Field hockey poised for another run at NECC Tournament title
BOSTON, MA - With all 11 starters returning from a 2009 squad that advanced to its first league tournament title game in a decade, the Wheelock College field hockey team looks to again contend for a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) postseason crown while returning a seasoned corps for the 2010 campaign.
Third-year head coach Kyoungho Koh, last fall's NECC Coach of the Year, led her charges to a 6-2 conference mark in 2009 and a 7-11 overall record, as the Wildcats fell in overtime during the league tournament championship contest against Becker College, the same squad it lost to in 1999.
"The team is gelling, and with the amount of energy, excitement and fun we're having, we could do better than last year," said Koh, who heads into her sixth year as a college head coach. "They've all grown together, seen the drills, and now they are understanding in a different way how they can apply things that we do in practice to games."
Balanced scoring was a key to Wheelock's success last fall: After two players combined for nearly 70 percent of the team's goals in 2008, 11 different Wildcats tallied in 2009, with only one scoring more than five times. The team's 31 assists also topped the NECC.
"We look to create an environment where the players want the best for each of their teammates and, in wanting the best for their teammates, they get the best for themselves. It's an upward spiral," said Koh. "Among our tangible goals are to win the NECC Tournament, increase our scoring and decrease our goals against. Within those are the small goals that need to be reached, such as increasing players' level of play, skill and strategy."
In addition to last year's starting lineup being intact, another two players who made 13 appearances return. Overall, 14 players are back, among them five seniors set to guide a roster that boasts 13 underclassmen among its 20 players. Forward Milbrey Hendrix (Kennett Square, PA/Sanford), midfielder Julie Kilcoyne (Sterling, MA/Wachusett Regional), goalkeeper Meredith Race (Marion, MA/Old Rochester Regional) and back Michaela Ross (Mansfield, MA/Mansfield) will serve as the team's captains, while Kara Widdison (Greenfield, MA/Greenfield) rounds out the Class of 2010 in her second year with the Wildcats after playing at the University of New England as an underclassman. She will provide experience as a forward and midfielder.
Hendrix, Kilcoyne and Ross each nabbed NECC All-Conference accolades in 2009, when Hendrix turned in four goals and six assists, while Race earned an all-league honorable mention after posting a 0.62 goals-against average and five shutouts in conference play. As the only keeper on the roster the past two years, she has appeared in the last 2,613:28 for Wheelock. Widdison added four helpers last fall and netted the overtime winner against Daniel Webster College during the league tournament semifinal.
Kylie Hefford (Exeter, NH/St. Thomas Aquinas) and Alanna Pihl (Franconia, NH/Profile) comprise the junior contingent. A midfielder, Hefford was an all-conference pick as a freshman, while Pihl provided four defensive saves last season. She is slated to appear in the midfield and backfield.
A corps of nine sophomores dominates the roster, as 2009 NECC All-Conference selection Chelsey Ballard (Mansfield, MA/Mansfield), who returns as one of the team's most seasoned midfielders, and three big scorers highlight the group. Forward Despina Savvoulides (Norwalk, CT/Norwalk) netted a team-high nine goals last year while adding four assists, and forward Jacky Hull (Braintree, MA/Braintree) and defender Rachel Robohm (North Easton, MA/Oliver Ames) found the back of the net five times apiece.
Sophomore forward Taylor Rogers (Essex, MA/Manchester Essex Regional) totaled five assists, while Abigail Cassell (Bartlett, NH/Kennett) and Nancy Unis (Hull, MA/Hull) join Rogers up front. Cassell should also see time in the midfield, while classmates Lucy Belliveau (Hinesburg, VT/Champlain Valley Union) and MaryKate Grenier (Fitchburg, MA/Fitchburg) are newcomers to the squad. Belliveau and Grenier expect to contribute at forward and back, respectively.
Among the freshmen, Michelle Greene (Mansfield, MA/Mansfield) becomes the squad's second keeper, Jenna Ghoman (Danvers, MA/Danvers) is a forward, and Erika Pisa (Danvers, MA/Danvers) and Dakota Ripley (Marathon, NY/Marathon) will gain experience in the defensive portion of the field.
This fall will be the last in which the NECC fields five teams, as Anna Maria College and Regis College will increase the field hockey membership to seven in 2011, providing the conference with enough programs to afford the tournament champion an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Wheelock kicks off its 15-game regular-season slate on Sunday at Little East Conference (LEC) member Western Connecticut State University before beginning the home portion of its schedule on Sept. 15 versus Eastern Connecticut State University, another LEC program. On Sept. 28, the Wildcats host Elms College to open their eight-game NECC campaign, which includes contests against two-time defending postseason champion Becker on Oct. 12 and 23. The four-team NECC Tournament begins on Nov. 3.
"I want people to watch us and say, 'Wow, this is a beautiful brand of field hockey,'" said Koh. "When players are passing well, and they have poise, and they're having fun, it's inspiring in its own way, and that's really what we are after. The success seems to come with it."
