Pitch Session

Andrew and Kirstin kick things off by recapping the opening weekend of play across the country (Ivy League, still fashionably late) and unveiling Week Two of the Pitch Session People’s Poll. Then they welcome Louisville head coach Justine Sowry to the pod to discuss so many things.The trio revisit Kirstin’s days as an assistant on Justine’s staff, reflect on how Justine has grown in nearly two decades as a head coach, and dig into the unique scheduling challenges being located a long distance from many other teams.
The conversation then turns to the 2025 Cardinals -- their start to the season and expectations for the months ahead. Afterward, Andrew and Kirstin break down who’s climbing the ladder (and who’s heading for the chute), run through a lightning round update on Division III, and spotlight the top matchups of Week Two.
Poll Results: Week Two
MPSF Announcement

Andrew and Kirstin discuss the NFHCA preseason poll and the results of the inaugural Pitch Session People's Poll, taking time to compare and contrast the results from both. Then they're joined by Ohio State graduate student Makenna Webster, a two-sport star for the Buckeyes. The 3rd round pick of the New York Sirens in the PWHL Draft discusses the challenges of playing field and ice hockey at such a high level, how the two sports overlap -- and how they don't.  They look ahead to Ohio State's opening weekend matchups with Ball State and Kent State and explore what other Olympic sports Makenna could excel in.
The show then wraps up with an update on Long Island's coaching search, this week's Games to Watch (tm), a DIII short corner, and a rapid fire round of chutes and ladders.

Andrew and Kirstin look ahead to the start of the season as Kirstin makes her pick for each DI conference, and who she sees in the final four.

Andrew and Kirstin move one week closer to the start of the season and are joined by first-year head coach Kristi Gannon Fisher of the Michigan Wolverines. 
They discuss her transition from player and longtime assistant at Michigan to becoming the head coach of the program, and how preseason is going as her team prepares another run through the always rigorous Big Ten.
Remember if you want to vote in this year's weekly Pitch Session Poll where we rank the top Division I teams, send a note to pitchsessionpodcast@gmail.com to get on the list.

Andrew and Kirstin begin Season Three of Pitch Session as preseason gets underway this week.
Then they're joined by Laura Gebhart, first-year head coach of the Fairfield Stags. Laura shares how she's approaching her first preseason at the helm, what it's like collaborating with Lucas the Stag, and her many hats within the NFHCA -- including her push to reform the often-debated coaches poll.
We also learn one skill the Gebhart children don't possess terribly well, and discuss a shakeup in Andrew's Gebhart family power rankings.

Andrew and Kirstin are back with an offseason edition of Pitch Session where they discuss what's been going on since December both on and off the field.
They discuss Saint Francis' move to DIII and what it means for both field hockey and college sports in general. They're then joined by Tara Zollinger, three-time national champion as a head coach (and many more as a player and assistant) and brand new leader of the Delaware Blue Hens and chat about her transition from DII to DI as a head coach and get a first-hand account of life with Shippensburg mascot Shippo the Hippo.

The Pitchies are finally here as Andrew and Kirstin are joined by Rachel from The Maxi Pod to give out their end-of-season awards to several deserving winners.
 
During The Pitchies, they also discuss important issues in the world of pop culture, current events in the sports world, and welcome Pitchie winners Emma Winther and Gorham, Maine's greatest export Hannah Price to the show.

Andrew and Kirstin put a bow on the 2024 season and are joined by two members of Northwestern's national championship team: Senior midfielder  Maddie Zimmer  and graduate student goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz. Maddie and Annabel both talk about their experience winning the national championship for Northwestern, how it felt being back in class just a day later, and reflected on their dominant seasons that culminated in a title.
Also joining the episode is 2023 Bracket Spectacular Champion Caitlin Fredericks who introduces the 2024 champion Kate Ryan. Kate talks about her secret identity with regards to this year's Northwestern team and shares a rule change that we all can get on board with.
Andrew and Kirstin also preview next week's season finale episode which will be the first annual Pitchies, celebrating the year that was in field hockey. Suggestions for categories or nominees for the Pitchies are welcome via email or Instagram.

Andrew and Kirstin reflect on Final Four weekend and Northwestern winning its second national championship in four years, knocking off Saint Joseph's 5-0 in Sunday's championship.
 
They look at the final Bracket Challenge standings and discuss whether this championship means that Northwestern has surpassed North Carolina as the dominant program at the top of the sport.
 
 

Andrew and Kirstin file a dispatch from the front lines of frigid Ann Arbor following Friday's national semifinals that saw St. Joe's upset North Carolina in the first game and Northwestern hold off Massachusetts in the second.
They talk about what they saw and heard and look ahead to Sunday's National Championship. 
Remember if you're in Ann Arbor to join us Saturday at 7 p.m. at The Brown Jug located at 1204 S University Ave in Ann Arbor.