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Fightin' Phils History Lesson

Active Sara — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:05:55 GMT

In order to get my friends who are not from Philadelphia excited to watch Game One tonight I put together a little history for them, including facts about me and the Phils. I'm posting it here and sending it along to them so they can understand why the lunatic Philadelphia fans, myself included, are going absolutely nuts about are chances at winning the franchise's second World Series ever and the first Philadelphia pro sports championship since 1983 when the Sixers won it. I have never seen a Philadelphia team go all the way in my lifetime, but that will soon change.

Here goes...

- The age of the team combined with its history of adversity has earned them the distinction of having lost the most games of any team in the history of MLB.

- The Phillies have won one World Series championship...against Kansas City in 1980 and six National League pennants in their history.

- Phillies were founded in 1883 and were originally called the Quakers. They then became the Philadelphians. They officially became the Phillies in 1890.

- Won first pennant in 1915

- From 1918 to 1948 they had only one winning season. Ouch!

- William Cox bought the Phils in 1943 and they started to kill it, then it was revealed that Cox was betting on the Phils. Whoops. He was banned from baseball. So, the new owner Bob Carpenter, Jr. tried to improve the image of the Phillies by changing their name to the Blue Jays. Bad idea. The name didn’t stick and was dropped by 1949.

- Thanks to the “Whiz Kids” (lead by future Hall of Famers Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts) the Phils became good and popular forcing cross-town Athletics to peace out for Kansas City then Oakland. Good riddance!

- After a run of three straight division titles from 1976 to 1978, the Phillies won the NL East in 1980. I have a baseball signed by the whole 1978 Philadelphia Phillies team. My Dads bro somehow got it signed and gave it to me for my bday gift when I was like 12 or so cause I was really into the Phillies. Key players: Steve Carlton, Greg Luzinski, Mike Schmidt, Larry Bowa and Pete Rose. Hopefully my Mom hasn't thrown this out like she did my stellar baseball card collection which would have given me a nice chunk of change.

- Larry Bowa’s daughter, Tori, is friend's with Kristen and I've hung out with her. She's cool.

- Phils won the World Series in 1980…and that’s it.

- In 1991, Lenny Dykstra who was so legit and bad boyish crashed his red Mercedes into a tree on Darby-Paoli Road in RADNOR TOWNSHIP! For those of you who don't know, I'm from Radnor Township. “According to Radnor Township Police, Dykstra's blood alcohol content was 0.179 at the time of the crash.” He was on his way home from Kruk’s bachelor party. My favorite player Darren Daulton was sitting shotgun. I've hated Dykstra ever since cause he put the love of my life, Daulton, in harms way. Every time my dad drives past the site he points out the tree and says, “Dykstra’s tree” as if I haven't heard this a million times. There’s still a mark in the tree. Lesson: Don't drink and drive buddy!

- Best season since was 1993 when they lost to the Blue Jays in the 1993 World Series. I attended game three at the Vet. Joe Carter’s family was sitting in the row behind us and another Blue Jay's family was sitting next to us. We got the tickets through a family friend who represented a couple of the Blue Jays. BTW, Joe Carter homered to win Game 4 and the series for the Blue Jays. Totally awkward, but well worth it.

- The Phils lost in game 4.

- The strike in 1994 turned the city even more into an eagles town. Upside for me and my dad…cheap tickets…more games…and one of the highlights of my life...

- I threw out the first pitch for my birthday and threw it hard and in the strike zone. I got more applause then anyone else prob cause I was the only girl and puny. I couldn't throw it that well now.

- Every year John Connors (my best friend Kim’s dad) used to dress up as John Kruk in the thanksgiving parade. Legit everyone thought he was the real thing. Looked just like him.

- My favorite players come from this era when I loved baseball and the Phillies including Darren Daulton (who I later found out has numerous DUI’s and domestic violence charges against him...so I've dropped him since), Mickey Morandini (second base…the goods, had an unassisted triple play…big news), Mitch Williams (bad ass closer and totally that guy on the team), Kevin Stocker (I had his rookie card signed before my mom tossed my collection), Wes Chamberlain (hits the hell outta the ball) and John Kruk (out of shape, dirty, huge dipper, tar helmet…now he’s clean cut on ESPN…really has come along way).

- In 2001, the Phillies had their first winning season in 8 years.

