Bob, the ball is the stick of the blue girl, they make the sticks the same color as the ball to keep other players (and photographers I guess) from seeing the ball. I run the camera in auto, I'd guess I was about 1/500 of a second. She does have teammates, but she didn't need them to make it throught this crowd.
Nice shot, Jeff. The only thing that would improve it would be if you could see the ball. What shutter speed, because the action is nicely stopped? Does the "Blue Girl" have any teammates?