only has one loss on the season with that loss coming to #11 Albany. Why did the cardinal just now move up to #3 though? Over the weekend they went on the road to take down #8 Northwestern (now #9) and #14 Michigan. Stanford may not have the impressive or grueling conference schedule that others have, but Stanford simply does not lose and the coaches are taking notice. Because of this, Stanford has been rewarded with the highest rank in program history.
Biggest loser: A tough one, but Boston College. The eagles have faced top notch opponents all season, but have lost four of their last six games, and all of the losses have come in overtime. If that sounds like a lot of overtime games, it is. The eagles have played the most overtime games in division one this year. While Boston College has slid down to #17, it is entirely possible for them to rebound. They face Louisville next weekend, and a win on the road will definitely put the eagles on the right track.
Other thoughts:
-UCONN is climbing back up the rankings, now up to #4.
-Maine enters the rankings for the first time this year at #20.
Friday, October 10, 2014
What To Watch For (October 10-12 edition)
Last weekend saw a lot of great teams face each other and a lot of games going into overtime. Now that October is in full swing we have another great slate of games for this weekend. But who is playing who and what games are the biggest? Let's look at the top three.
3) #5 Louisville at #13 Syracuse (Saturday)
The cardinals have been shooting up the charts each week and are now sitting pretty at #5. This is the first time that Louisville has entered the top 5 since 2002 and they look to stay there. They certainly have the impressive resume to be worthy of #5, however most of their big wins have come at home. Traveling on the road to Syracuse is a tough test for #5, but it should bring us great hockey. Syracuse is no slacker either and had a brutal end to september playing three top 11 teams in the span of 8 days.
2) #7 Stanford at #8 Northwestern (Friday)
Last Sunday, Northwestern got the chance to knock off then #7 Iowa in Iowa with an impressive 3-1 victory. Tonight they will get another shot at knocking off the #7 team when they take on Stanford in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Currently both teams are riding six game winning streaks, which makes this game even more exiting because one team has to lose tonight. this is Stanford's last big weekend in the regular season, so the cardinal is going to need to make a statement on Friday night.
1) #4 Penn State at #2 Maryland (Friday)
It still feels a bit weird to see Maryland in Big 10 play, but seeing them playing against the top teams is not unusual at all. Penn State is sitting at #4 this week and has a record of 10-2. The Nittany Lions only losses have come to ranked teams in overtime so clearly they are ready for a huge matchup with the #2 team in the country, Maryland. The home side Maryland has faced eight ranked sides already this season and has been impressive all season long. This may not have the excitement of a 1 vs 2 matchup, but there is definitely going to be an amazing atmosphere in College Park this afternoon. For those that have the Big 10 network and Big 10 to go, the game will be available at 3:30 pm today.
Honorable mentions this week: Friday- Old Dominion at Connecticut, Michigan at Iowa, Boston College at Duke. Saturday- Michigan State at Indiana. Sunday- Wake Forest at Virginia, Connecticut at Boston U.
3) #5 Louisville at #13 Syracuse (Saturday)
The cardinals have been shooting up the charts each week and are now sitting pretty at #5. This is the first time that Louisville has entered the top 5 since 2002 and they look to stay there. They certainly have the impressive resume to be worthy of #5, however most of their big wins have come at home. Traveling on the road to Syracuse is a tough test for #5, but it should bring us great hockey. Syracuse is no slacker either and had a brutal end to september playing three top 11 teams in the span of 8 days.
2) #7 Stanford at #8 Northwestern (Friday)
Last Sunday, Northwestern got the chance to knock off then #7 Iowa in Iowa with an impressive 3-1 victory. Tonight they will get another shot at knocking off the #7 team when they take on Stanford in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Currently both teams are riding six game winning streaks, which makes this game even more exiting because one team has to lose tonight. this is Stanford's last big weekend in the regular season, so the cardinal is going to need to make a statement on Friday night.
1) #4 Penn State at #2 Maryland (Friday)
It still feels a bit weird to see Maryland in Big 10 play, but seeing them playing against the top teams is not unusual at all. Penn State is sitting at #4 this week and has a record of 10-2. The Nittany Lions only losses have come to ranked teams in overtime so clearly they are ready for a huge matchup with the #2 team in the country, Maryland. The home side Maryland has faced eight ranked sides already this season and has been impressive all season long. This may not have the excitement of a 1 vs 2 matchup, but there is definitely going to be an amazing atmosphere in College Park this afternoon. For those that have the Big 10 network and Big 10 to go, the game will be available at 3:30 pm today.
Honorable mentions this week: Friday- Old Dominion at Connecticut, Michigan at Iowa, Boston College at Duke. Saturday- Michigan State at Indiana. Sunday- Wake Forest at Virginia, Connecticut at Boston U.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Ivy League Roundup (October 7th edition)
Another week and more exciting games in the Ivy League. Let's take a look at what happened last weekend.
Princeton 2 at Columbia 3
Yale 0 at Cornell 4
Penn 3 at Dartmouth 4
Harvard 3 at Brown 4 (2 OT)
The teams then took the field in non-conference matchups on Sunday.
