Only Time Will Tell

A chilly Columbus Day Monday brought our staff to Hazleton for a mid-day field hockey match between the HR Lady Royals and the Hazleton Lady Cougars (Modern-day slang has a whole new meaning on that.  I wonder if there will ever be pressure to change that to something more PC....).  For a change, the Lady Royals stayed in control for the entire match, no drama, no OT, just a convincing 4-0 victory.

After seeing a few games, it seems like I should be able to pinpoint an identity for this team- but I can't.  Are they the under-achievers that opened the season 1-5?  Are they the "cardiac queens" that have taken 4 games to overtime (winning three)?  Or are they the dominant force that handled Hazleton with relative ease?  Only time will tell.

I actually had a couple of options for the link to the music in this post.  I prefer the Jimmy Buffett version, but I thought more of you may know the Asia song.  I probably should have just gone with my preference.

You may have noticed that I drew the attention of the ref at the game, as this time it was me who had to vacate the space behind the end line.  I feel the need to plead my case on this issue.  I have very few rules, but one that I am diligent about is that I never, ever say anything about the game while I am shooting it.  I don't talk to the ref, I don't cheer for the team, I don't address the players- ever.  I try to get into some places with the camera that most fans cannot, therefore I don't act like a fan- even though I am.  In this case, there was a comment from a spectator standing next to me- who felt that they had a much better understanding of the rules than the officials did.  No surprise- the official felt it necessary to flex a little muscle after the comment, and decided to enforce the "no spectators behind the end line" rule.   I was not specifically asked to leave, but really had no reason to make in issue of it.  I was planning to go to the sideline for the end of the game anyway.

Every game I shoot, I learn something about field hockey, but usually I am still ending up with more questions than answers-

I noted the ball carry in the last post- I still don't get it- if we are in the lead, what's the rush to restart?

This time, couldn't help but wonder about the masks on the Hazleton players.  I can understand the need for protection-  sticks & balls are hard, and it looks like they are both flying around an awful lot.  I can also understand not wanting to wear a mask-  I am sure it is uncomfortable, and I am not very vain, but c'mon....  So tell me Mr Whoopee- why did the Hazleton girls wear the masks, take them off, then put them back on again?  All the wardrobe changes seem confusing to me.  By the way, if you picked up on that reference before clicking the link, I am proud of you.  I was always felt that Go-Go Gophers were the better cartoon, but feel free to come chat about it sometime.

I am slipping a little in my quest to get pictures of Kelly in embarrassing positions- this was the best I had today.  I am hopeful she has a sense of humor about this.

It took me a while to ID this game's "pant-puller-upper".  Erica, who has a reputation for such things, is in the background, so I knew it wasn't her.  I couldn't see a number because of the sweatshirt, and obviously no face.  Finally the footwear gave it away as Melissa.

You can see from the fans that it was a little cold at the field- maybe even more than a little.  Notice that Ashley started with some under armor, then went bare-sleeved for the second half.  That's hardcore.

Here they are-

Game pictures

Entire site

Enjoy!