THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 7, 1994 TAG: 9407070691
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ST. LOUIS LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
If success as a field hockey forward was measured strictly by goals scored, former Kempsville High star Eileen Arnaldo would have little to write home about from this U.S. Olympic Festival.
The rising senior at James Madison University has been shut out in her first two games. In fact, were it not for Gretchen Schuermann's hat trick on Monday, the East team wouldn't have scored at all.
Fortunately for Arnaldo, there's a lot more to making an impact in the sport than putting the ball in the net. And as long as she keeps excelling at the less glamourous aspects of the game, East coach Sue Caples has no complaints about Arnaldo's play.
``Eileen's been just great,'' Caples said. ``Sure, she hasn't scored any goals, but she's creating opportunities. She's getting her corners, she's getting her shots. Plus she's a sparkplug. She gets everyone else going. I'm not worried. The goals will come.''
Arnaldo's not about to get frustrated, either.
``I'm having a great time and the team's starting to play well,'' she said. ``That's what's important.''
Besides, Arnaldo, 21, is still on a high after having made the U.S. under-21 team at the end of last year. The East squad at the U.S. Olympic Festival is comprised of under-21 team members.
``I was fortunate enough to be selected,'' Arnaldo said.
Actually, she busted her tail to be selected. Arnaldo didn't start playing field hockey until the ninth grade, and though she developed into a two-time All-Beach District first-teamer at Kempsville, Arnaldo wasn't a highly sought after recruit coming out of high school. And while James Madison recruited her and invited her to come out for the team, they had her do so at her own expense.
Arnaldo said she was perfectly willing to walk on at JMU, though, something she didn't seriously consider doing at higher-profile Old Dominion.
``I was looking to get away from home,'' she said. ``I'd been in the area a long time. I felt like it was time to start anew.''
The move got off to a rough start. The coach who recruited Arnaldo stepped down a month before school began. Christy Morgan, an Old Dominion graduate, took over, but she knew nothing about Arnaldo.
``That first year was kind of tough,'' Arnaldo said. ``I had to work through a lot of things.''
Gradually, Arnaldo began finding her niche in the JMU program. And over the past two seasons, her improvement as a player has paralleled JMU's rise as a field hockey power. Once a middle-of-the-pack program, James Madison rose to the No. 7 ranking in the country this year and beat the defending champion Lady Monarchs in the NCAA tournament.
``That felt really good,'' Arnaldo said. ``It's nothing personal against them. It's just that they've been at the top for so long. That's the team you really get up for.''
And since hard work has gotten Arnaldo this far, she's not about to stop now. James Madison can still improve on last season's performance, she said. And even though she's taken a step on the national field hockey ladder, higher steps are waiting to be scaled.
With any luck, just like scoring goals, that will eventually come, too. by CNB