New Fields & Fall Sports

The new turf athletic field at Regis. Included in the project were new areas for track & field events, and a new softball field

Over the winter Regis College completely renovated their outdoor athletics fields. With a few million dollars and some significant construction work, the old fields were torn out, a few more acres of land were cleared, and the result are brand new athletics fields for our students. Due to problems with the old fields, several of our teams were forced to play home games at off campus sites. This kept the number of fans in attendance down, and was a mental hurdle our athletes had to overcome before each game. With the new facilities here on campus, the fans are turning out, and the athletes appear more relaxed and better focused.

The Regis women's soccer team finishes their first pre-game warm up on their new field

As the athletics photographer, I marked my calendar months in advance to make sure I would be available for the first games on the new turf field. Last Saturday that day had finally arrived and the Regis women's soccer team took on Salve Regina for the first of many contests to be had at the new complex. The team lost this game, but I'm sure they will start a home winning tradition very soon.

Regis goaltender Ashley Hibbard (on ground) puts herself in harms way to beat an attacker to the ball

The men's team was next and they looked comfortable on the turf field versus the natural grass they played on last year. The pace was quick and tempers flared a bit before cooler heads prevailed.

(Left)Ricky Guyette gets his head in the game as teammate Shawn McDonough looks on

(Right)Shawn McDonough (left) and Josh Fidalgo (right) squeeze out Salve Regina William Shaheen for a loose ball

One thing about turf fields is that they can be a nightmare for professional photographers. Sure, they lines are clean and there aren't any brown spots where the grass is gone, but they act like asphalt on a hot day, giving off heat and causing visual distortions picked up by long focal length lenses. This happens even on a relatively cool 70 degree day in Massachusetts in September. An example of the problem is to the right.

Regis sophomore goalie Andrew LaMacchia fields a low shot making the save look routine

Just a few days later I was back on the field for my first field hockey game. At that point my only experience with field hockey was watching a few minutes of it on ESPN2 at 3am. Being an ice hockey fan, and a new lacrosse fan, I had a rough idea of what I was in for but it still was a long day of shooting as I kept finding myself out of position. Live and learn as they say! I did manage to get some shots that I was happy with and more importantly, I learned a lot for the next field hockey match I'll be shooting.

Sophomore Meghan Robohm (white) cuts off a Salve Regina attacker and steals the ball

































(Left) Defender Joanna McDonough gets to a loose ball to safely clear the Regis zone
(Right) Regis goalkeeper Sara Ankerud reflects back on the first half

With the school semester in full swing, I'll have frequent posts concerning Regis athletics, and some Hockey East including Boston University, Boston, College, Northeastern, & UMass so keep checking back in, and thanks for stopping by.

~ Brad