For the nationally ranked (14th) University at Albany women’s field hockey team, experience runs deep and global.

The Great Danes, who are seeking their fourth consecutive trip to the America East Conference tournament finals and hopefully a trip to the NCAA Tournament, feature a roster loaded with extremely skilled international players. Eight of the 11 regular starters are European, and there are 11 international players overall. The lineup looks more like a European entry in the Olympics, Solheim Cup or the World Cup than a U.S. college team.

“The biggest difference between the typical American player and one from Europe is that, unlike the high schools here where a top player may be able to dominate, a player from Europe – like our top player, Alison Smisdom – has been playing the game competitively since they were in first grade at age 5 or 6,” explained UAlbany head coach Phil Sykes, who has guided the team to seven America East Conference championships and seven berths in the NCAA Tournament.

“Alison has already played on Belgium’s under-18 national team and the Dutch national team. Even though she is one of the best players at her age, she has still been humbled each day by older and more experienced players. Players in Europe start playing earlier, have much more competition at that earlier age and also play on water-based astro turf right from the start,” said Sykes, who was an outstanding player himself, competing on both the men’s U.S. Junior and Senior National Teams as well as for the U.S. in the 1996 Olympics. He has coached the Great Danes since 2004 and owned a 263-130 record entering this season.

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"Team chemistry is an important thing..."

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Sykes explained that he first began recruiting international players when UAlbany started making the transition to Division I. “We researched all the top-20 programs and looked at the ratio of schools getting the top players. We tried to match it,” Sykes said. “My assistant Andy Thornton and I had contacts all over Europe and Australia. We tried to find quality players and we found out that once they came to UAlbany, they liked it, and they helped us bring back more international players.”

Sykes said he and his staff’s priority is to make all of the players on his roster comfortable right from the beginning of their collegiate careers. “Team chemistry is an important thing, so one of the unique things about our program is that we get the girls to know each other very early on. We pair them up with a fairly local person initially so that it’s almost like a second family. We also try to pair them up based on their personalities. If we pair them up well, they might make immediate friends with the volleyball team or the lacrosse team. We start in their first summer on campus with team book assignments and taking them to movies. We have a goal sheet. We also make sure all the girls celebrate Thanksgiving and the other holidays with their teammates. Some of our players even go to experience Europe. That experience broadens their horizons and shows them the world.”

Smisdom, who was the America East Conference Midfielder of the Year and a national All-American selection, is the backbone of the team. The prolific goal scorer knew right away that she made the right choice coming to UAlbany.

“Coach immediately made me feel very comfortable,” Smisdom said. “They were very excited every time they gave me a call to check up on me.”

Smisdom, from Antwerp, Belgium, said one major difference between European field hockey and the American style became apparent early in her UAlbany career.

“Over in Europe, the game is way more technical and tactical. Over here, it’s more physical and everyone is way stronger. At home, I never lifted weights before, but now I do feel much stronger,” she said.

Floor de Ruiter, one of the conference’s top playmakers from Noordwijk, The Netherlands, is extremely pleased with the way the coaching staff helped international players balance the athletic experience with everyday life.

“Coach wants you to feel comfortable with your surroundings, and he wants you to have a life off the field,” de Ruiter said. “We always hang out together and go to the farmer’s market. I would say we are a fun group. Everyone made you feel like you are at home immediately. Our team is definitely like a family, especially for us internationals who don’t have our families nearby. The people on our team are definitely our friends.”

Charlotte Triggs, a fifth-year player from Nottingham, England, heard a lot about Sykes and his coaching staff before she decided to come to UAlbany. “My coaches at home knew them, and we heard some good things about them. I would say that I’ve definitely felt very comfortable playing for them for five years, and we’ve developed good chemistry,” she said.

Blanca Orsola, from Barcelona, Spain, said it took a while for her to fit in at UAlbany, but it was worth the effort. “I would say it took me a few months to get used to the differences with the food and the language. I was so nervous in the beginning, and it took me a semester to get used to the American personality,” she said.

The balanced and deep Great Danes lead the America East Conference in virtually every statistical category. Other international players on the roster include senior goalie Lara Behn (Hamburg, Germany), graduate student Delphine Le Jeune (Ghent, Belgium), sophomore defender Mara Küskes (Mönchengladbach, Germany), freshman midfielder Eva Jenniskens (Naarden, The Netherlands), graduate student Chiara Calicchia (Dusseldorf, Germany), freshman Tessa Overgoor (Zoetermeer, The Netherlands) and freshman Lotje Ligthart (Rotterdam, The Netherlands).

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