By Harry Minium
Old Dominion's field hockey players have been through the ringer. Coach Andrew Griffiths was sidelined for months between the 2017 and 2018 seasons after having a grand mal seizure. Such seizures can be fatal, but fortunately, Griffiths recovered fully,
After he returned prior to last season, the Monarchs played their best field hockey since 2015, when they upset five nationally ranked teams. ODU won its first seven games, was ranked 11th nationally and appeared headed for its first NCAA tournament bid in five years.
They then lost five in a row and were knocked out of playing in the Big East Conference tournament by a late shootout loss to Villanova. ODU outscored its opponents, 40-27, yet given that there are only a handful of NCAA at-large bids, failed to make the tournament.
But this season is playing out differently. ODU (8-5 overall, 4-1 Big East) has been more consistent and more resilient, especially after difficult losses.
ODU has celebrated a lot this season, and would like to celebrate a Big East Tournament title.
Shortly after suffering a heartbreaking, 3-2, overtime loss at No. 8 Virginia, the Monarchs won at No. 15, Liberty. 3-2.
"We've got a group of seniors who have been through quite a bit of ups and downs," Griffiths said. "They've been instrumental in shaping the culture here.
"it may sound like a cliche, but this team is unified. And that's the kind of thing that helps you get through the tough moments.
"We had some games where things weren't going right, and we've been able to push through."
ODU played a brutal schedule and is ranked 16th nationally by the NCAA RPI field hockey ratings and 19th in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) coaches poll. The Monarchs need to move up to 12th or 13th in order to go to the NCAA tournament.
Yet their goal isn't just to go to the NCAA tournament -- they want to win the Big East tournament, which UConn has won seven years in a row.
"We've been to a Big East tournament once before and we lost in the first round," said senior forward and team captain Erin Huffman.
Erin Huffman is a team captain and one of seven seniors who will play their last home game Friday.
"For the seniors, it’s been a goal to win the tournament for the last four years and I think accomplishing it would be an awesome feeling. We have a huge drive to get to that final and win the Big East.
Huffman and fellow seniors Rebecca Birch, Julia Demeester, Ashleigh Thomas, Alexandria Brewer, Tori Harwood and Jess Miller be honored after Friday's 2 p.m. game against Quinnipiac, which is their last home game.
Story on Andrew Griffiths overcoming grand mal seizure
Griffiths said it's helped his team that he has a solid core of international players and coaches. That's a key factor for any American field hockey team given that the sport is taken more seriously across the Atlantic Ocean than it is in America.
"Typically, the European leagues are stronger and the youth development programs better," Griffiths said.
All three ODU coaches are from other countries, including Griffiths, from Canada; first-year assistant coach Peter Taylor, from Australia; and Natalie Holder, from Glasgow, Scotland (and has been coaching this fall while pregnant).
So are five players: Birch (Leeds, United Kingdom), Alice Demars (Lille, France), Cam MacGillivray (Calgary, Canada), Robyn Murray (Enniskerry, Ireland) and Ilse Westera (Dordrecht, Netherlands).
Birch is a team captain, along with Huffman, and her path to Norfolk was meteoric.
Griffths saw her play in a tournament and then called her coach and said ODU would like to offer her to a scholarship.
In less than a month she visited ODU, signed a scholarship, obtained her Visa and packed and left for America.
Rebecca Birch is one of five ODU players for foreign countries, and plays her final home game Friday.
"I picked up my life and moved across the Atlantic Ocean," she said. "My parents (Pat and Trisha Birch) were really shocked. But it was the best decision I ever made."
Rebecca's twin sister, Kate, went to Iowa four years ago as well, where she starts for the 15th-ranked Hawkeyes.
Griffiths said having international players on his team is good not only for foreign players, but also for Americans.
"The international players bring diversity here in a lot of ways," he said. "They bring the diversity of skills and in different styles of play, but also different personalities and backgrounds.
"It's phenomenal for players who grew up here to experience that and to think about what life is life in a different country. Playing with people from other countries helps you to be less judgmental and more respectful of people from all backgrounds."
Birch and Westera both said their adjustment to living in America was easy not only because of the large contingent of international students at ODU, but because of their teammates.
"I didn't need to make friends because I already had teammates who were like family," Westera said.
It is that family attitude that has helped the Monarchs weather difficult times, Birch said.
"We listen to each other and respect each other," she said. "We've gotten a lot better about taking criticism and giving criticism. We know it's not to pick on someone. it's to make the team better.
"We have a team-first mentality."
With three games remaining, ODU has plenty of chances to beef up its resume. After hosting Quinnipiac, the Monarchs travel to take on unbeaten and defending national champion North Carolina on Sunday, then play at Villanova on Nov. 1 before the Big East tournament on Nov. 8-10 in Hamden, Conn.
Coach Andrew Griffiths said his team is winning this season because of how close his players are to each other.
For now, the seven seniors are focused on their last home game.
"I remember when I was a freshman that four years seemed so long to me," Huffman said. "But now I wonder, 'where did the time go?' "
"I'm not a crier," Birch added before saying she's not sure she won't cry.
"It will be a sad farewell," she said. "This has been one of the best experiences of my life. I've made friends here I'll have the rest of my life and had experiences that I couldn't have had otherwise."
Contact Minium: hminium@odu.edu