- In 2004, the Phillies moved from the Vet to Citizens Bank Park, which is big but not as homey. Phils fans miss the Vet. They do sell only local food and drinks and make a mean cheesesteak there and "the Schmitter" is a fan favorite.

- "The Schmitter" which is apparently not named after Mike Schmidt - Kaiser roll, cheese, special sauce, tomatoes, grilled salami, fried onions and steak. You're going to need to eat this sitting and then sit for about 2 hours to digest.

- Citizen's Bank Park actually has the most healthy vegetarian menu in pro sports also. Believe it or not.

- In 2007, the Phils lost their 10,000th game. Congrats! Very proud. That same season they won the east pennant but lost in the division series.

- In 2008, the Phils clinched their second straight division title and defeated the Brewers and Carrie's husband, pitcher for the Brewers Dave Bush, in the Division Series to record the franchise’s first post-season victory since the 1993 world series. Bush grew up a Phillies fan so he can't be all that mad...take one for the team buddy. Thanks to our on-point pitching and offensive production from MOST (not all…they’ll need to wake up tonight...I'm looking at you Howard) of the starting lineup, the Phils won the 2008 National League Championship Series against the LA Dodgers. Hamels was named MVP and asked me to marry him, even though he’s not single.

- My favorite current player is Chase Utley. He's a genuine good guy and excellent leader on and off the field. He's young with a strong personality. Utley is seen in combination with Jimmy Rollins as one of the best middle-infield combinations in the NL. You'll see that tonight!

- Tonight, the Phils will win game one of the world series and Philadelphia will celebrate like they won the World Series...this will continue until they finally seal the deal. Be advised...fans went nuts and started a fire in the streets of West Chester last week after they beat LA to move on. Be safe!

Grab a Yuengling, TastyCake, soft pretzel, cheesesteak or whatever else you have around and starting chanting "Let's go Fightin' Phils! Woop woop!!

I hope you enjoyed my Philadelphia Phillies history lesson. Grab your jersey and let's make history!

Championship Weekend in Beantown

Active Sara — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:08:29 GMT

This past weekend I headed up to Boston for the Major League Lacrosse Championship. I have some friends that were playing for the championship and a bunch that met up to watch so it was a blast.

My friend from San Diego, who is the goalie for the LA Riptide, was awarded the 2008 Warrior Goalkeeper of the Year award before the games began on Saturday. Commissioner David Gross. gave out the award which was based on votes submitted by the general managers and head coaches of the ten MLL teams. It is the first time that Jarboe has earned the award in his career. Congrats Mickey!

Side Note: Six of us can be seen below wearing our "Jarboe's #1 Fan" t-shirts. Yay! Everyone in the picture played lacrosse with me at the University of Richmond and Katie in the center is my best friend from San Diego and her boyfriend just so happens to be the one and only - Mickey Jarboe. The t-shirt was an embarassing surprise for her!

I can never say no to free tickets so "Jarboe's #1 Fan's" parked it right on the sidelines in the Budweiser beer tent to watch the game from the best seats in the house.

In the first semi-final game on Saturday, the Rochester Rattlers defeated the Philadelphia Barrage in OT, 16-15. Rochester Rattlers attackman Casey Powell scored the game-winning goal just 45 seconds into overtime to give the Rattlers their first-ever play-off victory. The win also gave the Philadelphia Barrage their first-ever postseason loss after six straight prior to this year.

The second semi-final game, and the one I was looking forward to the most, was just as close as the first. Some of my good friends on the LA Riptide took a tough loss as they were defeated by the Denver Outlaws, 13-12. Denver Outlaws midfielder Jeff Sonke was on fire at the end of the game scoring the last four goals for the Outlaws, including a two-point goal with a couple minutes left to play, to give Denver the victory.

Although the LA Riptide guys were really disappointed by the outcome, they were still very grateful we were there, Mickey Jarboe especially, and were back in high spirits at the tailgate after the game.

On Sunday, the Rochester Rattlers won their first Major League Lacrosse title by defeating the Denver Outlaws with a 16-6 score. The semi-final games on Saturday were definitely way more exciting. Midfielder Joe Walters was named as the Bud Light Championship Weekend MVP after scoring six goals with five assists in the two games. He scored two goals with two assists in the championship game.

For more information check out the Major League Lacrosse website.

Men's 100m: Showdown or Jamica's Show?

