Field hockey season finally gets underway in big way
Senior Mary Kate Olson and No. 1 Glenelg play in Saturday's South River Tournament, which also features No. 5 Bryn Mawr and No. 6 South River. (Jen Rynda/Patuxent Publishing)
This is the Saturday that appears to kick-start the field hockey season, as South River, Roland Park, Garrison Forest and Archbishop Spalding will attempt to host tournaments with competitive fields. (For today's story on the Roland Park tournament, click here.)
While the weather has caused postponements throughout the week -- River Hill's home tournament has been wiped out because of rain -- coaches for these tournaments hope to get these key games.
Tournament games, while counting in a team's win-loss record, do not count toward end of the season seeding for post-season play. That fact is illustrated in the quality of teams lined up to face off in the various tournaments this weekend.
"I think your tournament games should be played against strong competition," South River coach Katie Corcoran said. "It's these games that help you get ready for postseason competition, when you're going to face the best in the state."
Following is a glance at this weekend's biggest tournaments:
South River
The South River Tournament will feature the No.1-ranked team in the area, Glenelg, which will get competition from No. 5 Bryn Mawr, No. 6 South River and Holly Cross.
The event begins at 9:30 a.m. with South River facing Bryn Mawr, followed by 2A state champion Glenelg against Holly Cross at 11. The consolation game will be played at 1 p.m., followed by the championship match at 2:30 p.m.
All the games will be played on South River's turf field, said Corcoran, "because our Bermuda grass field doesn't drain well. We're playing it safe, having all the games on the turf."
The major impact of that decision is that the event will run a little longer, as the games follow each other instead of having two played at the same time. And one team, depending on who wins and loses in the second game, will have to play back-to-back.
"But I think everyone just wants to play," Corcoran said. "And we're trying to put a little more time between games two and three."
Archbishop Spalding
No 11 Spalding, 1-1, will get a good look at some of the Anne Arundel County competition when it brings a strong Broadneck team, Chesapeake and Severn together for Saturday play.
At 9:30 a.m. Spalding will face Chesapeake. Severn will play Chesapeake at 11, as the Cougars look to make an early escape. Spalding will then play Broadneck at 12:30, followed by Broadneck and Severn at 2 p.m.
Garrison Forest
No. 3 Garrison Forest, which won the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A-Conference title last season, is hosting a tournament that will feature No. 9 Dulaney, Glenelg Country School and Mt. Hebron.
Play begins at 10 a.m. with Garrison Forest facing Patterson Mill and Mt. Hebron against Dulaney on the Grizzlies two turf fields. At 12:30, the four teams will face off with the outcomes of the first two games determining the opponents.
Roland Park
At Roland Park, the Sally E. Nyborg Invitational Tournament will begin at 9 a.m. with Roland Park playing Westminster. Also in the field are Severna Park, Fallston, Bethesda-Chevy Chase, and St. Stephen's and St. Agnes.
The tournament is a round-robin and does not crown a champion, choosing to play simply to honor the memory of the varsity field hockey player who died in 1998 from complications caused by lupus.
Nyborg is remembered as a player "who would play the game even if no one was watching." In this case, there is hope many will come to watch as the other purpose of the day is to raise money for Lupus research. Lupus is a disease that currently has no cure.
Instead of paying an entry fee, each team is asked to donate $150 dollars to the cause and those coming to the game are not charged admission, but asked to make donations. Bryn Mawr parents and students will also be selling concessions, with a large portion of the proceeds also being donated.
The play schedule for the day: 9 a.m. - Roland Park vs.No. 4 Westminster; 10:30 - Westminster vs, No. 2 Severna Park; 11:45 - BCC vs SSSA; 1:15 - Severna Park vs BCC;
1:15 - Roland Park vs SSSA (lower field).
