Home field advantage is one of the most important factors in sports. Having the crowd behind a team—and against its opponents—can often push the home team over the top in a close match. But what is a team to do when it has no home field?
Georgetown’s field hockey team found itself in that exact situation after their old stomping grounds at Kehoe Field were deemed unfit for NCAA competition two seasons ago. While the team was probably happy to get away from the warped, ACL-ripping turf at Kehoe, the ruling meant being exiled to the University of Maryland.
Although the field hockey team’s home field advantage might not have been comparable to, say, Lambeau Field, or even the Verizon Center during basketball games, the effect of losing it might have been even more significant. Cheeseheads would easily fill up the stadium for a game in Madison, and the Hoya faithful would probably follow Greg Monroe to College Park if the team had to relocate for a season, but change the sport to field hockey and those ten miles seem quite a bit farther.
Perhaps it was good there weren’t as many eyeballs on Georgetown field hockey, because it wasn’t a pretty season for the team, which lost all 17 games it played, finishing winless for the first time since 1992. At least they could say they were undefeated at home.
Being kicked off your home field and finishing the season winless is pretty much the nadir for a team. So why is second-year coach Tiffany Marsh optimistic about this season?
For one, the team is unquestionably better. Only three seniors departed from last year’s squad, giving the team some valuable experience, while twelve talented freshmen have added depth.
The other reason: the team is getting a new home. It’s not on campus, but it is closer: field hockey will play at William I. Jacobs Recreational Complex at American University, a big upgrade in both facility quality and location. It may not be home, per se, but at least they can say they play closer to campus than the basketball team.
“We’re really excited to be closer to home. It gives us a great opportunity to play on really a top notch field. The surface that we’re playing on is great,” Marsh said. “We’re close enough where hopefully students from Georgetown can get there.”
That was, unsurprisingly, a problem last year.
“It was hit or miss [at Maryland]. We have a great following of all their parents and close friends,” Marsh said. “Now we hope to expand that with the student body.”
It’s a big deal for the players too, who will happily accept American as their new home. Not only will they hopefully have more fans to cheer them on, but they get a better field and an easier commute. If you think it’s inconvenient to trek off campus to watch a game, imagine doing it for practice too.
The move looks to be paying off. While the Hoyas dropped their first two games, both were by a margin of just one goal.
“[The players] all seem to be handling it very well,” Marsh said. “They’re extremely happy. It’s helping us so much playing on the surface that we need to be.”
There’s no place like home, but when Davidson comes to town on Friday, American might be close enough.
