Pirate Galaxy » Tagliente just about dropped the marker she

Can anyone remember a first month of a season featuring so many meaty matchups of A-list programs? The answer is no, and Week 5 further maintains -- heck, accelerates -- this pleasing trend. Three top-10 conference matchups? That last happened in 1978. Heck, we havent had that many top-10 matchups over one weekend in any season since 2002.Only trouble is a matchup of ranked teams doesnt a classic game make. Weve watched 12 of these so far and only one -- one! -- has been decided by seven or fewer points.Its been kind of a drag, eh? its been noted at the watercooler on these recent Mondays.This week will give us plenty to talk about, as were going to see some early season scripts flip.While September has been owned by Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, Clemsons Deshaun Watson is going to be the linchpin in that critical ACC battle. In the Big Ten, people cant stop talking about Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, but the guy well be raising a newly curious eyebrow about will be Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst. The top spot in the Pac-12 is at stake as Washington tries to figure out the ultimate question in the conference this year: what to do against Christian McCaffrey?Now if we could just get a couple of these games to be in doubt deep into the fourth quarter. NFL Jerseys Clearance . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. http://www.wholesalenflchinacheapjerseys.com/ . Coach Mike Munchak says Fokou stretched ligaments in his left knee Oct. 13 against Seattle, which could keep out up to five weeks even though the linebacker didnt need surgery. Wholesale Jerseys China . First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark". Supply NFL Jerseys . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. Mix Cinderella with Lazarus and sprinkle in a little Lady Luck. And -- presto -- you have two of the four teams playing for a field hockey national championship this weekend in Norfolk, Virginia.Unseeded Delaware stunned top-seeded Duke and unseeded Princeton topped Virginia in the quarterfinals to join stalwarts North Carolina and Connecticut -- minor surprises by comparison -- in the obliterated bracket.Surreal, is how Princeton sophomore striker and magician Sophia Tornetta describes it. And indeed thats one word, along with quirky and improbable, that best describe the journey to the 2016 final four for half the bracket.Delaware, the Colonial Athletic Association champion for the fourth straight season, boasts a 21-2 record. Turns out the Blue Hens, fueled by the nations leading scorer Greta Nauck, arent just a nice little mid-major ready to take a bow in the first round. Had they not won the CAA tournament, they would have surely snagged an at-large bid (yes, it would have been the one that went to Princeton, admits Tigers coach Carla Tagliente). With victories against Virginia and Albany, along with running the table in conference play, Delaware had its best season in program history, but the final four still seemed like a reach for a team that hadnt done it since 1982, especially given the ACC powerhouses theyd have to beat to get there.The Blue Hens first blanked Louisville 1-0, despite being outshot 11-4.Then came Duke, a program Delaware had never beaten.Delaware trailed the Blue Devils 2-0 with less than 10 minutes to play in Durham. Warm up the bus?We rose from the dead, coach Rolf van de Kerkhof said.Scoring off a corner, Nauck trimmed the deficit to one in the 62nd minute and, after a Duke timeout, the Blue Hens drew even and stayed that way until the end of regulation, forcing the 7-on-7 overtime. Before three minutes had elapsed in the sudden-victory period, Nauck had fired off two shots.The second one is why Delaware is in Norfolk this weekend.The German sophomore insists she struggles with confidence, sometimes as it relates to the English language, as in pronouncing her Ws and Vs correctly, and sometimes, believe it or not, in her offensive aggressiveness.Yet in that moment, she felt like Superwoman, controlling a breakaway to slip past two defenders and blast the shot past Duke goalie Sammi Steele, who had emerged from the cage.Usually Im not good at situations like that, beating other people, Nauck said. This time I told myself. I will score this goal. I will beat them. When I saw the goalie coming toward me, I lifted it, and those few seconds, seeing the ball go toward the goal cage and watching the goalie, they seemed like forever.Please go in, she prayed.When it did, Nauck sprinted to find her own goalie, Emmeline Oltmans, brilliant in the face of 23 shots, hugged her first and then let out a shout that became a scream practically loud enough for those back in the Delaware Valley to hear.A Dutchman, Van de Kerkhof