Her hair is out of control, her eyes wide open. Her lips extend tip-to-tip into a smile. Anne-Sophie Van der Post’s so happy, she’s restless.

The freshman has reason to be. After all, the Syracuse field hockey team (4-0) is at its highest ranking in the program’s history – placed No. 7 on the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I National Coaches Poll – proof that her pride is leading her somewhere. That the defender’s stick stuck to the grass like a stop sign is providing structure in the backfield.

‘(Sophie) has a lot of pride in building something,’ head coach Ange Bradley said. ‘She wanted to come here and build a championship for us.’

Van der Post’s hopeful destination is months away but SU can creep higher into the charts toward a NCAA bid with a win over top-ranked Maryland (5-0) this Saturday at 11 a.m. when the team travels to College Park for the Terrapin Invitational. Syracuse will also face Delaware (0-4) the following day at noon.

There were choices, Bradley said. Recruited by Maryland and Connecticut, Van der Post could have been looking out from the Terrapins backfield this weekend. But the Netherlands native found something different in upstate New York.

‘The atmosphere,’ Post said. ‘I felt comfortable here.’

Bradley knew she had to have her. Having gotten a glimpse of Van der Post in a showcase – a taped practice of international players – the head coach saw ‘her tough, her fight’ and her skill as groundwork for SU’s potential backfield.

‘Just to watch her play. She’s got great eyes, great distribution,’ said Bradley as reasons why Van der Post got the start her first season. ‘She’s one of the best players, and the best 11 play.’

Not afraid to get low for that tackle, Van der Post can control the game, Bradley said. She’s been there for two consecutive shutouts to start the season and even managed to get three shot attempts while playing defense.

‘If another person tries to take my game, I try to take it back and put her out of her game as well,’ Van der Post said.

There’s little she can’t face. A language barrier, a foreign collegiate system, the 3,500 miles from Amsterdam, Netherlands – Van der Post has learned how to adapt, according to Bradley.

The transition from two-to-three fitness drills per week, to a lifestyle of practice was her biggest adjustment, Bradley said. Van der Post relishes the difference.

‘The difference is cultural,’ said Bradley on Van der Post’s Netherlands style of play.

The distance has also been an adjustment said a teammate.

‘Being so far away, that’s even hard for someone living an hour away,’ said Heather Doran, the senior backfield from Marathon, N.Y. ‘But she was already a step ahead coming in as a freshman. It’s always a tough transition because it’s something new and something that puts you out of your comfort zone and you need to get back into it.’

Leaving family to a country she’s never visited meant sacrifice. But perhaps, it was the e-mail Bradley sent Van der Post’s way that meant reassurance. It read: ‘We are very interested in having you join the family at Syracuse,’ Van der Post remembers.

She can’t seem to forget. Van der Post wasn’t the only one foreign to a new system and to a new coach, she said. Everyone had to adjust, and learn with one another. Build from blocks.

‘I feel like we’re getting into that feeling,’ she said. She can’t explain it, but Van der Post has pride in knowing where she belongs and what she’s found. ‘They really are like family.’

Though she can’t remember her first official visit last February, Post recalls her fond memory of snow, here and back home.

With a slight accent she’d laugh, then come to stop with a smirk, tip-to-tip, to say: ‘I love the campus with snow.’

edpaik@syr.edu

Published on September 11, 2008 at 12:00 pm