Offtopic/fun » moment: Hawthorns Isaac Smith marks about

NORFOLK, Va. -- You cant call the Delaware Blue Hens underdogs in field hockey any longer.Just call them national champions.A late goal by national scoring leader Greta Nauck snapped a 2-2 tie and lifted Delaware to a 3-2 decision over North Carolina, which was played out at Old Dominions L.R. Hill Sports Complex on a blustery Sunday afternoon.Nauck came into the postgame news conference 30 minutes after the final horn cradling the game-winning ball as if it were a fine piece of crystal, rarely letting her eyes stray from its white crevices.My coach told me to keep it with me forever, she said through her soft German accent. Im going to put it in a special place in my room.As time wound down on the clock, Blue Hens fans (including the two busloads who made the five-hour trek down the Eastern Shore) chanted, We believe that we can win.The team with the Why not us? attitude ended the season by bringing home its first national championship in the sport and only the second NCAA title in any sport for Delaware (womens lacrosse in 1983 is the other).The Hens (23-2) spilled onto each other in front of the cage at the final horn in a symbolic scene for a field hockey celebration.We did it, the players exclaimed through hugs and tears. The Blue Hens mascot strutted over from the stands, the school radio station went crazy and the band played the alma mater, while Michaela Scanlon lay flat on her back while teammates screamed national champion in her ear.In contrast, the Tar Heels walked off arm in arm, wiping away quiet tears and disappearing into their locker room.But the Blue Hens looked like they never wanted to leave the scene, with their handling of the trophy resembling the passing of the Stanley Cup. Kayla Devlin kissed it, Lisa Giezeman called for her father, Papa, come for a pic, while Lauren Crudele nearly dropped it.Thats how she plays, joked coach Rolf van de Kerkhof while holding the coveted prize that he promised to bring home to Delaware when he took over the program in 2011.Back then, the Blue Hens finished with a losing record, including a 6-0 drubbing by the Tar Heels during the regular season when talk of an NCAA title would have been preposterous.You have to build, van de Kerkhof stressed. We have grown now for four years. We have matured. And we have gotten better every year. The gap with the top teams four years ago ... has closed. I like to believe that maybe because of what we did today, Delaware is a force to be reckoned with and that we are a top team.The Blue Hens looked like the better team in the first 35 minutes, getting an early goal from Nauck and a second from Meghan Winesett, who flicked it into an open cage after a sleek pass from Esmee Peet.The Tar Heels were sharper in the second, keeping possession in their end of the field and gaining an early goal from ACC scoring leader Lauren Moyer. When Megan DuVernois evened the score in the 62nd minute, it appeared as if all the momentum had shifted back to the Tar Heels, but Delaware refused to wilt.And North Carolina coach Karen Shelton admitted a costly error hurt the Tar Heels here.Taylor Lister intercepted an ill-fated aerial shot by freshman Eef Andriessen. It set up an easy goal for Nauck, who tapped it in for a school-record 33rd of the season with just under six minutes left.One big mistake cost us a goal, Shelton said. I love that kid. She was trying to make a play. A lot of mistakes go into a game like this. This particular one, it was a big one.North Carolina pulled its goalie from there, but the Tar Heels earned no more significant chances -- stunning for a team that had outshot its opponent 16-5 and allowed just one corner to its seven.This makes two glorious weekends of field hockey for the Blue Hens, who blanked Louisville, revived themselves from a 2-0 hole against top-seeded Duke and scored in the waning minutes in Fridays semifinal against Princeton to pit themselves against six-time champion North Carolina.The formula? De-ho, a term van de Kerkhof coined for Delaware hockey, which translates to an attacking style that doesnt deviate from an aggressive approach regardless of the opponent.We play to win, said van de Kerkhof, whose team won its 19th straight and has not lost since falling on Sept. 11 to Princeton. No overtime -- although we do pretty well in those situations, too.As for the Tar Heels (20-6), they go home empty-handed again, having advanced to five championship games in the past seven years; last winning it all in 2009. Since then, theyve fallen to Princeton on this very same field, suffered two overtime losses to Maryland and now a loss to unseeded Delaware.The Tar Heels were missing starter Kristy Bernatchez, who suffered concussion-like symptoms after being hit in the head with a ball on Friday. That moved Ashley Hoffman from midfield to defense.Shelton, a five-time national coach of the year, said coping with this result will take some time for her and her players.Each year is different, said Shelton, whose team had something of a roller-coaster season. The Tar Heels started the season ranked No. 1, lost their first game, and didnt win an ACC title but defeated Stanford and Maryland on the road to reach the final four. On Friday, they handed UConn only its second loss of the season to reach their 17th title game.It was a fantastic year. I do think we had the ability to do it. We had our chances, Shelton said. It hurts. I cant say that it doesnt. It hurts bad. I love the University of North Carolina, and Im absolutely driven to bring distinction to the university. First is a lot different than second. I hate to say it -- and it shouldnt be that big of a difference -- but it sure is.When two teams vie for an NCAA title, only one goes home a winner. On this day, it was Delaware.My husband had a dream last night we lost the game by the score of 3-2, Mary van de Kerkhof said after kissing her husband as he scooped up their sons in front of the dog pile at the final horn.Except for that one, just about every dream came true for the Blue Hens and their fans this weekend. Denzel Ward Womens Jersey .