What a season it was.
A 20-2 record. A trip to the NCAA Tournament. A national ranking. Patriot League offensive, defensive and coaching honors. Surely regional and All-America awards to come.
It was one of those seasons I can proudly tell about to my grandkids and they can tell about to their grandkids.
And for my part, my stat line read as follows: six articles, one column and five errors.
So I wasn't actually on the team, but I was there, patrolling the sidelines armed with a pen, notepad, microphone and recorder.
I know I'm a journalist, and I'm not supposed to show my bias. But let's face it. I'm a washed up, over the hill, retired college athlete. I needed somewhere to funnel my competitive juices. This fall, the AU field hockey team was that receptacle.
And as this team has shown me, being a sports journalist is just about the best thing short of being an athlete.
You get the best seats in the house and a free pass to all the athletic events, and to top it off, you get to live vicariously through the teams you cover. In my case, that included an all-access pass to the nationally ranked field hockey team.
Talk about a dream team to cover. Even though I wasn't technically on the team, I felt like I was with them every step of the way.
Each game, each goal, each win, I felt like I was out on that field battling with them. I know I'm not supposed to admit it. But I love this team.
I'm like that shadow on the iPod commercials that dances down the streets while the shadow's owner, a girl listening to music strolls beside her. That was me on the sidelines after every Chilean goal or Fayfich save.
When coach Steve Jennings would encourage his defense to stay on its toes, I wanted to show him my fancy footwork. I wanted to yell "Put me in, coach," even though I've touched roughly three field hockey sticks in my life.
If anyone can make me a field hockey star, it's Jennings.
But something that struck me about this team was not just its sheer dominance throughout the season. Not just its third straight PL regular-season and Tournament titles. It was much more than that.
It was a kind of bond that, no matter the outcome, these girls were friends. There weren't any blame games or caught-in-the-moment tirades. No T.O.'s amid these Eagles.
These Eagles were a team. They won together. They lost together. And throughout it all, they stuck to Jennings' "team first" mentality.
It's not something you see everyday. But you saw it in every contest they played in. Sticks would fly. Bodies would tumble. Goalkeepers would lie out to stop a goal. They didn't play for the glory or the accolades, but rather for the pure enjoyment of the game.
And I was a part of it. I watched them win. I watched them lose. I watched them love the game.
So after the gut-wrenching 3-0 loss to Maryland in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, I packed up my belongings, put the cap on my pen and bid a fond farewell to a sport that caught my eyes, then captured my heart. It was the seniors' last game. But it was mine too.
When I look back on this experience, this 20-2 dream season, I'll surely put it up there with my own athletic achievements. I've always wanted to play for a nationally dominant team.
And thanks to Jennings and company, I have.
