Week #1: Eagles off to a Great Start!

The Eagles began the 2010 season on Saturday as they took on Bryant University in Rhode Island. The team was eager and excited to put into place all that it had been working on for so many months. Saturday marked only the third time the team has played outside since October, but that did not seem to slow anyone down.

With exceptional conditioning and strength, along with great chemistry, the Eagles put forth a great effort and came out on top 20-4. Many things went right on Saturday, but there is still much more to do as we begin to face tougher and tougher teams down the stretch. Nonetheless, everyone is pleased with the season’s first performance and hope it is a sign of great things to come.

Freshman Brooke Blue had a standout performance in her first career game wearing the maroon and gold. With five goals (on six shots) and one assist on the day, she certainly found her rhythm and hopefully will take great confidence from this game heading into the season. Senior tri-Captain Lauren Costello also had a strong performance with a 100% shooting percentage (3 goals on 3 shots), several key assists, and excellent leadership for 60 minutes.

Junior defensive midfielder Jill Rekart also had an exceptional performance. With several key interceptions, many ground balls, a couple key draw controls, and two goals, she played with poise and confidence as she helped guide a young, inexperienced, yet talented, team.

The coaches were particularly pleased with the team’s shooting percentage (20 for 32), and, of the 16 goals not coming from 8ms, there were nine assists. In addition, the defense held Bryant scoreless during key moments in the beginning and end of each half and also caused several key turnovers sending the momentum in our direction. Overall, the team will look to improve on Saturday’s play in a variety of areas as it prepares for a tougher Canisius squad.

Thanks to all who were there to support us on Saturday and who sent well-wishes beforehand – we look forward to seeing many of you on Friday at 3:00pm as we take on Canisius for our first home game of 2010.

NOLA Service Trip

Lauren Costello ('10), Mary Stinson ('10) and Sheila Serafino ('11) recently went down to New Orleans with a group of BC student-athletes to help out with the Katrina Relief effort. Below is Sheila Serafino's account of her experience:

"Cos, Mary and I left BC Jan. 12th with eighteen other student-athletes headed for New Orleans on the SAAC service trip. Two flights and a van ride later, we were at the Katrina Relief Fund headquarters in Poplarville, MS (so in the middle of nowhere that we didn’t show up on GPS). We ended up sleeping on mattresses in a chapel attached to the shelter (just one huge slover, actually really fun), we had no hot water (or running water, for that matter), and there was a little rat-dog named Shorty who ran the place- but no one cared because we ate like kings, thanks to Dominic. Dominic is a chef who left his restaurant after Katrina to volunteer and work in the area’s homeless shelters. One night he even brought us to the restaurant he started with his friend, Ricky, and we got to sample real Cajun food! Crawfish, fried gator, jumbalaya, gumbo, catfish, crab cakes- DELICIOUS!!

Wednesday and Thursday, we helped the Katrina Relief Fund catch up on its office work. We placed hundreds of calls and sorted hundreds of files for families still in need- even six years after the hurricane. We weren’t doing the things you see on the Red Cross commercials, but the director, Kathleen, made a good point- helping people back to normalcy includes the nitty-gritty things like following up with their work-orders (even years later, and when their numbers are disconnected) and just being a supportive listener. It was especially satisfying when one woman (one of Mary’s calls, TWO POINTS) called back, and we were able to go finish painting her house! The staff was really grateful to us for helping them get through in days what would have taken them months.

We also got to do some demolition, which was a nice change of pace. On Friday we cleared out a building that will serve as another headquarters for the Katrina Relief Fund and then tore down an enormous volunteer center (think a few of “the Hut” on Newton) that was on the grounds of an elementary school/youth center. Now that life is getting back to normal and there isn’t the same need for volunteers, the locals want to bring their children back to this school and be able to use the ball fields and library that were decimated by Katrina. So we burned old structures and storage buildings and did away with a ton of garbage, helping them clear space to start reseeding fields and repairing the original buildings.

On Saturday we left Poplarville to visit Liz McCartney (BC ’94) who was the CNN Hero of the Year in 2008. She received this award for her work starting the St. Bernard Project, a non-profit that puts families from New Orleans’ 9th Ward back into their homes. We finished the morning driving through the 9th Ward, which was pretty intense. Here and there were houses that were either rebuilt or in the process of rebuilding, though, which was good to see.

We had an incredible experience down in Mississippi/Louisiana- the people’s resilience and pride was inspiring. We met some incredible people down there, and hopefully we did more good than trouble (the screaming Catchphrase matches probably didn’t endear us to the shelter’s residents). Plus we got to tour Tulane and then Bourbon Street (!!!!) on the last night, when there was a Saints playoff game (HOW BOUT DEM SAINTS?!?). But best of all, we got to know a completely different group of people- athletes we see every day in Conte but never really get the chance to meet! So much fun, so glad I got to take part in this trip!"