Active Sara — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:13:01 GMT

Tyson Gay wasn't sure if he would even be at the Olympics due to a left hamstring injury he suffered in early July at the U.S. trials, but the 2007 world champion is eagerly awaiting a 100-meter dash showdown this weekend with Jamaica's Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt.

Gay owns the fastest wind-aided time in history with a 9.68, but his competitors hold the two fastest legal times in the history of the 100-meter dash. Powell held the world record of 9.74 until this spring when Bolt, who beat Gay, broke the record with a 9.72.

So even if Gay is 100 percent recovered as he claimed this week, he has to race his absolute best to beat Jamaica's flying duo. If he's healthy as he says, it will be an exciting showdown to watch as these three race to grab the gold.

What are your thoughts? Will Gay be able to bring one home for team USA?

Talk About Heart...

Active Sara — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:16:27 GMT

The U.S. women’s gymnastics team showed up to the National Indoor Stadium Sunday night ready to shine with a sure plan to qualify for the team final. Well, they qualified, but not with the same plan they had when they entered the stadium.

As team USA walked out onto the floor their was distress showing on their faces, but no one watching knew why. Next, Samantha Peszek, who was supposed to compete in all four events, never took off her warm-up suit. What was going on?

The announcers searched for answers, panning from coach, to Peszek, to her mother and back. As we later found out fifteen minutes into the competition, Peszek had sprained her ankle during warm up on the floor and did not seem to be competing at all.

The team was clearly stressed by the sudden change in plan, which was first obvious on their faces, but later even more evident when the first two U.S. gymnasts to compete, Bridget Sloan and Alicia Sacramone, stepped out of bounds during their floor routines.

Sacramone’s performance on the floor, which is usually her specialty, cost her a chance at competing in the individual finals. The U.S. team seemed to be crumbling right before our eyes.

Peszek did compete in the uneven bars and cleanly landed her dismount despite the painful ankle sprain she endured just a couple hours before. However, Peszek’s teammates, Chellsie Memmel and Nastia Liukin were not as lucky. Both had uncharacteristic falls in the event.

With Peszek out of three of the four events, the team was without a throwaway score on floor, vault and beam, which meant there was no room for mistakes if they wanted to go on to the team finals.

By the final rotation, the balance beam, team USA got it together and it might have been thanks to the pep talk Sacramone gave before her teammates took to the beam. They all nailed their routines.

In the end, team USA was in second place, despite an uncharacteristic performance by the defending champions. The girls huddled with their arms around each other and gave words of encouragement to one another and showing the fans watching on tv that team USA would be back, as the team to beat, in the finals. Watch out China!

Men's Gymnastics Gold Up For Grabs

Active Sara — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 23:08:05 GMT

The Men’s team final will take place tonight, the third day of Artistic Gymnastics competition, as eight teams will compete for the gold. In qualifications, China finished with 373.600 points, followed by Japan at 369.500 and Russia with 365.425, just .225 ahead of the Americans.

The favorite to win tonight is China, who dominated the qualification stage, but defending champion, Japan, will not go down without a fight. Japan delivered a decent performance at the qualification stage, and has the potential to get much better scores tonight.

Russia’s performance tonight may depend on whether or not Konstantin Pluzhnikov is able to participate. Pluzhnikov fell off the rings at the end of the session, landing on the back of his neck. He walked off the podum, then lay down on the sidelines as trainers diagnosed his injury. Pluzhnikov did walk off on his own at the end of the competition, but his status is still up in the air.

Although the Hamm brothers will not be competing in the Olympics this year, don’t count the U.S. out just yet. Sasha Artemev, who joined the squad Thursday night, and Raj Bhavsar are the Hamm brothers replacements, and both performed well the other night.

The 2004 Athens runner-up, who finished sixth in the qualifications, lacks experience, but not heart. The United States, led by fist-pumping Jonathan Horton, who went wild the other night during competition upon seeing a U.S. flag, knows they have a lot to prove and will do whatever it takes to not let everyone back home down.

Does the U.S. have enough heart to medal? Will anyone be able to overpower China? Who do you think will take home the gold tonight?

Richest Action Sports Event in the World

Active Sara — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:04:22 GMT

Well, I’ve heard of Dubai and I vaguely remember hearing something about ESPN somewhere (please laugh), but now the two have united to form a five-year collaboration to host the richest action sports event in the world. So if you’ve been thinking about getting serious about action sports now would be a good time to kick it in gear for a chance to not only compete in one of the coolest cities in the world, but also for a chance to win a 2.5 million dollar prize purse, a record for X Games and the action sports industry.