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. David Njoku Jersey . Murray beat Sam Querrey 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3 to clinch Britains opening-round victory against the United States on Sunday at Petco Park. "Im proud of the way Im playing just now, because I had to do a lot of work to get back to where I want to be," Murray said after celebrating with his teammates on the red clay court in a temporary stadium in left field of the downtown home of baseballs San Diego Padres. http://www.brownsauthenticproshop.com/Youth-David-Njoku-Jersey/ . -- Playing time has been limited for Maxim Tissot this season, so the Montreal Impact defender made the most of his first scoring opportunity on Saturday. Odell Beckham Jr Womens Jersey . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Austin Seibert Jersey . MORITZ, Switzerland -- Fog prevented downhill racers from getting their Olympic dress rehearsal. Geelong have booked an AFL preliminary final berth in stunning fashion, Hawthorn winger Isaac Smith missing a set-shot after the siren to leave the Cats winners by two points at the MCG.?The Hawks won six games by less than 10 points this season but they couldnt make it seven after Smith pushed his shot from 40m on a slight angle to the right, leaving Geelong players celebrating a 12.13 (85) to 12.11 (83) win in front of 87,533 fans.Hawthorn held a slender lead for most of Friday nights final term but the Cats - led superbly by Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood - took back the lead through Josh Caddy with just over four minutes to play.The latest chapter in one of the fiercest rivalries of the past decade was typically hard fought, with flashes of brilliance, plenty of niggle and, of course, it was close all the way.Cyril Rioli and Paul Puopolo delivered individual highlights with trademark towering marks, while Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell and the Selwood brothers were never far away when tempers boiled over.Scott Selwood applied a hard tag on Mitchell in one of the most-absorbing duels of the evening, with the Hawks playmaker taking the honours with 30 disposals.The Cats led by seven points at the first break, the Hawks by the same margin at halftime before Chris Scotts side edged back in front by two points at three-quarter time to set up the stunning finale.If Hawthorn are to win a historic fourth flag in a row, theyll have to do it the hard way. They face the Western Bulldogs in a semi-final next weekend, while the Cats have a week off to prepare for their preliminary final. The Hawks suffered injury blows when they lost James Sicily to illness before the game and Ryan Burton to a calf injury in the second quarter. Scott admitted he felt the game had slipped from Geelongs grasp when Smith marked the ball inside the attacking 50 as time ran out. Thats almost as good as footy gets isnt it? he said. I feeel for Isaac.dddddddddddd?Its a horrible situation to be in. Off the boot he probably thought it looked pretty good as well ... in the moment youre not commiserating with them, but I certainly do feel for them.The game was just typical of a final. It was a real contrast of styles, but still really fierce, and it was just the team that could take the moment when it really counted that was going to prevail.Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson said his players would quickly shake off the disappointment of the last-gasp defeat. I said to the players that if youre going to lose a final this is the one to lose (because) all the rest of them dont give you a second chance, Clarkson said. We went down this path last year and well have to go down it again. Its disappointing but we had our chances throughout the course of the night and so did the Cats. It comes down to the last kick and it could quite easily have been us victorious and them licking their wounds.2ND AFL QUALIFYING FINAL - GEELONG v HAWTHORNResult: Geelong 12.13 (85) bt Hawthorn 12.11 (83) at the MCGKey moment: Hawthorns Isaac Smith marks about 40m from goal and the final siren sounds. His shot at goal goes wide and the Cats winKey quote: We fought pretty hard, as did they. It was just one of those nights where you had to scrap for your goals and we were lucky enough to come out with the win. Geelongs Corey Enright?Tribunal: There was plenty of niggle and the match review panel will have several incidents to review, but no major clashes ?Injuries/illness: Hawthorn: James Sicily (illness, late withdrawal), Taylor Duryea (hand), Ryan Burton (calf) ?Whats next: Geelong have the week off and are through to the preliminary finals. Hawthorn play the Western Bulldogs in a sudden-death semi-final on Friday night or Saturday at the MCG. ' ' '