Field hockey: How the West was won
Story by John Selix
Emerald Photos
It may come as a surprise but
women's field hockey is played
at the intercollegiate level. And
the University of Oregon has a
women's field hockey team.
That's right, Oregon has a team
A damn good team
Behind a veil of obscurity,
Oregon has built a very suc
cessful field hockey program.
Since the start of AIAW field
hockey in 1975, the Ducks have
qualified for the national tour
nament every year. Last sea
son. Oregon finished at 20-5-1
with an eighth place finish at the
nationals But more important
than the eighth place finish was
that Oregon won a playoff game
for the first time. In fact, they
won two games.
One of those wins was against
Connecticut, a traditional
power, the significance being
that West Coast teams don't
regularly defeat teams from the
East.
The sport originated in Britain
and eventually spread to this
side of the Atlantic, becoming
popular on the East Coast. In
terest in field hockey lagged
behind in the West until it began
being taught in schools. Eastern
teams have an advantage
because they’ve been playing
for so long
’’They (the Eastern teams)
have the coaching because the
people (who become coaches)
have the backround from play
ing,'1 said Oregon coach Nancy
Plantz "It was great to see a
West coast team, especially ap
Oregon team, play and beat a
strong Eastern team That was
a great moment."
Plantz, in only her second
year as coach of the Ducks, is
no stranger to field hockey She
came to Oregon from Ohlone
Community College in Fremont,
Calif., where she coached her
teams to a 42-4 record and two
consecutive state champion
ships She is also an assistant
coach for the 1980 U S Olympic
field hockey team
When she came to Eugene,
Plantz inherited players who
hadn't had top coaching. Few
high schools in Oregon have
field hockey programs, so she
started from scratch.The pro
gram at Oregon strengthened
quickly because she was able to
recruit good players thanks to a
Oregon's biggest asset is its overall team guickness, which
according to coach Plantz, is much improved.
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Coach Nancy Ptantz feels the Ducks are headed
for their fifth straight trip to the national tour
nament. Oregon claimed eighth place in the
nation last year, and hopes to place higher this
season.
reputation for good coaching.
Using her contacts in Califor
nia, Plantz went after top ath
letes right away. Oregon’s
goalie, Maureen 'Mo” Sullivan,
is a candidate for the Olympic
team; so are three other 1978
recruits.
"I brought with me quite a few
junior college athletes because
I wanted us to be successful
right off the bat,” said Plantz. "It
worked and those people are
still here.” Now that Plantz has a
solid program, she hopes to re
place this year's graduates with
top freshmen and possibly one
junior college transfer
Plantz has been successful in
recruiting players from areas
other than California. So
phomore inside Veronica Del
laMotta came to Oregon from
Pennsylvania, and Plantz was
one of the reasons for her deci
sion.
"I wanted national competi
tion.” said DellaMotta, "and I
wasn't too sure that Oregon
could make'nationals. What
dispelled those thoughts was
that Nancy Plantz is the U S
coach, and I knew that she
could do a lot for the team.”
Plantz has put together a very
capable Oregon club which
feels it is headed toward its fifth
consecutive trip to nationals.
She will tell anyone that this
year's team is better than last
year's and so will her players.
'We're quicker,’’ said Sul
livan. "We have more depth and
we all have one thing in mind —
that’s to win.”
But the differences go deeper
than that. Last year’s team had
internal problems because
some of the players were com
peting against each other in
stead of working with each
other. The controversy faded
but it did have an adverse effect
on the team.
One quality stands out more
than any other on this year’s
Oregon team: quickness. In the
Duck's two latest tournament
appearances, they were quicker
than the teams they defeated.
"Most teams slow down the
ball,” said team captain Nancy
Berry, "but we try to speed past
our opponent. We keep the ball
moving as fast as we can down
the field and we get the ball to
an up forward and get the
defense turned around ”
Berry and senior Nancy Pe
drotti spearhead that attack
from their outside positions on
the front line. With DellaMotta
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and freshman Scottie Johnson
on the inside, the offense is
quick and dependable, even
potentially explosive. Despite
the Ducks’ ability to mount
scoring threats during this sea
son, they've had trouble scoring
goals, relative to their high
number of shots and opportuni
ties.
"We need to work on our
scoring,” said Plantz. "It'll take
more ball control and a greater
desire to score.’’
The defense has covered up
well for the offense this season.
In nine games, the Ducks have
six shutouts. Plantz says that
"you can’t win without a good
goalie,” and in Sullivan. Oregon
has that As a member of the
U.S. Olympic Committee's "A”
Developmental Camp (for the
best 45 players in the country),
Sullivan played for Plantz this
past summer.
"She’s a coach first and a
friend second,” said Sullivan.
"That's the way it has to be;
otherwise it gets too personal.”
Sullivan’s position is one of
the few in field hockey which is
more mentally than physically
exhausting. Concentration is
paramount to good goalkeeping
because one breakdown can
decide the game.
I really don't think about how
I might let the team down,1' Sul
livan said. "I don't want to let
myself down first. It's a high
priority for me not to let one ball
in.” She also knows that back
up goalie Charlene Carter is
ready on the bench, and could
step in if she (Sullivan) falters.
"Charlene (new to field hock
ey) picked it up really quick,"
(Continued on Page 7B)
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