In an article on ESPN, Richard Attias, CEO, DEMC said, "DEMC prides itself on bringing the biggest and best events to the Middle East. Last year we brought sports fans in the region to the Dubai World Cup—the richest horse race in the world and the Dubai Tiger Woods Golf Classic. This year, we are pleased to work with ESPN to bring the richest action sports event to the Middle East."

The competition will be held December 11-13, 2008 in Dubai, UAE. Action filled events at the competition will include Skateboard and BMX street, Skateboard and BMX SuperPark, Moto X Racing, Freestyle and SuperMoto, and (drum roll please) a brand new X Games event that I know very little about, but is well-known in Dubai – ATV Enduro.

Here is a video from the ATVEnduro.com site:

It looks like a lot of fun and I’m interested to learn more about it. If it is in the X Games, I trust that it is just as legitimate and action packed as the rest of the event line-up they have for the Dubai X Games. I’m looking forward to tuning in and check it out.

Olympic Moment: Gold Shoes...Gold Medals

Active Sara — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:28:29 GMT

As the Olympic games get closer I keep thinking back to some of my favorite moments in Olympic history that I’ve had the opportunity to watch unfold on television. One of the most inspiring moments took place on the track in Atlanta at the 1996 games and involved a certain USA star and a flashy pair of gold shoes.

With one Olympic gold medal already won in the 400m, Michael Johnson approached the 200m mark relaxed and focused. All eyes were on him as he took his mark. He had set the world record on that very track in the 200m during the trails on June 23, 2006 with a time of 19.66, but no one had ever won the 400m and the 200m before. Could he do it?

The answer was clear from the moment the gun went off as Johnson raced out of the gate ahead of the competition. He pulled away as the runners came through the turn and into the top of the home straight-away. Mike Marsh, Jeff Williams and Carl Lewis raced to keep up through the final meters, but Johnson kicked it into high gear and blew them away in a jaw-dropping performance that left viewers wondering if this man really was human.

His time of 19.32 seconds has not only never been surpassed, it hasn’t even been threatened. He smashed the world record in the 200m while also becoming the first to double, bring home the gold in both the 400m and the 200m.

Michael Johnson and his flashy gold shoes flew by the competition in his breathtaking 200m in the 1996 Olympic Games held in Atlanta and his performance there will always be one of my favorite Olympic moments.

Men, 200 m

1. Michael Johnson USA 19,32 WR

2. Frankie Fredericks NAM 19,68

3. Ato Boldon TRI 19,80

4. Obadele Thompson BAR 20,14

5. Jeff Williams USA 20,17

6. Ivan Garcia CUB 20,21

7. Patrik Stevens BEL 20,27

8. Mike Marsh USA 20,48

What are some of your favorite Olympic moments in history?

This Weeks Best Endurance Posts

Active Sara — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:56:57 GMT

Before you head out for your weekend, check out some of this week's best posts from the Cool Running and Active communities:

• So why did we start running?

” Why did you start running? Do you come from a long line of runners? Nothing else to do and its better then watching tv? Perhaps you're a criminal and you need to build get-away speed? Seen others do it and you hate to miss out on anything?”

• Hydration Gear on Long Runs: What to use

” Triathlete training for her first marathon and would like any advice on hydration gear during long training runs: have a 2-bottle hydration belt, but those little curved bottles really don't hold much.”

• Endurance build up?

“ I've been running for 3 months now and would like to know why I'm feeling spent so often. Two weeks ago I was able to run 3.5 miles without feeling to spent.”

• What do you think about when swimming?

” Terry Laughlin's newest article talks about how some people zone out during activity in order to avoid thinking about pain, distance or whatever. He remarks that he once swam 9 miles with Louie, Louie stuck in his head.”

• Critical Mass Cyclist Assaulted by NYPD

“ I just read an interesting article in the New York Times regarding the investigation against an NYPD police officer in the Critical Mass YouTube video shown below.”

• Training for ½ Running on Grass

“ I am new to running,(at 48 yrs) as is never run before. I started running (slowly) in May and in July decided to train for a 1/2 in November. I have just done my longest run ever, 5 miles without stopping, using a training schedule I downloaded from RunnersWorld, on Monday I will try for 6.”

