Conference Weekend

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
Heather and I at the beginning of the year passed out notes with these words and the Hendrix Field Hockey team has been the epitome of this phrase for the entire season, especially during the Conference tournament.

We were excited and ready to head to DePauw for conference. At the beginning of the last bus ride of the season we revealed our secret sisters. This was actually our most successful year for secret sisters because not everyone knew who their secret sister was. I’m not bragging, but my secret sister was Katie and for my final gift she purchased me a giant container of cheese balls. So wonderful!

We made it to DePauw and hopped off the bus right onto the field to get a little playing time in on the grass field. It was a little colder and darker than we were used to, but it definitely helped prepare us for the weekend.

Game # 1: Hendrix vs. Sewanee
The game started off at a high level of intensity and continued at that level for the rest of the game. We took an early lead when Kelly scored within the first five minutes of the game and we held that lead into halftime. However Sewanee came out of the half ready to play and scored three quick goals. With our team down 3-1 Ellie called a timeout and in the huddle told us that it wasn’t our time to go home and the team really took that to heart. Kelly scored her second goal of the game soon after the timeout and Heather put in the tying goal minutes after. The game was tied 3-3 with just a few minutes left and we had a corner. Abby launched a perfect shot that bounced off the goalie pads and Taylor deflected into the goal. The winning goal we all thought, but not so fast. The goal was called back because the referee said Abby didn’t pull the ball past the circle. So once again the Hendrix field hockey team was headed into overtime.
We have been in overtime before, but had yet to get a win. However, we knew that this time it would be different. The game went back and forth for a few minutes before Kelly scored the winning goal off a deflection. The team went nuts and those who were on the field playing overtime just hugged at the top of the circle and cried. We did it. We made Hendrix Field Hockey history and got farther in the SCAC tournament then any team before us.

The next day we lost to Rhodes 2-0 in another brutally tough game where we played out hardest. On the bus ride home, there was a sense of pride among the team. We had worked incredibly hard throughout the season and our hard work paid off. We were so proud of ourselves and excited to head back to campus and celebrate.

The season is over, but we couldn’t be prouder. To our seniors, Thank you for your leadership and for starting the Hendrix field hockey program, we couldn’t have done it without you. To the rest of team, Let’s get ready for next year!


Love,
The Hendrix Field Hockey Team
(Maggie)