Stickin' With Sam

We played Old Dominion on Wednesday and beat them 14-10. I scored the first goal of the game. Gabi Wiegand, one of my best friends and another freshman, scored three goals. I am going to tell you more about her next week.

We were excited by the warm weather. When we got there it was 65 degrees and it felt like Florida. We have had problems getting off to a slow start, talking about what we need to change but not really doing it. At halftime the coaches said re-evaulate what you need to do because it was not acceptable.

We were down 6-3 at halftime to a team we knew we were more talented then. When we came out to start the second half we were pumped, and knew we were so much better and needed to prove it to ourselves and to our coaches. We came together as a team, scored a lot and came out with a win. It was definitely the best half of lacrosse we have played so far.

I was pleased with how I played when I was in the game. The refs were high school level — one of them had worked one of my teammate’s high school games — and they made some unreasonable calls. I got called for two charges and I hadn’t been called yet in college for a charge.

One thing my father has said, because the level of play is much more aggressive in college than in high school, is to explore what it takes to get a charge, to see how far I can go without getting a penalty. It usually takes a lot more than what I did.

I was really bothered by the penalties because I got taken out of the game after the second one. I don’t like getting calls on me that I did not deserve.

The one thing I have noticed so far is, I am naturally a very aggressive person and like a physcial game. The college game is definitely more physcial than high school, but it all depends on the referees that you have. I’m still feeling my way about what you can and can’t do.

I’m just really happy we came out with the win and really stepped it up in the second half.

We are on spring break right now and it is weird being on campus with only three other teams here and no one else. It is kind of a little boring.

Our team has actually done a great job occupying our nights. Last night we did a scavenger hunt, which was a lot of fun. The juniors organized it — it is a tradition every spring break — and they pick teams and each team has to dress up, and we are given clues, and each clue leads to another clue. Then we have to take pictures of us doing certain acts — like being in a Taco Bell wearing the hat and apron and standing with the guy behind the counter — and you get points for how creative you are.

Our team was the Jersey Shore theme, so we dressed up like all the people on the show. We were wearing a lot of makeup and bronzer to look tan, and we all pouffed our hair. We mimicked what they look like. We drew on fake tattoos.

We play again tomorrow, so hopefully I’ll have another win to write about.

I’m excited that we got our first win under our belt, on Wednesday against American. Although it wasn’t a very good game, we know what to improve on and go from there.

It was nice to get that first win, although I wasn’t completely satisfied with the way I played. I just felt like I didn’t get the chance to show all that I have. Even though I scored a goal, I felt like I could have done more. My shooting wasn’t accurate and I need to be more creative and confident with my play.

My coach hasn’t specifically said anything to me about my play but I know she looks at me and the other freshmen to help lead the attack. She knows my ability and wants me to do as well as I can.

I know I am nervous about making mistakes and when I think about it, what happens, I make a mistake. I still need to be more confident in myself. I think in general I’m not always as confident as I should be in a lot of things.

I still think the team needs to improve on not being afraid when it is game time. We all kind of make stupid little mistakes when we start the game, little turnovers, and think it is because everyone is afraid to make a mistake.

We’re looking forward to our next game on Wednesday against Old Dominion and hopefully get a little winning streak going. I think we have the ability to do very well in our conference. It all depends if we show up on game day.

Now that games have started, I’m a little more tired at the end of the day and it is harder to get motivated to do my school work, though I always get it done. It has definitely hindered my social life. I haven’t gone out in a while.

Everyone is going away for spring break starting today and I really wish I could be joining them. The baseball and basketball teams are still here and so there will be people on campus, though it will be weird being the only freshman in the dorm. So it will be just me and my roommate Kara alone. And least I’ll get to sleep in and have some time to myself.

I’ll talk to you all next week, hopefully after another win!

Since I last spoke to you we’ve played three more games against ranked ACC teams: Duke, North Carolina and Virginia, and lost all three. I felt like we played the same game three times in a row.

It was so frustrating. Either we started off the first five minutes awfully and got strong, or started strong and got worse. We weren’t playing like we were in practice. We were playing as individuals and were not clicking.

