On a sunny Friday afternoon, the Quinnipiac field hockey team christened its new home turf with a strong and decisive 3-0 victory over Siena (1-7). Perhaps more impressive than the win itself was the ensuing team meeting, where head coach Becca Kohli and the players critiqued their weaknesses despite dominating most of the second half.

It is this honesty and perfectionist mentality that has defined the successful first half of a promising field hockey season.

Led by top scorer Kristen McCarthy (11 points, 5 goals), the Bobcats have outscored their opponents 11-6 through eight games. Quinnipiac is 5-3 overall and 2-0 in Northeast Conference action.

A combination of strong goaltending, impressive stick work and excellent speed have led to three solid shutout victories. Two of the team’s three losses were just as impressive defensively, with both resulting in gritty 1-0 overtime defeats.

However, like the rest of the team, McCarthy remains humble and focused on the game at hand. “Every team is a challenge,” McCarthy said. “We can’t take any team differently.”

The players focus heavily on dispelling individual attention. Even after she was awarded NEC Player of the Week honors last week, McCarthy said winning the NEC Championship in her sophomore year was better than anything individual.

Kohli is the leading force of the team mentality. Refusing to consider any upcoming team more dangerous than another, Kohli greatly stresses the “here and now.”

With six seniors starting alongside four juniors and some promising underclassmen, Kohli has a great mixture of veteran support and eager newcomers.

Some might consider it as a “reloading” year, but the coach and the team are very pleased about where they currently stand. The Bobcats are 2-0 within their division and play their next six games at home.
The home turf is seen as an incredible benefit as, until Friday’s game, the team had to travel to Yale’s turf for its home games. With home crowd support, familiarity and convenience, the team is enthusiastic about the second half of the season.

Since the new field is artificial turf as opposed to grass, it will take some getting used to, but the players are more than pleased to have a field they can finally call home.

On Friday the Bobcats will mark the midpoint of the regular season with a home game against Monmouth (1-6) at 3 p.m.