Let’s begin with an update on the Subaru situation. The whole thing stemmed from the AC Compressor, which caused everything else. Four days and $1400 later, it was fixed and Diana had it back by the end of Monday. There has been one thing after another with this car since the late fall and Diana’s confidence in it, has been eroded. So we decided to swap it out with the Elantra, that has about half as many miles on it and Debi has been using as a station car.

Tuesday afternoon, I stumbled upon a live streamed game between the Brown Bears and the Boston College Eagles. I picked up the broadcast about ten minutes into the contest. I was pulling for the underdog Bears and especially their sophomore Goalie, FLG Alum and Coach, Erin Tucker. This was an intense and exciting battle throughout and was not decided until the final moments, with BC finally coming away with a 13-10 victory. Tucker had a terrific game, which thrilled me, though I was not surprised as that is what I have always seen from her. The Bears showed great resilience, continuously battling back whenever the Eagles appeared to be on the verge of putting the game out of reach. Ultimately, it was BC’s team speed that made the difference – that and they had the best player on the field, in Charlotte North (a transfer from Duke) who took over in the Draw Circle late in the game and had a couple of highlight reel goals on 8 meter free positions, where she opted to step into “time and room” shots, going from low to high and stinging the top right corner. I am seeing more and more of this, and I love it. It is good for this ever evolving game. I love the increased number of Live Streamed Games and understand that if there is sound, the analysis can be less than professional. But what would it take to make sure the announcers at least know the rules of the women’s game. I am not sure, but I feel that this shows a lack of respect for the sport.

At the last minute, Wednesday morning, I asked my Aunt Jane if she wanted to join me on my trip to Springfield to exchange vehicles and catch the Pride’s 4pm game against the Endicott Gulls on Stagg Field. Jane said she was in, so I quickly squeezed a workout in and headed to Springfield by way of Newburgh. As usual, it was great catching up with Jane. The whole trip went smoothly, and we arrived with almost an hour to spare. I am not really ready to be a Campus Tour Guide, but I did my best to show Jane, at least some of it.

Once again, The Pride started the game slowly. I was immediately impressed with the speed, athleticism and skill (is there anything else?) of the visiting Gulls. They dominated Draws and Groundballs, pushed the ball in transition and took advantage of Springfield’s sloppiness, en route to a commanding 9-3 half time lead. The Pride looked like a different team at the start of the second half, and at one point pulled to within three goals. They would never get closer, and though they battled to the end, they would lose by a final score of 15-11. You have to wonder how the game would have played out if the Pride had been able to start the game the way they started the second half. It is early in the season and it is just one game. Having watched Mercyhurst resurrect their last two seasons after very slow starts, I know Springfield can still have a lot of success this year. In fact, Springfield had a similar experience last season and they ended up winning the Conference Playoffs. They played with grit and tenacity in the second half, hopefully they can build on that.

I had not told Diana that Jane would be with me, so it was a surprise to her. Though we did not have much of a visit, after the game, it was nice, as they had not seen each other since Mercyhurst’s final game of 2019, in the NCAA’s at West Chester. We executed the vehicle exchange at Diana’s house and got on our way. The ride to Newburgh flew by, as Jane and I finished catching up on each other’s lives. The final leg of the mid week trek got a bit tired and was accompanied with a misty rain, but with little traffic. All in all, a great way to spend a Wednesday!