The RamRoll

IOWA WIN AN UPSET THREE YEARS IN THE MAKING
By Chris Kowalczyk
9-15-09

The answers that followed couldn’t possibly illustrate the point better than the expression on their faces.

Their eyes widened, their backs arched, their faces turned towards the ceiling, as if to look to some divine intervention. A pained grin crept across their mouths. Is it possible to compress years of frustration into a few short sentences? Can some internet columnist properly convey the feeling that results when abundant passion and hard work are met with defeat?

 Kelly McQuade and Marle van Dessel have seen the worst. So, when pressed with the question, ‘what was the state of the VCU Field Hockey program three or four years ago,’ they both squirmed in their seats and searched for metaphors, most of which they knew would fall woefully short.

“It was very tough,” McQuade, in her third season as head coach, said.

Maybe that’s what makes the Rams’ 3-2 victory over 17th-ranked Iowa Friday – and 4-1 record this season – so gratifying. It’s proof that three years of exasperation, heartbreak and frustration were not in vein. Friday night, it was all worth it.

“More than anything, what [the win] really gave us was recognition,” McQuade said. “It really turned some heads. I’ve gotten so many e-mails and calls, since we beat Iowa, wishing congratulations. It makes the girls feel rewarded for all the hard work they’ve put in.”

Ten months ago, Iowa was playing in the national semifinals, while VCU was trying to whisk away the nightmares of a 5-14 campaign. It’s been a remarkable turnaround, engineered by McQuade, who stumbled upon her first head coaching stint at 23.

McQuade, a field hockey and lacrosse standout at William & Mary, joined Shelly Behrens’ VCU staff as an assistant for the 2006 season. McQuade assumed she’d be gaining valuable experience under a veteran coach. However, the program was unraveling. The 2006 season turned into a 4-15 boondoggle. The overmatched Rams were outscored, 71-30, and Behrens was let go after the season. McQuade, at 23-years-old, was handed the reins.

Junior Marle van Dessel has been a major part of VCU's renaissance, scoring 15 goals the last two seasons.

Early on, the progress within the program was remarkable, even though the results on the field appeared to be the same. The Rams finished a combined 10-27 in 2007 and 2008, but 12 of those losses were by a single goal, and eight were in overtime. After standing on the doorstep of success so often, McQuade and her staff had to work hard to keep team morale above sea level.

“The first two years, we were so close that we were just trying to do damage control by keeping them sharp mentally, because we had so many one goal losses and overtime losses,” McQuade said. “It was a matter of keeping everybody on board and keeping people from getting down on themselves.”

van Dessel, who led VCU with 12 goals last season, acknowledged that losing had a cumulative effect.

“After a while it [wears on you],” van Dessel said. “We never lost hope, but after a while you get in that losing mode even though you don’t want to. I would feel like there were times last year where we went into games hoping not to lose, instead of playing to win.”

But the 2009 season has been a stark contrast. Sparked by a highly-touted freshman class, VCU opened with wins over Miami (OH), Saint Joseph’s and Penn.  As satisfying as those victories were, none of those programs are considered top-20 material. However, Friday night in Iowa City, Iowa, the Rams broke through.

Trailing 2-1 with 13 minutes remaining, freshman Kelsey Scherrer slammed home the equalizer from point-blank range. Not five minutes later, the Chesapeake-native scored again to hand the upstart Rams their first win over a ranked opponent since a 5-4 win over Old Dominion on Oct. 26, 2003. It was the first time the Black and Gold opened a season 4-0 since 1989.

In addition to the victory, VCU gained something equally valuable…piece of mind.

“It was tough to remind myself that, the things that we were doing were going to pay off,” McQuade said.  “Most of my reinforcement about what I was doing was from the administration. [Former VCU Coach] Pat Stauffer constantly reminds me that Rome wasn’t built in a day. “

Van Dessel agreed.

“It’s very rewarding,” she said. “It’s that one win we’ve been waiting for, basically for the last two years. It’s that one we’ve been pushing to reach.”

That’s not to say VCU’s work is through. McQuade is aware that three quarters of the season, including a rugged Colonial Athletic Association schedule, lies ahead. But, for at least one night, the Rams had arrived. It’s a feeling van Dessel and her teammates want to feel again soon.

“It was amazing,” van Dessel said.  “We need to keep working to get some more upsets, especially in the CAA.”

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