has the professional relationships that allow him to recruit overseas. Nauck turned down other top programs to sign with Delaware without setting foot on campus. She is one of six players on the Delaware roster from Europe.The charming college town of Newark, Delaware, which boasts state-of-the-art facilities for field hockey, borders on Pennsylvania, where successful club field hockey teams are as common as pretzel rolls and fresh Tastykakes. The best field hockey in the country is played within four hours of here, said Van de Kerkhof, a former Michigan State coach.His pitch to recruits is simple. Come to a great academic school, Mom and Dad can see you play, and benefit from the New York/D.C. corridor, fertile ground for professional internship opportunities.If you dream big and youre willing to work hard at it, great things can happen, Van de Kerkhof said. One of the reasons I left Michigan State was that I thought Delaware was a sleeping giant; you just have to feed her, raise heer, educate her, coach her up.ddddddddddddUnlike Delaware, Princeton didnt put together a remarkable season. In fact, by program standards, it was disappointing -- a 10-7 regular season had senior Cat Caro folding my body parts every sort of way while watching the selection show in hopes of Princeton receiving that at-large bid, a first for the Ivy League.The Tigers needed it because Princeton didnt win the Ivy for the first time in five years. In fact, until this season, the Tigers had lost the league only once since 2004. While they have a seasoned coach in Tagliente, she is only in her first year with the program; Kristen Holmes-Winn, who guided the team to its only NCAA title in 2012, stepped down in July to be part of a new sports performance and technology company.But once the bid was announced, these Tigers wiped the slate clean. Princeton played what Tagliente regards as its best game of the season, upsetting Penn State 2-1 to open the NCAA tournament at State College, Pennsylvania.The Tigers then faced a Virginia team led by ACC offensive player of the year Tara Vittese that shut out them out 2-0 on Sept. 16.Tied 2-2 in the final seconds last Sunday, the weary teams seemed destined for overtime. But the chaotic final seconds unraveled into the unlikeliest of finishes.It appeared as if time had expired, but neither team heard a horn.After the ball hit a Virginia defender, Caro directed it Tornettas way and the sophomore laced it to the back of the cage. The Tigers celebrated. Game over? Did the goal count? The Cavaliers thought they were going to overtime.A conference of officials confirmed a 3-2 Princeton victory, leaving the Cavaliers, who had outshot Princeton 13-3, shocked.I was preparing myself for overtime, but I wasnt giving up hope completely, Tornetta said. It rolled in front of me. I told myself to hit it toward the goal, anything can happen, and I saw the ball hit the back of net. My next reaction was to look at the bench and, all of the sudden, I see the entire team from ear to ear, smiles on their faces, tears running from their eyes. It was one of the most surreal and coolest moments I have been a part of.Tagliente was preparing for the extra period, too. I turned around to grab my board to start writing an overtime lineup, she said. I turned back around and Sophias on the ground shooting the ball into the net and Im frozen holding my board. One of my assistants is charging to me and yelling, We did it!Walking into an established program late in the summer was daunting for Tagliente, but before she knew everyones names, the Tigers wanted to talk goals. The consensus was no one wanted it to be like last year and Tagliente kept hearing, I dont want . . .Talk about what you want and come back, Tagliente instructed.The next time Tagliente asked, Caro said, We want to win a national championship.Tagliente just about dropped the marker she was holding. Then she remembered she was at Princeton with players who yearn to leave a legacy.A national title doesnt seem so crazy now. Dont look at the record, Tagliente said. But if you do, youll see the Tigers lost to North Carolina, Duke and Maryland, but the scores in all those games were 2-1. They beat Delaware 4-2 on Sept. 11.And now theyre here. Its Princeton vs. Delaware at 4:45 p.m. Friday following North Carolina vs. Connecticut at 2 p.m.Its the first time since the tournament started in 1975 that not one of the top four seeds has advanced to the final four, said Chip Rogers, who has kept a statistical history of every NCAA field hockey tournament since its inception. His book is the official record book of the sport.Whatever happens, either Delaware or Princeton will be in the 2016 national championship against North Carolina, a six-time champion, or UConn, a four-time champion. Whose ride will continue? We find out Friday. ' ' '