In every game, coaching, playing and practicing must be considered some of the most important factors that decide who wins and who loses. However, for the Ohio field hockey team, the playing field could overshadow these three to be the most important variable.

Friday, the Bobcats take on William and Mary in their first home game of the season - their first contest of the year on a grass surface. Nearly every team in Division I has a turf field. Ohio is getting one, but it will not be ready until Oct. 1, Head Coach Shelly Morris said. In the game this weekend the turf could be a speed-slowing disadvantage for both teams, Morris said.

"Field hockey at the college level is usually played on Astroturf, and we have to play on grass, which is a disadvantage for both teams," she said.

Kim Wickman said it is a different game on the grass field.

"We've been working really hard this week," Wickman said. "(The team has been) practicing on grass since we've been on turf for the past month."

Wickman said she hopes the home field advantage comes into play for the Bobcats.

"We're fortunate because we're the home team; we know the divots on the field," she said. "I don't know what (William and Mary) are practicing on because they're a turf team."

As far as the actual contest, this is an important game for the Bobcats. William and Mary is known in field hockey circles to arrive ready to compete every game. Team captain Andrea Tettinoto said she expects it to be a very competitive game.

"We expect them to come out hard," she said. "We have (a feeling of) real revenge from last year. They beat us in the last minutes of the game."