"I'm feelin' HOT, HOT, HOT!"

Active Sara — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:25:30 GMT

I spent this past weekend with the LaxPower.com crew in Annapolis, Maryland for the All-Star Express tournament, the nation’s largest, most prestigious women’s lacrosse tournament in the country. The tournament was first held in 1993 and quickly became the largest recruiting showcase in the country. Each year there are around 5,000 girl’s lacrosse players representing 250 teams who all play in front of a crowd of fans and college coaches.

I would say the majority of the college coaches were present and have been since the tournament started. All-Star Express was a very useful recruiting tool for me back in 1999-2000 when I played in it as I’m sure it still is today for many players.

It was just as hot as I remember with temperatures maxing out around 100 degrees on some days. I have no idea how the girl’s run up and down the field in that type of heat, but I guess I did the same thing back in the day. When you’re playing in front of an audience of college coaches you don’t have time to worry about the weather – you just play.

It’s really fun going to these tournaments because I get to see so many formers college players and current coaches who I have known throughout the years and it is always interesting to find out one of the high school players standing in front of you goes to the high school you attended, which happened to me twice.

I spent most of the weekend in the LaxPower.com tent answering questions, handing out giveaways, doing interviews and informing people about the most popular lacrosse website in the world. The majority of the lacrosse community uses the site or has an idea of what it is so mostly we were there to support the sport of lacrosse and stay involved whether it be talking to people or collecting content for the site.

DeBeer, which is one of the best lacrosse companies out there, had a tent next to ours at the National Draw a couple weeks ago and we were neighbors again at All-Star Express. They ran a lacrosse bingo scavenger hunt that many of the teams at the tournament participated in and one of their missions for the game was to put as many LaxPower.com stickers on their goalies helmet as possible. It got a bit insane as you can see below. That is a picture of a team and their goalie, who was covered head to toe in LaxPower.com stickers. The ended up winning brand new deBeer sticks for their whole team. You go girls!

Record Marks Set At U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials

Active Sara — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:11:06 GMT

It was an impressive weekend in the pool for Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff as both captured world records at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials.

You know it’s going to be an exciting meet when Phelps and Ryan Lochte jump in the pool. The two friends and rivals continued to push each other to new heights this weekend in the 400 IM and were neck and neck for the majority of the race. In the last 20 meters Phelps pulled away from Lochte to set a new world record with a finish of 4:05.25. Lochte came in less than a second later with a finish of 4:06.08. Both times beat Phelps’ previous world mark of 4:06.22. I have no doubt that the two competitors will be eager to go stroke for stroke again in August at the Beijing Games. It will be an exciting event that I will be sure to watch in a few short months.

Katie Hoff also broke a record on Sunday in the 400 IM with a finish of 4:31.12. Her time beats the previous world mark of 4:31.46 set March 22 by Stephanie Rice of Australia.

It should be a great year for the U.S. Olympic Swim Team!

It's that time of year for lacrosse fans...

Active Sara — Tue, 06 May 2008 18:17:28 GMT

It’s an exciting time of year for lacrosse as both the men's and women's NCAA tournament brackets have been announced and high school boy's and girl's championships are underway. It’s going to be an exciting couple weeks!

I’ve recently collected some of my favorite articles, blogs and videos from around the web to get all of you lacrosse fans out there pumped up for the best time of the year.

Before you do anything though, make sure you vote for your favorite men's and women's college players in the 2008 LaxPower Fan Awards at LaxPower.

Ever wonder what college athletes do to stay in shape in the offseason? Well, check out a recent article from ESPNU, Denver lacrosse player has unique offseason conditioning program, to learn how Andrew Bourke prepares himself during the summer months. We’ll see if Bourke’s training paid off when Denver faces Maryland in the First Round of NCAA’s this Sunday.

Which DI men's team has the best attack unit? This video from Quint's Corner will analyze the best and the best and might just tell you which team will take home an NCAA championship this year.

Maverick, a major lacrosse company for gear and apparel, recently announced that they will provide all the gear Florida's premier club team, the Fightin' Possums, will need to compete at the highest level. It's great for Maverick and it's awesome for lacrosse in Florida. Check out the article High School: Maverik to outfit Florida's Fightin' Possums to learn more before this team starts taking it to the competition in summer tournaments.

