In America, field hockey is undoubtedly a women's game, but last weekend, the Princeton club field hockey team was forced to turn to a man to save its season. Josh Weinstein, a freshman goaltender for the men's club ice hockey team, started two games in net for the Tigers during the national club field hockey Elite Eight tournament, helping them reach the semifinals.
Weinstein was unexpectedly pressed into service when both Princeton goaltenders pulled out of the tournament — starting netminder sophomore Pritha Ghosh had previously committed to attend a Model UN conference, and her backup was still recovering from running the New York City Marathon.
In a desperation move to find someone capable of stopping shots, sophomore Jenni Doorey sent an email to the men's club ice hockey team searching for someone with goaltending experience. Despite the fact that he had never even seen a field hockey game, Weinstein was open-minded enough to volunteer.
"In the beginning of the year, I criticized field hockey for being a strange girl's sport," Weinstein said. "After finding out that outside the United States it is played primarily by men, I was slightly more at ease with the idea of playing."
According to National Field Hockey League regulations, each team is permitted to dress as many as two male players. So as long as Weinstein displayed the necessary talent in a tryout session, he had a spot on the team.
"We had him come to a practice session to have someone walk him through the basics and measure his reaction time and coachability," senior Jessica Lindsey said. "We didn't really have a viable backup plan, and in tandem with the fact that Josh was pretty quick, we decided he was our best bet."
Lindsey was not the only Tiger initially impressed with Weinstein's natural ability. Ghosh, whose final responsibility before leaving for her conference was to give the male newcomer a crash course in field hockey goaltending, was surprised at how quickly she was able to bring him up to speed.
"Josh was a wonderful pupil," Ghosh said. "While at the beginning he was loath to give up his ice hockey habits, he figured out pretty quickly that they weren't quite as effective as some of the other stuff we were suggesting."
After only three practices, Weinstein had no choice but to be ready to face some of the nation's best club field hockey teams. In the tournament's opening contest, he did not disappoint, shutting out George Washington with three saves and one clear in a 1-0 victory. On Sunday, however, the Virginia Cavaliers were too much for the Tigers and their new backstop, scoring four goals on 20 shots in a 4-0 win.
In assessing his own performance, Weinstein expressed satisfaction with the way he played, but admitted that he could have been better.
"In the first game, there wasn't a lot of opportunity for me to demonstrate ability, and in the second game, there wasn't a lot of opportunity for us to fight back, so they were really extreme conditions," he said. "Some of my saves were really good, but at the same time the goals were potentially save-able."
Lindsey suggested that increased practice time on turf, unavailable because of a university rule prohibiting the club team from using varsity facilities, could certainly have been beneficial in better preparing the field hockey neophyte. Considering these unfavorable conditions and time constraints, she was more than satisfied with Weinstein's performance.
"I don't think he hurt us," Lindsey said. "Even if Pritha may have stopped one or two more goals — and I'm not certain that is the case — he played very well, and the semifinal game that we lost was not a close one."
Along the way to his solid performance, Weinstein had the opportunity to spend some quality time with his temporary teammates, bravely bridging the gender gap to forge fast friendships. Despite some initial reservations regarding his purple Under Armor, early bedtime and incessant candid photography, the Tigers had no problems getting along with their emergency goaltender.
"He got along very well with the team," Doorey said. "He is a flirt by nature, but he was funny and nice, so he was very approachable and likeable in a non-sketchy way."
Now that his weekend stint on the turf is over, however, Weinstein faces a return to the testosterone-filled world of ice hockey, where his teammates wait with more than a few snide comments. Though one member of the men's club hockey team who wished to remain anonymous indicated that "jealousy" was his dominant emotion when considering Weinstein's adventure, most team members seized the opportunity to poke fun at their freshman goalie.
When asked if field hockey practice could potentially improve Weinstein's on ice performance, captain Matty Valvano left little room for doubt in his response.
"No, no, emphatically no!" Valvano screamed. "And this whole experience may damage his already fragile self-esteem."
Head coach Steve Macy delivered a more measured, but equally needling, response.
"I don't see how any of this could hurt Josh," Macy said. "If nothing else, this gives me material until he graduates."
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