Perhaps the feelings of fall varsity athletes can be summed up by the words on a whiteboard in Alumni Gym, where new head coach Emily Hayes leads the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ volleyball program.

Under the header “Practice 1” on Wednesday, it read, “Thankful.”

“You will hear the same thing from everyone,” said field hockey forward Emily Gianunzio ’22 of Darien, Conn. “This is amazing. To be together on the field has been great.”

The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ fall sports teams haven’t played an actual intercollegiate game since 2019. Last year, they practiced, but with masks.

The first practices of the year were Wednesday. First up was men’s soccer, which took to the Garcelon Field turf at 7 a.m., the first time without masks in two years.

Head coach Tyler Sheikh was ready to put his team to the test, with a challenging conditioning session to start the morning off right.

“It’s time to kick their butts a little bit,” said Sheikh.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ men’s soccer was the first of four practices for fall sports on Wednesday, as the Bobcats get ready for what promises to be a fun .

We were on-hand to capture all the excitement of men’s soccer, field hockey, women’s soccer, and volleyball’s return to action.

Good things happen in threes. So do great things, especially for Bobcat sports this past week. Take a look:

1. Women’s rowing captures Head of the Charles title

Guided by senior coxswain Hanna De Bruyn of Old Lyme, Conn., the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ women’s varsity eight set a course record on Oct. 22 to win the women’s collegiate eights at the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta.

De Bruyn and her crew navigated the serpentine 4,800-meter course on the Charles River in 16:01.182, outpacing last year’s Head of the Charles winner Wesleyan by 16.863 seconds.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ women’s rowing captured the women’s collegiate eights at the Head of the Charles on Oct. 22. (Photograph by Daniel D’Ottavio)

2. Men’s soccer qualifies for NESCACs with amazing goal vs. Colby

The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ men’s soccer team heads to the NESCAC championship tournament thanks to a miraculous goal scored in the final minute of the Bobcats’ regular-season finale at Colby on Wednesday afternoon.

Sophomore Beaufils Kimpolo-Pene of the Bronx, N.Y., knocked in the rebound of his initial saved shot with 24 seconds left in the second overtime period.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ plays at top-seeded Tufts Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in the NESCAC quarterfinals.

3. Field hockey also beats Colby, in final seconds, to earn NESCAC bid

For the third straight year, the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ field hockey team beat Colby in the final game of the season to earn a spot in the NESCAC tournament. Here’s what it looked like:

With the win, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ earns the eighth seed in the NESCAC tournament and visits top seed and No. 2 nationally ranked Middlebury on Saturday. The NESCAC quarterfinal match is set for 12:00 p.m.

It would take an hour to explain the qualities of a good soccer goalkeeper, says ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ men’s soccer head coach Stewart Flaherty.

Still, adds women’s soccer head coach Kelsy Ross, “there are some key characteristics we’re looking for.”

Bobcat goalkeepers Sarah McCarthy ’18 of Rockville Centre, N.Y., and Robbie Montanaro ’19 of Belmont, Mass., fit those key characteristics to a T.

While they are rhetoric and sociology majors off the soccer pitch, on the pitch the two major in a very important quality: confidence.

In turn, McCarthy says, increased confidence has improved a key skill of any keeper: communicating with the defense and making snap decisions. “In terms of leadership,” she says, greater confidence “has been huge for me, to really let me command the back line and be able to talk.”

“Everyone can make an athletic save when they need to â€” we’re all college keepers,” Montanaro says. “I think what separates everybody is communication, the little things, positioning, and doing everything at game speed, especially in practice.”

FRIDAY, SEPT. 19

• Art Exhibit: Alex Grey’s Numinous Flesh, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. in the Olin Museum of Art.
• Women’s volleyball vs. Rowan College, 6 p.m. in Alumni Gymnasium.
• Women’s volleyball vs. Colby College, 8 p.m. in Alumni Gymnasium.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 20

• Art Exhibit: Alex Grey’s Numinous Flesh, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. in the Olin Museum of Art.
• Women’s volleyball vs. Gordon College, 10 a.m. in Alumni Gymnasium.
• Field hockey vs. Trinity College, 11 a.m. at Russell Street Field
• Women’s soccer vs. Trinity College, 11 a.m. at Lafayette Street Field.
• Men’s soccer vs. Plymouth State College, 12 p.m. at Leahey Field
• Football vs. Trinity College, 1:30 p.m. at Garcelon Field
• Women’s volleyball vs. Middlebury College, 3 p.m. in Alumni Gymnasium
• Back to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Fireworks Show, 8:30 p.m. at Garcelon Field

SUNDAY, SEPT. 21

• Art Exhibit: Alex Grey’s Numinous Flesh, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. in the Olin Museum of Art.