Head Coach Julie Myers and her UVA women's lacrosse team are always competitive in the big dance, but they haven't been able to come home with the crown since Northwestern took over in 2005. Check out this video from LaxPower and watch Myers describe her team. Will they be able to win it in 2008? Only time will tell.

Tyler Tolson is one of DIII’s high scorers, but his lacrosse career almost ended before high school. Find out why in the Inside Lacrosse article, Finding his footing before Tolson and the Lynchburg Hornet’s take on the Washington Shoremen in the second round of NCAA play this Saturday.

If you know someone or are someone who wants to play lacrosse in college make sure you check out the College Recruiting Timeline for Lacrosse in the Active Recruiting 101 special section to ensure you are doing everything you need to get that spot on a college lacrosse team.

Enjoy the best time of the year lacrosse fans!

NCAA Record...Broken.

Active Sara — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:15:22 GMT

I jumped over to Villanova Stadium on Tuesday night to watch a women’s lacrosse game between Villanova and the U.S. Naval Academy. I was excited to watch this game since it is Navy’s first year as a D-1 program and I expected them to be good considering they have an all-star coaching staff lead by former University of Maryland coach Cindy Timchal.

I was not disappointed as Erin Rawlick scored seven goals to lead the U.S. Naval Academy to a 19-8 victory over the Villanova Wildcats. Navy improves to 13-3 with the triumph while the `Cats drop to 4-12 on the campaign. The Mids broke the NCAA record for wins by a first-year program with 13. The old record of 12, held by North Carolina in 1996. I love hearing and seeing records being broken.

Highlights from the game:

Navy seized the early edge with two goals in the first 3 minutes of the contest. Katrina Nietsch fired a shot past Wildcat goalie Maggie Langan and Rawlick then scored her first goal a minute later. But Villanova answered with a Taryn McKenna goal – of an assist from freshman Mia Naccarato - and one from the stick of junior Katie Stone to even things at two.

However, the Mids grabbed the lead for good at the 21 minute mark when Rawlick scored on a free position shot. Next, Mary Ruttum, Nietsch and Meg Decker added goals for Navy. Villanova’s, Stone scored her second goal of the contest of a feed from freshman Nora Wallace tot narrow the gap to 6-3.

Navy scored three more times while Villanova tallied just once over the final 10 minutes of the first half due to some great defense by the Mids. The half ended with the score of 9-4 in favor of the Mids.

Rawlick picked up two more goals to extend the lead to 11-4 early in the second half before McKenna got one back for the Wildcats to make it 11-5. Rawlick then scored two more and Amanda Towey added another to push the Navy advantage to 14-5 with 21 minutes left in the game. Wallace notched an unassisted goal on a long run off a draw control for Villanova. Samantha McKillip and McKenna rounded out the Villanova scoring.

The final score was 19-8 in favor of the Mids. Navy owned a 38-14 edge in shots on the night. Langan made three saves in net for Villanova while Natalie Blandon made three in net for Navy.

Erin Rawlick was in a zone on Tuesday evening. The Navy sophomore scored seven goals for the Mids. Watch as she discusses the secrets to her success on the field.

Meg Decker continued to light up the scoreboard as the Freshman notched her 13th hat trick in a row. Watch as she explains why Navy was successful and what's it is like to be a freshman on the team.

Freshman Katrina Nietsch scored four points, including three goals in the win. Watch as she talks about her success and the Navy's victory.

I'm not sure what game I will be at next, but stay tuned for more action!

Who doesn't love an upset?

Active Sara — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:32:25 GMT

I headed over to Albert/Daly Field last Friday night, which is right down the street from my parent’s house in Virginia, to watch William & Mary play conference rival and 15th-ranked Towson University. We used to play both of these teams every year so I was eager to see how they were doing in 2008. William & Mary was able to hold on to the lead to beat Towson, 14-13. It was a great game! It’s always fun to see an upset.

Towson started things off and got a quick 2-0 lead as Fratzke collected a pair of goals before the game was even three minutes old. The Tribe quickly responded as Grace Golden scored two unassisted goals, bringing the game even at the 23:52 mark. Less than a minute later, Jamie Sellers broke the deadlock with a goal at 22:12, but her work was short-lived, as Towson pieced together a pair of free position goals, less than a minute apart, to regain the advantage, 4-3.

