Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Voices - Erin Weinstein, Women's Lacrosse
3/27/2007 8:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
March 27, 2007
Hi again - I'm back! I apologize in advance for the length of this entry, but a lot of great things have happened for Bucknell Women's Lacrosse in the weeks since my last entry. We opened up our game schedule with two very tough teams in preparation for Patriot League play, UMBC and Penn State. Although we lost to both, the important thing is that we learned from both experiences, mainly what we needed to work on as a team. Even though these types of games count on the "wrong" side of our record, they are crucial games to play in the beginning of a season; a team does not learn its weaknesses from crushing opponents.
After these two losses, we were ready to get a win. Unfortunately, that's not exactly how our next game played out. We hosted Robert Morris for our home opener, and if any of the girls on the team are reading this, they'll probably skip over the next few lines until I start a new topic...I think I speak for us all, including our coaches, when I say that Robert Morris is a game that will continue to aggravate me much longer than I would like. We lost 9-8 literally in the last second (which is debatable, I must add), but the loss itself was not the worst part; the most frustrating aspect of this game was that we lowered our level of play to that of a team we could have beaten pretty emphatically. As an athlete, that is the worst type of loss.
Anyway, now we're 0-3. We had a full week of practice between Robert Morris and leaving for West Palm Beach, Florida (our spring break). We had one game in Florida, against Long Island University, scheduled for Monday. We flew down Saturday morning - and I mean morning - we left at 4 a.m. Once we were settled into our hotel, we practiced both Saturday night and Sunday, and even another short practice on Monday, to prepare for Monday night. (Practicing in Florida was quite different than practicing on Graham Field with its snowy lining - we were taking water breaks approximately every six minutes.) Monday night was a HUGE success for us: we crushed LIU. Normally, this type of win is the least satisfying because a mismatched competition does not require much motivation, however, at this point in our season it was exactly what we needed. We came back from Robert Morris and proved that we could maintain our level of play against any competition; it was a game that our entire team got to play in, which always makes the experience more enjoyable, and most importantly, we regained our confidence. This win, and all the time we spent together in West Palm Beach was so valuable for us as a team, and as a senior, it just emphasized how much I will miss being a part of a team, especially this team.
We finished out spring break 1-3, and flew home eager to take on Duquesne. However, almost precisely upon our arrival home, the Lewisburg weather and the Bucknell Women's Lacrosse team had it out, and as usual the weather won. The snowfall that should have happened in December pushed our Duquesne game back a day, but being as accustomed to the weather as we are, we did not falter. Duquesne was a much tougher competition than LIU, but we fought hard until the clock ran out, and we came out on top. This was a great victory for us because we showed that we could maintain our competitiveness against a team that was an even skill match to us in a game where the cliché concepts of heart and desire are what differentiate the winning team from the losing team.
Now we're 2-3. We had Manhattan College next, our second home game, and potentially our first win on Graham Field. Once again, Lewisburg weather had a say; the lightning alarm went off about five minutes prior to game time. We had a short rain delay, but came out strong nevertheless. We never gave Manhattan a chance; we led the entire game. This game was a bit of an uneven skill match, but once again, we rose above, and maintained our level of play.
Now we're 3-3, and we start Patriot League play. We traveled to Lehigh this past Saturday for our first league game. As upperclassmen, we play a fine line between trying to get the freshmen as excited for Patriot League play as we are without scaring them with the fact that these games are what matter for our success. I think we got it right this year. We battled Lehigh for 60 minutes, with the lead changing several times, and the score being tied several times. We knew we had proven ourselves against weaker opponents, and against tough opponents in games we had always been leading, but we had yet to prove ourselves in a game against a tough opponent when it was obvious by the score at several different points in the game that the other team could win. With about two minutes left in the game, the score was tied. In those next two minutes, we scored, and held them scoreless, and when the buzzer sounded, it was 13-12, us. This was by far my favorite victory so far because I think it shows how far we've come as a team since the end of preseason. We lost three straight games to begin our season, and instead of becoming (I'll use my Coach's favorite word) "complacent," we stepped up to each of the following games, winning all four. Our team has an amazing amount of skill in each individual player, and we are finally putting that skill together. This is by far the most fun I've had during a lacrosse season, and I'm sure that our recent success has something to do with that, but the girls on this team are unquestionably the main reason behind my enjoyment.
Now we're 4-3, and taking on UC Davis at home tomorrow. Last year we played UC Davis during our spring break trip, and that game has the same effect on me as this year's Robert Morris, thus I will not go into detail. Suffice it to say, they have no idea what's waiting for them on Graham Field.
- Erin Weinstein, Bucknell Women's Lacrosse