It’s tough knowing we have so much talent and how well we can play, not being able to perform the way we are capable. We could play with all four teams except Maryland, and it is tough not putting up a fight when you know you have one in you.

It’s kind of hard to pinpoint what the problem is. We all talk a lot about what we need to do but none of us are actually doing it.

I’ve started all four games and I was really happy with the way I played the first two games. I went out with the mentality that there was nothing to lose. After losing those games I started playing timid and it all went downhill from there.

My problem is all mental. If I get scared or nervous or make a mistake my brain shuts down and I get tense and I have to learn to improve on that. Being a Division I athlete you need to know how to move on and take criticism and not lose confidence. I need to be a little tougher mentally.

After playing four ACC teams and knowing how well we can play and how we could have beaten them, I think it will definitely help us playing teams in our conference. If we can keep up with the four or five top-ranked teams in the country, we can play with the teams in our conference. We just need to be confident and kick butt.

Our coach feels this is a learning experience and wants us to take a lot out of this.

I’m confident I will learn and hopefully improve not getting down on myself when I make a mistake and my coach will hopefully recognize that.

We’ve lost four games in the past two weeks and we may have lost four games during my entire career at Darien. Coming from a high school where there is enormous pressure put on you to be undefeated, it’s a lot different. It’s really hard dealing with losing when you are not used to it. I am a very competitive person so I don’t like losing to begin with.

We are really looking forward to proving ourselves in our first conference game and showing what we are made of. We play American next week.

Hopefully I’ll have some good news to report!

Sam Stevenson scored her second and third career goals today, but her Richmond women’s lacrosse team fell to Duke, 17-9.

Stevenson and the Spiders will play North Carolina on Sunday. We will have a new blog post sometime after that game.

— Dave Ruden

My college career has now officially started. We played Maryland, which is the No. 2 team in the country, on Sunday, and though we lost, 17-7, the game wasn’t as bad as the score would seem because the team played very well.

I got to start in my first game and scored my first goal and I was really excited. Our attack had a little trouble connecting because Maryland has a very good defense, but I didn’t make that many mistakes and in general I was pleased with how I played.

The night before the game I woke up about seven times. We had an early team breakfast, and whenever I have to get up early I get nervous that I’m going to miss my alarm.

It didn’t really hit me at first that we were going to play our first game, but when we started getting dressed and when our coach announced the starting lineup and what we were doing to be doing with our positions, that’s when it hit me. I started getting butterflies because we would be doing out on the field in five minutes.

Warmups weren’t very good because even though we knew what to do, we were nervous and making stupid little mistakes.

I saw my family walk in and my little sister give me a smirk, and I was excited to see them. It was just nice to have them there for my first game.

It was chilly out and there was a lot of wind but it wasn’t that cold. We had to use Maryland’s football team’s practice turf because the lacrosse field still wasn’t in perfect condition because of all the snow there.

Right before the whistle I was taking it all in and pointing out who all the Maryland players were. When I was in high school last year I was like “Oh, My god,” but now I was one of them and it was really cool.

We played on a shorter field so the game went by a lot quicker. Everyone was uptight because of the nerves and we were keeping up with them OK. We were down 8-3 at the half and usually you can come back from that — five goals is not that big an amount — but they were just so good.

They had most of the possession the entire game, would get the draw and they like to foul a lot and had four or five yellow cards, so they stalled a lot until the person came back in, which I don’t believe is really playing lacrosse.

I played low attack. I only went over on defense once and the time I did I was nervous. Our offense just wasn’t clicking, which it usually does, but we weren’t talking or working together.

I didn’t get that many opportunities to shoot and only had one shot until late in the game, when I challenged and the defender tried to swing at my legs with her stick. She hit me, got called for a foul and I got an 8-meter, which is a penalty shot. Usually when I get one I get wrapped up in my thoughts and think don’t hit the goalie or miss, and then I miss. This time I just ripped it and it went in.

At first I didn’t think it was going in, but the shot literally went between the goalie’s head and the post, which consisted of three inches. I was really excited to score my first goal. Five of our six freshmen scored goals.

