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The Daily OrangeFH | Trained eye: New field hockey coach Ange Bradley is changing the way SU plays - and it begins with conditioning
By Brian Tahmosh
Posted: 9/10/07, 11:06 PM EST Section: Sports
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With the 4-3 victory against Central Michigan on Friday, Syracuse opened the season 5-0 for the first time since 1997, when the Orange jumped out to a 6-0 record to start the year. Before the game, SU earned a top-20 ranking in the STX/NFHCA Coaches Poll for the first time in three years.
But a constant reminder of the past lingered literally on the players' backs.
The inactive players for the game were still wearing their shooting shirts, displaying a significant number in SU history: 59. While the number resonates with football fans for being the year Ernie Davis and Co. earned the program's only national title, it also means a lot to new head coach Ange Bradley and her team.
"The most goals that we've ever scored in the program's history is 58, so we want to break that," Bradley said. "So each year, we just work on rewriting our Syracuse history. We're trying to build upon the history that was created for us."
It will be a difficult task for Bradley to build on the history that her predecessor created for her, considering previous head coach Kathleen Parker's resume. Parker had been the face of Syracuse field hockey for 29 seasons, earning a 316-214-14 record.
But Bradley is not just replacing a person. She's altering the style of Syracuse field hockey by installing a faster-paced offense, a revamped conditioning program and a more competitive environment.
The last five seasons under Parker's watch did not show the same dominance as the previous 24, as SU labored to a 49-49 record since 2002. The Orange also failed to make the Big East Tournament twice in those five years.
Krissy Woods, a senior who left the team because she suffered career-ending injuries to her back in the offseason, recalled Parker telling her team she would not return as upsetting but not surprising.
"It was hard and sad to see her go," Woods said. "But I think we were ready for a change."
That change came just one month later when Bradley was hired as the new head coach. While Bradley doesn't have the 300 wins or Hall of Fame status, she comes to Syracuse with her own share of accolades.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Jean Lewis
posted 1/20/09 @ 11:07 PM EST
Coach bradley plays favorites and manipulates players. BEWARE.
sue
posted 1/30/09 @ 11:00 PM EST
Can you be a little more specific. Were you one of her players?
Former Player
posted 2/01/09 @ 11:46 PM EST
Favorites and manipulation, welcome to Division I athletics. This is nothing new.
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