TOWSON, Md. – Junior
Beira Ho of the Towson University field hockey team spent a few days of her summer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania playing in the USA Field Hockey Young Women's National Championship.
Ho is the first player under head coach
E.A. Jackson to play in this event and she was among the most elite collegiate and post-collegiate female athletes to be selected to play. Eight teams competed for the title and used the platform to showcase their skills.
"Having an opportunity to spend time with the best collegiate and post-grad players gave me a better sense of the type of work ethic one must bring out at every game," Ho said. "Competing against the best made me realize that at any moment, no matter who you play, if you can play as a determined team you can definitely compete and possibly win your game."
Among the teams vying for the crown was the USA U-19 team, which Ho's team, Spirit, faced in the championship game. Spirit went home with the silver medal after a 4-2 loss to the U-19 national team, but Spirit took down other teams on the way to the title game and even played the USA U-19 squad before the final.
"We had played the USA U-19's on the second day, since it was a five-day tournament," Ho said. "We were able to have a film and scout session before we played them again. We knew they were going to be a fast team that would connect their passes very well since they have spent a year playing together. Overall, it was a great experience for me to play the best assembled USA U-19 team and to challenge them head on. Although we ended up earning silver, I think our team showed great willingness to bring out the best in all of our teammates."
On the first day, Spirit took a 3-1 win over Dream before falling to the U-19 team on day two. The third game ended in a 0-0 draw between Spirit and Pride, before the semifinal 3-1 win over Freedom that put Spirit in the gold medal game.
Towson opponents were well represented in the games, as student-athletes from JMU, Drexel, Delaware, William & Mary played in the tournament.
Ho said her time in Lancaster benefitted her in being able to experience the heightened level of play, and competing with and against the elite players.
"I took away so much from this incredible experience that I am looking forward to sharing with the Towson team in the fall," she said. "A big take away was that at the highest level the game is played at a more rapid pace and it demands that you are flexible in your play. You must be able to adapt quickly and problem solve together on the field as a cohesive unit in order to be successful."
Ho and the rest of the Tigers return to the field together in August to begin practice and open the season at home on August 30 at 3 p.m. against Appalachian State.