Our coach was happy with how we played in our first game, against the No. 2 team in the nation.

Now we are getting ready for our home opener on Friday against Duke. I think we have a very good chance of beating them. We lost to them by a few goals in the preseason and we played horrible as a team.

I’m really looking forward to playing my first game at home and my family is coming down for that and our game on Sunday against North Car0lina, so I’ll get to spend the whole weekend with them.

I’ll tell you all about my first two home games next week.

(photos courtesy of Jayme Stevenson)

Sam Stevenson started and scored a goal for Richmond today in her college debut. The Spiders lost 17-7 to Maryland, the No. 2 team in the country.

Sam’a goal was the final one in the game.

Sam will have a new post up in the next day or two.

— Dave Ruden

Even with all the snow we have had in Virginia our team is excited to play our first game of the season. Last weekend we got about 15 inches and we got another 3-5 inches yesterday morning.

We are supposed to play our season-opener Sunday at Maryland, but right now the game is up in the air because Maryland got about 30 inches of snow and right now it is uncertain if their field will be playable. Our coaches are trying to figure out where we are going to play. There is a slim chance the game could get moved to our place, or it could be delayed a few days, though no later than Tuesday.

I’m really excited and nervous for my first college game and it is frustrating not knowing when it will happen. I’m just trying to keep my head up and focus on what needs to be done.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my first game. I have a big issue if I make a mistake. I get down on myself and my mission this season is to let mistakes go. So my first game I don’t want to mess up and just try to score my first college goal against Maryland.

Our whole team is frustrated because we don’t want to do inside workouts on the treadmill and biking, which we’ve been doing. We just want to get out there and play. Today was our first practice this week with sticks and everything.

I definitely think it has hurt our team just playing wall-ball, where you basically just play catch with yourself against a wall. The team was not really rusty today. Everyone right now is just really antsy.

My family is supposed to come to Maryland for the game and I’ve been keeping them updated about what practices have been like. I know I am going to be scared and nervous when I step on the field, but once I get over that in the first minutes it will be fine. I’m glad they are going to be there.

As I told you last week, we had Ring Dance, which turned out to be one of the best experiences I’ve had at college so far. It’s just such a really great tradition, seeing all our juniors wearing gorgeous white dresses, getting escorted down the stairs by their dads. It was a nice night and everyone got to dress up.

I’ll talk to you next week and hopefully have some good stories to tell you about my first game.

I’m counting down the days until we open the season against Maryland a week from Sunday, which is both scary, though I am kind of excited. We’re really just getting down to just going over the basics in practice and really pushing ourselves to hopefully beat Maryland, which is one of the top programs in the country.

Last weekend we got a foot of snow and that has really hindered our practices. We were inside for a while and then the school rented a facility so we can practice and play. Being indoors, the area is a lot smaller and everything seems to go by quicker, which is weird. Everything is different. The lighting is different.

I’d rather be inside where it is warm instead of outside where it is cold, but we need to get outside to prepare for Maryland.

Getting ready for a new season in college is a lot different than Darien, where you pretty much knew what to expect. Here it is much different because there is such a different level of play. I used to read about Maryland and now I am going to play against them.

I think I am in a pretty good position right now. Our team this year is very well rounded. We have a lot of good players but I think I have a chance of starting and playing a lot, which I am really exicted about.

My entire family is coming down to watch me first game and I am really excited to see everyone and have them watch my first college game.

Tomorrow night is a big Richmond tradition called Ring Dance. It’s basically a coming of age celebration for juniors, mainly females, and they all wear white dresses and some go all out and get wedding dresses. The school rents the Jefferson Hotel, which is a very high class, old, beautiful hotel.

All the underclassmen wear black dresses so the juniors stand out. The girls get their names announced and they walk down the stairs with their dads.

It’s going to be fun to see all of them get dressed up. I see my teammates all the time in practice clothes so it will be nice to see them all dressed up, and then there is a big dance party after. It should be a lot of fun.

I’ll talk to you all next week.