Five minutes later Clare Dennis scored to bring the Tribe even at 4-4. William & Mary freshman Ashley Holofcener threaded a perfect feed to Dennis, moving the Tribe out to a 5-4 lead. The Tribe would score again off a take from Sellars. Golden stretched the lead to 7-4, when she found her way to the cage at 9:36.

Towson’s McNamara scored at 7:05, but William & Mary quickly answered back with goals from Julia Martin and Katie Rees to rebuild the lead to 9-5. Sensing it needed to find some rhythm before halftime, the Tigers attack turned up the heat over the remainder of the half, firing off some point blank attempts that Geary turned away. Finally, with just :19 remaining, McNamara found an opening and got the ball over goal line and sent the two teams to half with the score at 9-6.

In the second half, William and Mary pushed its lead to 11-6, with goals from Sellers and Holofcener. Despite a pair of goals by Fratzke at 19:12 and 18:32, William & Mary seemed to remain in complete control of the action. Dennis and freshman attacker Maggie Anderson each turned in lightening strikes, to bring the game to 13-8.

However, Towson rallied back tightening up the game at 13-11 with 9:50 to play. Sellers made the Tigers’ pay with a goal to put the game at 14-11. Towson scored the game’s final two goals and put relentless pressure till the final seconds.

Here is one of my interviews with William & Mary goalie, Emily Geary. She had a great game and you can definitely tell in the interview how excited she was about the win. I also found out that Geary and I went to the same high school and played for the same coach. Small world!

I’m glad I caught the game and was able to get some good footage with interviews. Next, I’m headed to Villanova Stadium to see Villanova play Navy Tuesday night.

Walking Buddy

Active Sara — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:51:10 GMT

Since I have been back east I acquired a new walking buddy…

Meet my new puppy, Joey! He’s an 18 week old Morkie (Maltese and Yorkie) and is a ball full of energy. I walk him two times a day for a couple blocks at a time. He only weighs five pounds so we aren’t walking for long periods of time, but it’s a good addition to gym workouts. When he isn't running around playing with toys, he's sleeping. Being a dog is tough!

DJ's Story

Active Sara — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 02:56:31 GMT

University of Richmond '04 - Men's Soccer

For nearly as long as I can remember I have been participating in sports. I grew up playing baseball, basketball, soccer, golf, tennis and hockey in various leagues in the St. Louis area and continued doing so after moving to Virginia. In middle school I no longer had time to keep up with all of them and focused on soccer and baseball, my stronger two sports. In high school, playing on the Virginia Olympic Development Team, club team, high school team and traveling for all of them became too much, thus baseball fell by the wayside.

I traveled around the United States and even Europe a few times for various soccer tournaments and showcases so adjusted quickly to seeing the sidelines not only covered with parents, but with numerous recruiters as well. While it was certainly nerve-racking and intimidating at first, it soon gave me extra motivation to perform my best every time I stepped on the pitch. Soon after that I started receiving letters from various D-1, D-2 and D-3 schools up and down the east coast. At first I just collected the letters since I hadn't yet started thinking about college.

When I started looking into schools, I considered colleges completely independent of soccer since I knew that I didn't want to attend a school solely based on that. I listed out my prospects and those that I had also heard from for soccer were then moved to the top of my list. I did not immediately dismiss schools that didn't fit both criteria, but eventually narrowed it down to three which did: University of Richmond, University of Kentucky and University of Notre Dame. That's when the real work started.

I went on visits to each school, touring the campus, meeting with coaches, experiencing the lifestyle, and talking with current students and players. After those visits, I was slightly leaning toward University of Kentucky and University of Richmond, but I still couldn't decide. I then turned to my parents for advice, and although they didn't push me toward one, I soon realized my choice. After all the money, time and travel they had put into my 15 years of soccer, I wanted to give them a chance to see it had paid off. They were my biggest fans and never wanted to miss a game. That was the slight edge that put University of Richmond over the top.

My Advice:

Don't limit your choices to colleges only for your sport.
Consider anything and everything since little things may ultimately help you decide.
Be honest and open with players you stay with and meet. They will often give you honest advice since they have gone through the same process.
Talk with the coaches about academics. You'll get an idea of how they feel about classes and how much they will support you academically.
Consider how you fit in with and like the players and coaches. You will spend an enormous amount of time with them.

Cheers,

For more information check out the Active Recruiting 101 special section.