Hurricane Isabel has wrecked havoc along the Atlantic coast, and the residual effects were felt in Syracuse before the storm reached the North Carolina shore.

The Syracuse field hockey team was supposed to begin Big East play at home game against Rutgers on Friday, but Isabel forced a proactive decision to reschedule the game.

The decision was made Wednesday when it became apparent that the game might have to be played in tropical storm-like conditions. Since Syracuse (3-3) and Rutgers (3-4) are only scheduled for one game this week, a cautious approach could be taken. The game has been rescheduled for Saturday at 7 p.m. at Coyne Field.

‘I didn’t see any sense in taking the chance,’ head coach Kathleen Parker said about the prospect of playing in nasty weather.

Pushing the game back a night has given the Orangewomen an opportunity for an additional practice and a chance to prepare for Big East competition.

‘Whenever you’re competing in-conference, you always want to do your best,’ sophomore Joanne Lombard said. ‘And the week leading up to it is probably the most intense week that you’re going to have. You just want to go out and start the conference off with a bang. We have an extra day now to perfect everything, which I think everyone is excited about.’

Syracuse is hoping to close out its first homestand of the year with a perfect record. After starting the year 0-3, the Orangewomen rallied for three consecutive wins, tallying a 15-3 goal advantage at home during the streak.

But Parker was also quick to point out that the level of competition had something to do with the lopsided statistic.

‘The difference in level of competition was pretty obvious,’ Parker said. ‘But when you’re 0-3, it doesn’t matter who you beat. You just need to win.’

Still, the wins couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.

‘As a team and as a whole, we’ve stepped it up a lot,’ junior Lindsay Kocher said. ‘We all wanted to get a win. We’re home, it’s our first week – we just wanted to come out and show everyone that we’re a good team.’

The Scarlet Knights are currently on a streak of their own, although it’s the losing kind. Rutgers has dropped its last three contests and has been outscored 11-0 in the process.

But as Parker pointed out, it doesn’t matter how a team is playing once it comes down to conference play.

‘The rivalries make every game a toss-up,’ Parker said. ‘Once you get into them, you can throw records and goal scoring out.’

Hand her the hardware

Junior goalkeeper Betsy Wagner was honored this week as the Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Week as well as the ECAC Goalkeeper of the Week. Wagner tallied 11 saves for the week.

Published on September 18, 2003 at 12:00 pm