 "Photo: MIKE FRANTEL–THE DIAMONDBACK")
Just minutes after Susie Rowe pierced the net with her game-winning goal in the Terrapin field hockey team's victory over Wake Forest, her family had to leave to board their flight back home to London.
After witnessing his daughter score that goal and be named ACC Tournament MVP, Colin Rowe said he didn't even need to get on a plane.
"I was so high, I could fly under my own steam," he said.
It was the result of a season where Susie steadily improved her attacking and defending skills in the United States after playing in England and internationally since she was 10 years old.
But deciding to play field hockey for the Terps meant more than just crossing the Atlantic Ocean. It meant giving up the chance to play the other sport she loved - cricket.
Rowe not only enjoys playing cricket like most of her family, but she competed on England's under-21 team and was a candidate to be on the team again, had she not committed to play field hockey in the United States.
"I sacrificed a lot to come here with regards to cricket," Rowe said. "There were opportunities there for me to succeed and get further with the national setup of cricket, but I decided to come here."
Closing the door to playing cricket for four years was difficult, but it was a commitment she made knowing her love for field hockey was something she couldn't deny.
Susie was introduced to the game when Colin and her mother, Josephine, took her to Bromley Hockey Club in England. Since then, she was able to hone the skills that have helped her in both sports.
Cricket, a sport somewhat similar to baseball, involves hitting a bouncing ball with a flattened bat and pitching it - far from the contact nature of field hockey.
"Hand-eye coordination is the main thing. I find it's so transferable when I come across to play hockey," Rowe said. "Hitting the ball the first time into the goal, I don't need to stop the ball; I can just hit it."
No matter which sport Rowe plays, she has a burning passion to win, something that began when she played soccer and cricket against boys.
"I always wanted to join in when boys were playing a sport," Rowe said. "I'd always give the boys a good run for their money."
Even as Rowe played strictly against other girls when she was 11, she had to compete even harder just to keep playing. She was diagnosed with Osgood-Schlatters, a bone and muscle condition that prevented her from playing cricket or field hockey for two years.
"She had to stop everything. She couldn't walk, run or climb stairs," Josephine said. "But she coped with it really well."
Coping for Rowe was getting back into the games, as she was able to hone her cricket skills before she completely outgrew the problem.
And that same competitiveness that made her want to beat her classmates and brothers is evident when she takes the field in games and practices.
"Maybe sometimes I'm a bit too physical," Rowe said. "Everyone knows in practice I'm very physical on [defense]. You have to have that willingness to compete and fight for everything."
In cricket and field hockey, Rowe has always possessed the ability to crush the ball. When she was 12 years old, her school didn't encourage her to hit the ball with all of her strength.
"They [said] 'Can you not hit the ball so hard? Because you're scaring all the other girls,'" Rowe said.
That shot came into use Sunday, when the ball zipped past Demon Deacon goalkeeper Kristina Gagliardi to give the Terps the lead and the ACC title.
Even with her success in field hockey and commitment to getting a degree and playing for four years in the United States, Rowe hasn't ruled out returning to cricket later in life. England would still welcome her back.
"That was very important in my decision to come out here to know there's still a way back in," Rowe said. "Cricket - you can play it when you're 40 ... There's still chances for me to go back when I finish up here."
After scoring both game winners, Rowe erased any doubt about her choice.
"We could see how happy she was," Josephine said. "It was an affirmation that the decision she made was the right decision."
Contact reporter Stephen Whyno at whynodbk@gmail.com.
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