Field hockey player's switch to ODU has paid off

NORFOLK

Maartje van Rijswijk sliced through two defenders and sent a wicked reverse stick pass into the Old Dominion scoring circle.

The Lady Monarchs didn't score, but it was apparent that the native of Holland was on a mission to create all the opportunities she could.

It was an unfortunate situation for her old teammates.

"I've improved so much since I left Duke," the former Princess Anne High School standout said after ODU's 2-1 NCAA tournament quarterfinal win over the Blue Devils last weekend. "I think, if you look back two years ago, I'm a completely different player now. My knowledge of the game... I know the game so much better now. My strength and conditioning is much better.

"I'm so happy I made the switch."

So are the rest of the Lady Monarchs, who face defending national champion Maryland in a 4:30 p.m. semifinal today at the University of Louisville's Trager Stadium. ODU has beaten the Terrapins twice already this season.

A junior forward, van Rijswijk has been a vital force in the Lady Monarchs' forward-pressing, always-attacking style since joining the team last year.

"She has added a lot of attack to our team," ODU coach Beth Anders said. "She's very instinctual and she certainly can score. And since coming to us, she has learned to play better defense.

"Her strength is her attack, but she gives us a dual problem of offense and defense in one player. That makes us all the more dangerous."

Despite learning a new system last year, van Rijswijk finished third on the team with 33 total points and second in goals scored with 16.

This year, she is third in scoring behind two first-year players from England - Emma Batten and Rebecca Condie - with nine goals and 10 assists for 28 points.

She has enjoyed the influx of fellow Europeans.

"We didn't have any other than me last year," said van Rijswijk, an accounting and finance major who will return to Holland with her parents after graduation. "I like it. It gives us different dimensions. In the U.S., the style is more attacking. We attack a little differently in Europe. The mix is nice... I think it helps us a lot."

Van Rijswijk has been in the United States since she was 15, when her father was assigned to NATO in Norfolk. She is looking forward to returning home, where she plans to enter graduate school and play club hockey.

But first there is the matter of this weekend, where the Lady Monarchs are looking to win an NCAA-record 10th Division I field hockey title - something she'd love to take home with her.

"Yes... please," she said with a laugh.

Lee Tolliver, (757) 222-5844, lee.tolliver@pilotonline.com