Friday March 13, 2015 – Saturday March 14, 2015 (Senior Defenseman Luke Kocot)
(Friday)
9:00am – The hotel we're staying in, is definitely an upgrade from the Ramada. It's nice waking up in a king size big in my own room, instead of waking up to Freshmen Chris Bronander's knees in my back. After I woke up, I got ready and headed down to team breakfast with my roommates Will Clancy and Travis Ward. After a quick bite, the team headed to Manhattanville's campus to practice.
12:30pm – It was the first time stepping on a field since our loss to Shenandoah, and the Boys had a fire in our stomachs. Knowing what we had to work on, we headed on the field and got ready. We kept practice intense, starting off with one-on-ones then moving to six-on-six. The defense and offense worked hard to make each other better, and coach Murphy and Sweeney were pleased with how positive the practice was and the progress that we made.
3:00pm – After a long, intense practice we headed back to the hotel to clean up and relax before the big game the next day. After showering and taking an ice bath, I headed down to lunch: pasta, salad, and loafs of French bread. You really couldn't imagine how much food we could all eat. Eating meals with the Boys is a lot like surviving at a watering hole in the safari. After we all ate our body weight in food many of us took a much needed nap. We have all been on the road at this point for almost a week and we all needed a little rest.
7:00pm – When I woke up it was time for dinner! Our teammate Matt Boyd is from the Area and his parents were kind enough to invite the team for dinner. The Boyd's cooked a massive feast for us. It was nice to just relax with everyone, sit down and eat a nice home cooked meal. After eating, some of the Boy's invaded Boyd's room hoping to find a race car bed or something embarrassing like that. Instead we found a black belt and a wooden staff which Junior Tim McNair, believing he was a samurai warrior, beat me with. As I headed down stairs I found a circle of boys around senior Sean Ahern doing card tricks. Sean asked me to pick a few cards, he then asked me what my phone number was, he then flipped the cards over and it was my phone number, we all freaked out! After thanking Boyd's family for the meal, and more importantly the good time, we headed back to the hotel to get some sleep before the game.
(Saturday)
9:00am – Waking up today is bitter sweet. It's the last day of spring break, but it's also game day. It is weird thinking that this is the last trip I will ever have with the team. But the memories I have made and the things I have learned after four years have been irreplaceable. After a great breakfast with the team, I headed back up to the room to watch some film with Junior Midfielder Will Clancy before the game. We talked about what we can do better and how we should approach today's game. Soon after, we packed our bags and headed down to join the Boys at the bus.
11:00am – The ride to Mannhattavnville was a quick one. We are eager to get off the bus and get ready for the game. It was pouring rain outside so we all put on our rain gear and went on the field to throw around and get use to how our sticks throw. We then suited up and got pumped up for the game. Soon the coaches walked in and we all sat and listened. We knew what we had to do and how we were going get it done, we just had to execute. We walked onto the field shoulder to shoulder with the rain pouring down our helmets.
1:00pm – After a quick stretch we got into drills. As the buzzer rang for the game to begin, we broke from the huddle, and in the words of Chris Kyle we were "feeling dangerous". Senior Pete Duggan won us the first face off to Senior Ron Jensen to get us off to a great start. The game was back and forth, the first half was slow, but our defense had a solid grasp on how Manhattanville's offense operated. Soon after the second half our offense responded with a quick three goals from Sophomore Jack McMenomey. Sophomore goalie Shane O'Brien played an incredible game making vital saves. The defense cleared the ball effectively to the offense who capitalized on opportunities to tie the game up. As overtime approached Coach Murphy and Coach Sweeny gathered the team together to go over the game plan, we were all confident with what we had to do. Manhattanville won the face off but our strong defense made them turn over the ball, which was recovered by sophomore Brendan Flaim. As he sprinted down the right ally he switched to his left hand and made a steezy left handed no look shot to win the game. We rushed the field in relief to congratulate him and Shane. It was great to end spring break with a victory. After we got cleaned up, we had a quick bite to eat with our family and friends before heading back to campus.
8:00pm – But the fun wasn't over yet! As we passed the city of Providence I smelled something like burning plastic at the back of the bus. As I looked up and asked "What's that smell?" I saw the entire bus was full of smoke! The bus's wiring overheated and began melting. Dave our legendary bus driver pulled the bus over and all the boys pilled out. Soon a new bus came to pick us up and we were safely back at Curry.
After a nine day log adventure up and down the East Coast, from Pennsylvania and Virginia to New York, we were finally back after a fantastic Spring Break. I'm going to miss every single thing about being a part of this team. I know that when I leave this team it will be in great hands not only with my teammates but with my coaches. Coach Murphy and Coach Sweeney do everything they can for us to make us better as individuals and as a team. Over the past three years that they have been a part of this program they have dramatically helped it grow for the better. The best part? There is still plenty more of fun and success yet to come this season!
