ACC conference tournament preview

We start our coverage of conference tournaments with the ACC. A lot is on the line this week for schools across the country as they enter into the postseason. Some teams are looking to solidify their dominance and others are looking to win their conference tournament so that they can make it to the tournament. First up, the ACC.

As most know, the ACC has been the dominate conference for a long time in the sport of field hockey. In the 2013 NCAA tournament they had three of the four teams in the final four. To make matters even more impressive, all seven ACC schools with field hockey programs made the NCAA tournament field. No other conference had that many qualify.

This year the ACC looks to repeat that accomplishment. All seven schools are in the top 13 of the most recent coaches poll and the teams were almost even in conference play, with the regular season champion Virginia going 4-2 in conference play.

The teams finished conference play in the following order:
1) Virginia
2) North Carolina
3) Boston College
4) Wake Forest
5) Louisville
6) Syracuse
7) Duke

Now let's take a look at the bracket

With a seven team field, the top team, Virginia, gets a bye into the semifinals. Lucky for us fans, all games are going to be broadcast on ESPN3. Let's take a look at Thursday's quarterfinals matchups.

Game 1: #5 Louisville vs. #4 Wake Forest

Louisville has definitely made waves in their first ACC field hockey season as they went 3-3 in the conference with wins over North Carolina, Duke, and oh yeah, Wake Forest. In a matchup at the end of September, Louisville defeated Wake Forest in Winston-Salem 2-1 in Overtime. The game was a thriller and the sequel looks to be as well. While Wake Forest lost the home match to the Cardinals, the Demon Deacons have been on a roll recently with losses only against North Carolina and wins over Syracuse, Virginia, and Boston College. 

Players to watch for: Wake Forest- Look for senior midfielder Anna Kozniuk to be a difference maker in the match. Last season she was a second team All-American and this year she leads the team with 13 goals. Kozniuk is dangerous, so look for her to score for Wake Forest.

Louisville- The Cardinals tend to spread out their attack, but junior midfielder Elisa Garcia is almost always involved. She takes a lot of shots (20 on goal) and scores regularly (six goals). More impressively, she has 13 assists this season and has had several games with multiple points. 

Prediction- Louisville won round one earlier this season and has an explosive offense, so I'm going with Louisville to take this one. The Cardinals have scored 61 goals this season and average only 1.71 goals against, so look for them to win their first ever ACC tournament game.

Game 2: #7 Duke vs. #2 North Carolina

Ah the Tobacco Road Rivalry. This game has major implications with both teams being in the top six in the country and meeting in the first round of the ACC tournament. This is probably going to be the biggest game of day one and for good reasons. Duke is hosting the tournament this year, but the Tar Heels already beat the Blue Devils on their home field last month. This game looks to be a classic, with both teams looking impressive heading into the matchup.

Players to watch for: North Carolina- Senior forward Loren Shealy. Throughout her career, Shealy has been a superstar both on and off the field. This season she is leading the team in points with 28 and she has 10 goals in her senior season. Oh, and she is one smart cookie too with plenty of academic awards along with being a Robertson Scholar. Look for her to be a playmaker in this matchup.

Duke- Throughout the season Duke has relied on a top notch defense to get the job done, so look for redshirt junior goalie Lauren Blazing to be the key player for Duke. This season she has been on fire, averaging 1.06 goals against and has made 68 saves. This season she has six shutouts. Also, Blazing has winning experience as she was the starting goalie last season in Duke's run to the national championship game. 

Prediction- Offense vs. Defense. While defense has led Duke this far, the Tar Heels have an even better defense, leading the conference in goals against average. The last meeting was a 1-0 game, and I think North Carolina will win this one in similar fashion.

Game 3: Syracuse vs Boston College

Rivals are not limited to Tobacco Road on day one of the ACC tournament. Northeast rivals Syracuse and Boston College meet in the last game of the day and it should be a great game. Syracuse is averaging 4.44 goals per game, yet Boston College has played in an absurd eight overtime games this season. Will the Eagles and Orange take this one to overtime? Their last meeting was in September when Syracuse was #4 in the nation. Boston College defeated them in overtime 3-2 in a truly dramatic fashion. Both teams are riding win streaks and will be ready to go on Thursday.

Players to watch for: Syracuse- The Orange have had a powerful offense all season and this has been led by freshmen midfielder Lieke Visser. The Dutch phenom has had 17 assists this season and is second in the ACC in points. Visser is not afraid to shoot the ball, so look for her to make a difference on Thursday.

Boston College- Because they have been fantastic all season long, I have to pick two for Boston College. Sophomore twins Emily and Eryn McCoy are both my pick for player to watch for. Both of them are goal scorers, with Emily leading the team with 10 goals and Eryn scoring 9 goals. They have been leaders on this team that has seen ups and downs and they will be difference makers in the tournament.

Prediction- Syracuse is currently #2 in the ACC in scoring margin and is averaging an impressive 4.44 goals per game. Despite that, I have to pick Boston College in this game. The Eagles are a team who goes down swinging and has pulled off some great overtime victories this season, going 4-4 in overtime games. I think the Eagles will prevail in this matchup, but of course it will be dramatic and go into overtime.

Now let's talk about Virginia.

The Cavaliers escape the first day of the tournament because they were the regular season conference champion. The season has seen them play amazing hockey as they scored 61 goals. During the middle of the season they won nine straight games with wins over Louisville, Duke, Syracuse, and North Carolina. At the same time though, they have lost four of their last five games and their one win was over Liberty in overtime. 

Player to watch for- It all revolves around freshman midfielder Tara Vittese for the Cavaliers. Vittese is a sensational player with 51 points this season. She is one of the top players in the country this season and already has quiet a bit of international experience. Look for Vittese to be the difference maker in the Cavaliers semifinal matchup.

Semifinals predictions:

First, lets look at the matchups that I predicted:

#1 Virginia vs. #5 Louisville

#2 North Carolina vs. #3 Boston College.

Form matters, and Louisville has looked impressive recently. Because of that, I am predicting that Louisville will win this game. As for the other semifinal, the Tar Heels will have almost a home crowd and have been impressive all season look. I think North Carolina will win.

Finals Prediction:

North Carolina over Louisville. The Cards have been impressive in their first ever ACC season, but North Carolina will be too much to handle and will win the tournament in Durham.

What do you think? Who will win the tournament and what players will stand out? Let us know.

Previewing the Battle of the Wolverine State

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.

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.

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

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!

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.

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.