American 1 at Cornell 0
Columbia 3 at Hofstra 4 (OT)
Syracuse 4 at Princeton 3 (2 OT)
Sienna 2 at Brown 3
Harvard 1 at Boston U 3
Current league standings:
1) Cornell 8-2 (3-0)
2) Columbia 6-4 (2-1)
3) Dartmouth 3-6 (2-1)
4) Princeton 3-7 (2-1)
5) Brown 6-2 (1-2)
6) Harvard 6-4 (1-2)
7) Penn 4-4 (1-2)
8) Yale 1-8 (0-3)
Team of the week award goes to Brown, who went 2-0 on the week with a dramatic double overtime win over Harvard and then beat Sienna to improve to 6-2 on the season. Congratulations to the bears.
Other notes:
-Princeton may have went 0-2 this week, but they put up a fight against nationally ranked syracuse. The orange prevailed in dramatic fashion in the second overtime.
-League leading Cornell has only given up one goal in Ivy play so far. Their hot defense has been a huge factor in their 8-2 start to the season.
-Dartmouth may have started the season in rocky fashion, but their offense has been a catalyst in their recent Ivy successes, scoring 11 goals in league play.
That does it for this week, come back next week to see how these teams do.
Princeton 2 at Columbia 3
Yale 0 at Cornell 4
Penn 3 at Dartmouth 4
Harvard 3 at Brown 4 (2 OT)
The teams then took the field in non-conference matchups on Sunday.
American 1 at Cornell 0
Columbia 3 at Hofstra 4 (OT)
Syracuse 4 at Princeton 3 (2 OT)
Sienna 2 at Brown 3
Harvard 1 at Boston U 3
Current league standings:
1) Cornell 8-2 (3-0)
2) Columbia 6-4 (2-1)
3) Dartmouth 3-6 (2-1)
4) Princeton 3-7 (2-1)
5) Brown 6-2 (1-2)
6) Harvard 6-4 (1-2)
7) Penn 4-4 (1-2)
8) Yale 1-8 (0-3)
Team of the week award goes to Brown, who went 2-0 on the week with a dramatic double overtime win over Harvard and then beat Sienna to improve to 6-2 on the season. Congratulations to the bears.
Other notes:
-Princeton may have went 0-2 this week, but they put up a fight against nationally ranked syracuse. The orange prevailed in dramatic fashion in the second overtime.
-League leading Cornell has only given up one goal in Ivy play so far. Their hot defense has been a huge factor in their 8-2 start to the season.
-Dartmouth may have started the season in rocky fashion, but their offense has been a catalyst in their recent Ivy successes, scoring 11 goals in league play.
That does it for this week, come back next week to see how these teams do.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Week 5 polls
With another Tuesday brings another Coaches poll
So who are the biggest winners and the biggest losers?
The biggest two winners are currently sitting in 4th and 5th place. Penn State went 2-0 this week while many of the teams that were ahead of them lost. The other big climber, Louisville, jumped up the polls thanks to a win over then #4 Duke and then #15 Michigan. Both teams deserve to see their stocks rise and they will definitely be tested in big games coming up.
Who dropped? Duke dropped the game against Louisville and saw themselves fall from #4 to #9. Duke has had a lot of strong wins this season though, so it would not be surprising to see them pull off a few more big wins and go back into the top five. Boston College fell to #12 this week after two heartbreaking overtime loses against Wake Forest and Northwestern. Both games were close and exciting as overtime usually is.
There are many matchups this upcoming weekend involving ranked teams going head to head, so we will see some changes in the next week. While the polls give us a good idea of how good the teams are, the actual games tell us the real story.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
What to watch for (October 3-5 weekend)
Another exciting weekend of college field hockey is finally almost here. Last weekend brought us huge games and we saw teams fall and team rise. What will this weekend bring? Let us start by looking at the top three games to watch for!
3) #11 Northwestern at #7 Iowa-Sunday
Both of these teams have been sneaky good all season long so look for this to be a sneaky good game. This is the Northwestern team that beat Maryland earlier in the season and took Connecticut to overtime, and Iowa is strong too. Look for this to be the best game on Sunday.
2) #4 Duke at #12 Louisville-Friday
Duke has been steadily lurking in the rankings for weeks now with their only loss coming against Virginia. This game will prove to be a big test for them heading on the road to face another ranked team. A win for Duke will solidify their top 5 ranking. Louisville is coming off of a loss to Liberty and a win over a top 5 team will boost their confidence and set them on the right track with other ranked opponents coming up.
1) #3 Virginia at #1 North Carolina-Friday
Brutal schedule for North Carolina. Last weekend they played Boston College and Connecticut and now they play Virginia? Regardless, this is going to be a great game and the high scoring Virginia offense looks to be tested by the tar heels defense.
Now we just have to wait for the games to get here. What do you think the biggest games are?
3) #11 Northwestern at #7 Iowa-Sunday
Both of these teams have been sneaky good all season long so look for this to be a sneaky good game. This is the Northwestern team that beat Maryland earlier in the season and took Connecticut to overtime, and Iowa is strong too. Look for this to be the best game on Sunday.
2) #4 Duke at #12 Louisville-Friday
Duke has been steadily lurking in the rankings for weeks now with their only loss coming against Virginia. This game will prove to be a big test for them heading on the road to face another ranked team. A win for Duke will solidify their top 5 ranking. Louisville is coming off of a loss to Liberty and a win over a top 5 team will boost their confidence and set them on the right track with other ranked opponents coming up.
1) #3 Virginia at #1 North Carolina-Friday
Brutal schedule for North Carolina. Last weekend they played Boston College and Connecticut and now they play Virginia? Regardless, this is going to be a great game and the high scoring Virginia offense looks to be tested by the tar heels defense.
Now we just have to wait for the games to get here. What do you think the biggest games are?
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