Most of the complaints say the eyewear restricts their vision, especially when a player is looking down. Some players said that makes wearing them more dangerous than not wearing any protection.
"They block your vision," Wissahickon standout Lauren Becker said of the cage-style protection. "And the goggles get foggy if it rains."
The Sabia twins, Allie and Brooke, of Mount St. Joseph, agree.
"The goggles can get fogged up just from sweating," Brooke said. "Then you have to take time to wipe them."
"The face-mask [style] restricts your vision," Allie added, saying she expects to see more injuries instead of fewer. "People get too confident with the eyewear."
Showdown Tuesday. Mark down Tuesday as one of the big showdown days of the young field hockey season. That's when two-time defending Inter-Academic League champion Notre Dame visits Episcopal Academy, last year's runner-up.
The Churchwomen are off to a 4-0 start that surprised even veteran coach Gina Buggy.
"They're young but getting better," said Buggy, who is in her 26th season.
The Churchwomen do have leading scorer Alana Dumas, a junior, back from last season when they went 16-4. They are relying on goalie Giana Pileggi, who was a freshman last year when she served as the junior varsity backstop. Dumas leads the team with 10 goals.
"It's been exciting," said Dumas who wants to play Division I hockey. "Last year we lost to Lawrenceville early in the season. This year we beat them, 2-0. Hopefully, that's a good sign for us."
Kathleen Kneizys, Leslie McManus, Weezie Chakejian and Carly Cicotti have provided great senior leadership, according to Buggy.
"The young kids seem to go with them," the coach noted.
Cakejian is headed to Georgetown to play after graduation, while Kneizys plans to play for Lehigh.
Notre Dame is 4-1 so far this season. The one loss was to Villa Maria Academy, 4-2, in the opener for both teams.
