Pitch Session

Andrew and Kirstin bring warmth to the harsh winter by looking at Team USA's run through the Olympic Qualifier in Ranchi, India en route to an Olympic berth in Paris this summer.  They look back at the USA's dominant run through pool play and their gripping 2-1 win over Japan to qualify for the Olympic Games on Thursday morning.   They're also joined by the head coach at Kutztown University Marci...

Andrew and Kirstin are joined by Allison Keefe from Graphing the Game to discuss her involvement in field hockey and what exactly it is she does for teams that have retained her consulting services.  We also briefly discuss the Junior World Cup in Santiago, Lindenwood ending its field hockey program, and an update on our GoFundMe to get to Paris for the Olympics.  (Spoiler: it's still about $10,00...

Andrew and Kirstin reminisce about the epic national championship game between North Carolina and Northwestern, while attempting to highlight all the standout performance and moments from the game. Then they're joined by several guests including the Pitch Session Bracket Spectacular champion* Caitlin Fredericks, 2023 National Champions Charly Bruder, Katie Dixon, and Maddie Kahn, and North Carolin...

Andrew and Kirstin look forward to this weekend's Division I Final Four by looking back and the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament and speaking to three of the four head coaches participating in the national semifinals.  Joining the show this week is Northwestern's Trach Fuchs (16:22), Virginia's Ole Keusgen (24:12), and Duke's Pam Bustin (43:12).   Kirstin also shares her chutes and ladders fro...

Andrew and Kirstin discuss the William & Mary and Miami's wins in the Opening Round of the NCAA Tournament, and then discuss each of Friday's eight First Round games. They then breakdown penalty corner data as a callback to Sunday night's episode with data courtesy of Allison Keefe.  You can find Allison's amazing work online on Twitter and on the Gram .  The link to Allison's data-breakdown a...

Andrew and Kirstin are joined by former Quinnipiac head coach Becca Main to break down the Field of 18.  They first look back to Championship Weekend and discuss the 10 conference champions who secured autobids before looking at the eight at-large teams and those who just missed the cut.   Sign up for the Pitch Session Bracket Spectacular by clicking here. The URL is: https://officepoolstop.com/Pl...

Andrew and Kirstin gear up for Conference Tournament weekend with Cornell Head Coach Andy Smith.  Andrew, Kirstin, and Andy discuss this weekends Ivy League Tournament, the inaugural edition of the tournament and what having a conference tournament means for the eight teams in the Ivy League and how it changes their mentality all season long.  Andy shares great memories of Kirstin's time as an ump...

To celebrate having made it to double digits, Andrew and Kirstin welcome Duke Head Coach Pam Bustin to the podcast.  They discuss the success the #2 ranked Blue Devils have had this year, and look ahead to Duke's season-ending showdown with their rival and #4 ranked North Carolina this weekend with the ACC outright title and #1 seed for the ACC tournament on the line.   Andrew and Kirstin also loo...

It's Week 9 of the season and as the NCAA Tournament draws closer, Andrew and Kirstin are joined by Caitlyn Prandato from Harvard, the Chair of the Division I Field Hockey Committee.  They discuss how the process of how the eight at-large teams for the NCAA Tournament are selected, what goes in to selecting the four regional hosts and whether or not Andrew should have a say in who makes the tourna...

There's a new #1 team in the country, which means Andrew and Kirstin have a new head coach to talk to.  Northwestern coach Tracey Fuchs rolls the dice with the Pitch Session curse to discuss her #1 Wildcats season to this point, what's gone right during their current 12-game winning streak, and a look ahead to the final weeks of the regular season.  Andrew and Kirstin also discuss Liberty's upset...

Andrew and Kirstin are joined by Erin Matson, the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels, the newest #1 team in the country.  They discuss her first year as a head coach, what she's found challenging, and Erin shares her very clever rule proposal for field hockey.  Andrew and Kirstin also discuss the past week as teams reach the halfway mark of the regular season and look ahead to another week...

Andrew and Kirstin welcome the coach of the #1 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, Lisa Cellucci to discuss what's gone right for the top-ranked team this year, what it's like playing in the rough and tumble Big Ten, if the corn sweats provide a home field advantage for the Hawkeyes, and what to do about overtime.   Andrew and Kirstin also take a look at the most recent coaches poll, compare it to the RPI and l...

Andrew and Kirstin discuss the first full week of conference play, preview this weekend's games, look at Team USA's roster for the PanAm Games, and share some things that annoy them.

Andrew and Kirstin look back on the third weekend of the season and the changes it brought in this week Top 20 Poll, look ahead to the start of conference play, debate cross-country travel, and consider Kirstin's affinity for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

Andrew and Kirstin discuss the first update to the NFHCA Coaches Poll, an update on the St. Joseph's Hawk, corn sweats in Iowa and a look ahead to the final weekend of play before conference play begins next week.

Andrew and Kirstin look back on the first weekend of play, propose a new polling system for the sport, discuss breaking mascot news, and look ahead to the season's second weekend.

Andrew and Kirstin discuss the NFHCA preseason poll, predict conference championships, and discuss the upcoming season.