By Andy MacDougall, News Correspondent
At only 10:30 in the morning, anyone working outside can tell this particular day is going to be a hot one. As is typical for late August, no clouds in sight means no relief for anyone caught away from the shade.
The Northeastern field hockey team has been at work for two and a half hours, sweating on a field where the only shade comes from their teammates’ shadows. The workout is demanding as always, and while players seem to get a few extra breaks, some can be heard laughing to hide the pain they’re putting their bodies through – anything for that extra second of game-time strength.
In nearly any other year, the women would wrap up practice and walk across Parker Street to their dorms in West Village, where they could immediately shower, change and tend to sore muscles from another demanding practice.
But last Friday, the women’s team boarded a charter bus to make the trek home from Boston College’s Field Hockey Field to Northeastern. And just as this routine became familiar, practice moved to Bentley University’s Turf Field.
The team traditionally played and practiced on Sweeney Field, which sits on the corner of Huntington Avenue and Ruggles Street. The field’s prime location – just outside of West Village A – made home games and practices convenient for players and staff.
But nearly a year and a half ago, Northeastern Athletic Director Peter Roby learned that things were changing. During one of his frequent discussions with now-retired Wentworth Director of Athletics Lee Conrad, Roby learned that Wentworth would be making improvements to Sweeney Field that would ultimately affect Northeastern’s field hockey program.
The changes would include an upgrade to the drainage system as well as the fence around the field. But the biggest difference, and the one that would affect Northeastern, would be Sweeney’s switch from AstroTurf to FieldTurf.
Where the FieldTurf surface is more natural for soccer or football – and easier to maintain – the surface of AstroTurf is knitted nylon fibers, helping a field hockey player’s traction and footing while on the pitch.
“[Conrad] had alerted me to the fact that they were going to be renovating their surface probably a year before they actually did it, so well before they actually did it we knew we would need to find new a facility for our women to play,” Roby said. “Over the last year we’ve been looking at scenarios to find the team a new home. The issue is that it’s a unique sport in terms of surface to play on at the Division I level. There are not many [AstroTurf] surfaces that are still around [the area].”
At the Division 1 level, AstroTurf is the field surface of choice for field hockey. The majority of games, including the NCAA title game, are played on an AstroTurf surface.
To continue to play on a field that didn’t properly suit the field hockey team’s needs was something Roby and the athletic department weren’t willing to sacrifice.
“Obviously, that was going to impact preparation and recruiting if we were not playing on that surface,” Roby said. “That’s what has resulted in us being nomads at this point.”
The athletic department began asking local schools for help, and Roby said his counterparts across the area have been more than helpful in addressing Northeastern’s immediate needs.
This season, the women will practice at Bentley University, after having practiced at Boston College during the preseason. Their home games will be split among Boston College, Harvard University and the University of New Hampshire.
“I’m very aware of the fact that this has got to be difficult on [the team], and I’m very appreciative that they’ve looked at this as just another obstacle they have to overcome,” said Roby.
Players acknowledge that Sweeney Field wasn’t always up to par with newer fields, with the AstroTurf dating back to the facilities construction in 1996, but that won’t make the loss of a home field any easier, especially for the seniors.
“It’s a little sad because all my memories are there,” senior forward Crystal Poland said. “All my memories – my first goals, first winners, first hat trick, first year with all these seniors – everything was there, and it’s still there, and when I walk by, I have all those memories still.”
“[Coach Murtagh] gave us this book called ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’ and it’s all about dealing with change. Once we read that, we all decided we weren’t going to let this bother us. We’re still going to have an unbelievable season. We’re all going to work really hard. We’re at BC, Harvard, Bentley and UNH. It’s already like our home field is an away field, and I think that’s going to benefit on us on the road.”
For those familiar with local field hockey, this isn’t a unique situation. Boston University used to play on Jack Barry Field at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before MIT switched to a FieldTurf.
With no home of their own, BU found a temporary home at Harvard, where they played last season and will play this season before they open a new $24 million complex next fall.
In terms of next season, Harvard remains a possibility, should there be availability and if they would be willing to open their doors. But Roby and the athletic department are determined to find a more permanent solution for one of Northeastern’s most successful programs.
“We’re investigating all available options, from trying to figure out how to build our own facility, to whether we need a partnership with one of the local schools again,” Roby said. “We’re getting closer to a solution. Not one we’re able to announce yet, but I think we’re making great progress towards a long term solution that we’re excited about.”
