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CFHC team:
SCHEDULE
Participating Teams:
1. MSU Field Hockey Club Green
2. MSU Field Hockey Club White
3. Chicago Field Hockey Club
4. Cleveland Confusion
5. University of Michigan Field Hockey Club
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RESULTS
SATURDAY JULY 24
MSU White def. MSU Green 1-0
Univ. of Michigan def. Cleveland Confusion 1-0
MSU White def. Chicago 5-1
MSU Green def. Univ. of Michigan 2-0
Chicago def. Cleveland Confusion 2-0
Univ. of Michigan def. MSU White 2-0
Cleveland Confusion def. MSU Green 1-0
Univ. of Michigan ties Chicago 3-3
MSU White ties. Cleveland Confusion 3-3
Chicago ties MSU Green 1-1
Team Rankings after Round Robin
| |
GP |
W |
L |
D |
Pts |
GF |
GA |
Dif |
| MSU White |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
9 |
6 |
3 |
| University of Michigan |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
1 |
| Chicago |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
7 |
9 |
-2 |
| MSU Green |
4 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
| Cleveland Confusion |
4 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
6 |
-2 |
SUNDAY JULY 25
MSU Green def. Cleveland Confusion 4-1 after penalty strokes
(Challenge match 4th vs. 5th place)
Chicago def. Univ. of Michigan 2-0
(1st Semi-Final 2nd vs. 3rd place)
MSU White def. MSU Green 3-2 (2nd Semi-Final 1st vs. winner
of Challenge match)
Chicago def. MSU White 5-4 after penalty
strokes (Championship Game)
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PHOTOS (more
photos available in the Club
Album)
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NARRATIVE
Groggy from lack of sleep, but with
anticipation of the upcoming tournament, the Bhangra Mobile,
Vegimite Mobile and Evanstonian Mobile left the Chicagoland
area around 4:30 am, with sights set on East Lansing, MI
and the Michigan State University Summer Spartan Field Hockey
Classic. Unfortunate meetings with traffic, Michigan Police,
and wheeled pedestrians, caused the team to arrive at Spartan
Stadium with little time spare before the first game. We
quickly suited up and took the field.
GAME 1 vs. MSU white: L (5-1)
Stiff legs and limited warm up time
brought the team out on the field flat and unprepared to
mount a defense against the MSU squad. Three goals from
MSU and one off the stick of Shahid during a short corner
in the first half brought the score to 3-1 at halftime.
Two more unanswered goals from MSU and hot tempers in the
second half deflated the team’s hopes of salvaging the game,
but showed us where our strategy needed to change. The game
resulted in 0 points added to our round robin standings.
GAME 2 vs. Cleveland: W (1-0)
While MSU and Michigan faced off,
we were given a 40 minute window to recover both mentally
and physically from our first game. A shift in our lineup
led to better communication and team play, where midfielders
Greg, Tina and Betsy were able to use our short passes to
control the flow of the game. Shahid once again put us on
the score board, with good communication and connected passes
throughout the midfield and offense. It was the solid defensive
effort of Nadeem, Simon, and Ana in the back held Cleveland
to a mere 3 shots on goal, all of which were blocked by
our rookie goalie Shayan. The victory lifted our spirits
and gave us momentum, adding 3 points to our round robin
standings.
GAME 3 vs. Michigan: T (2-2)
A strong offensive effort in the first
half led to goals for the ladies, with Theresa and Amy both
scoring goals within minutes of one another. Dash, Faizal,
and Shaiid contributed to the overall control Chicago was
able to keep over the game. Late in the second half however,
Michigan answered with 2 quick goals resulting in a draw
for the game and 1 point for each team.
GAME 4 vs. MSU Green T (1-1)
We started this game with another
strong offensive attack, resulting in a goal by Caitlen,
assisted by Dash on a short corner. The game was mostly
controlled by Chicago, but MSU was able to place the ball
in the goal off a corner play near the end of the second
half to tie the game and hold Chicago to one point in the
round robin standings.
At
the end of the round robin play, Chicago was in 3rd
place behind MSU white and Michigan. Both Greg and Faizal
had sustained injuries during the play, but they were determined
to rest up and recover for the next day’s final games. As
was astutely noted on the sideline however, the end of the
fourth game also meant that it was “Time for a beer!” After
a quick shower at the Red Roof Inn, the team headed to join
other players at Reno’s Sports Bar for the MSU reception.
Here, we had the opportunity to mingle and get to know each
other as well as players from the other clubs better. Many
games of pool (Amy and Russ wiped up the table), foosball
(Ana and Simon had a marathon tournament), air hockey, and
basketball later, we returned to the hotel to rest up for
the championships on Sunday.
SEMI-FINAL GAME vs. Michigan
W (2-0)
Two goals within minutes of each other
showed that Chicago was able to capitalize on a penalty
situation that resulted from some very physical play on
the field directed at Simon. Amy was assisted by Shahid
in the first goal, and Dash quickly followed up with a beautiful
shot off a short corner. A great defensive effort, and good
passing and communication in the midfield and offense kept
Michigan from scoring and led Chicago into the finals.
FINAL game vs. MSU white
W (5-3 in strokes)
Once again facing the team we had
seen in our first game, Chicago came out strong and determined
to seek revenge on our previous loss. Although still nursing
his hamstring injury, Greg was able to make significant
contributions in the game, and scored our only goal in regulation
play off a backhand shot. Strong offensive runs by Kate
and Caitlen, and more domination by Dash and Shaiid did
not result in additional goals, but kept the pressure on
the MSU defense throughout the game. Their offense was also
playing a very determined game, and despite our once again
solid defense, they were able to knock in a shot to tie
the game at the end of regular play. This meant the tournament
would be decided by penalty strokes. It was decided who
going to take the strokes and the rest of the team lined
up behind the 25 in support of our players. Every one of
our strokes hit the back of the cage, and Goaltender Shayan
was able to stop MSU’s third attempt to give us the victory
and the championship.
Strokes:
1. Shahid --- MSU responds
2. Ana --- MSU responds
3. Dash --- Shayan stops MSU
4. Nadeem --- MSU responds
5. Simon --- no need for MSU to shoot
When
the cheers had subsided and victory hugs given, it was time
to announce Chicago Field Hockey Club the Summer Spartan
Classic Champions. Although the overall team effort was
superb, four all stars were nominated from the team. Those
receiving the honor were Amy, Caitlen, Shayan, and Shahid.
Although there was no official award, as a team we nominated
Russ our “All Star Fan” since he was such a huge help and
support throughout the tournament.
Our
captain Faizal did a great job organizing the team and making
it possible for us to compete in the tournament, and all
team members contributed to the fun atmosphere of the competition.
Simon’s continuous jokes, Tina and Betsy’s creative hair
band and shirt makeovers, Greg’s dance moves, Kite (I mean
Kate), and Nadeem’s well labeled car made the weekend memorable
for all. Trophy and victory t-shirts in hand, we set off
once again for Chicago after a quick swim in the MSU pool.
It had been a long, but fun weekend that ended the best
way possible.
-- written by Theresa Sukal
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