Bucknell University Athletics
Field Hockey Opens Season Friday vs. No. 13 Iowa
8/28/2013 10:25:00 AM | Field Hockey
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell field hockey team has a daunting schedule ahead of it in 2013 with five opponents ranked in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Preseason Poll, including Friday's season-opening opponent Iowa, which is ranked 13th. The Bison will take on the Hawkeyes Friday evening at 7 p.m. at Lafayette's Rappolt Field and will continue their opening weekend Sunday with a noon road game at Lock Haven.
Bucknell, which plays its first five games away from Graham Field, is coming off a 9-10 season in 2012 when it advanced to the Patriot League Tournament for the fifth consecutive year. The Bison were picked to finish fourth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll this year and had a league-high three players (Rachel Misko, Kelsey Mucelli, Erica Perrine) named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team.
Iowa posted a 14-7 mark in 2012 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes have been ranked in the NFHCA poll 22 consecutive weeks. They will play Patriot League opponent Lafayette Sunday afternoon.
Lock Haven opens its season Friday at home against North Carolina. The Bald Eagles were 11-9 in 2012 and are picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll.
Below is a closer look at the Bison entering the 2013 season:
Bucknell field hockey fans will get a taste of the familiar and see some new sights in 2013. Gone is the Bison's leading scorer Tayler Siegrist, but returning are nine of 11 starters and a senior group with nearly 200 games worth of experience. With veteran leadership and some additional speed, Bucknell is looking to compete with the best the Patriot League and the country have to offer.
“This is the hardest schedule we've ever had,” said Jeremy Cook, who enters his sixth season as Bucknell's head coach in 2013. “I know I say that every year, but every year we build the schedule just a little bit.”
Part of the stronger schedule is new Patriot League member Boston University. The Terriers have consistently been a top-20 team nationally and are expected to immediately shuffle the league standings. Finishing at 18th in the 2012 season-ending National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) poll, Boston is one of six Bucknell opponents to be included in last year's final ranking. That list of ranked opponents also includes Penn State, Iowa, Drexel, New Hampshire and Lafayette.
“Adding BU is a big ramp up and picking up a team like the University of New Hampshire while we're up there is another huge bump up,” said Cook. “We're opening with Iowa and finishing here with Rutgers. We really bumped up this schedule and it's because I believe in the team.”
A large reason for Cook's belief is the experience and leadership of his seniors – Erica Perrine, Vickie Resh, Rachel Misko and Leigh Hillman. Add to that quartet a six-person junior class that includes unanimous First Team All-Patriot League selection Kelsey Mucelli, five sophomores and eight rookies, and the Bison have some of their greatest depth and options in recent years. With 24 on the roster, the Bison coaching staff expects to be able to absorb some of the injuries that forced players into less familiar positions last year.
Perrine, Resh and Misko make up three of Bucknell's most decorated players on the roster. Perrine and Resh both earned their second consecutive nods to the All-Patriot League Second Team last fall, while Misko earned her third All-League citation in as many years. Perrine was also named Bucknell's 2013 captain during the offseason, a role Cook is confident having her in due to her strong character and ability to organize her defense. Her more tangible skills on the field are no less impressive.
“She's a fantastic saving goalkeeper and has gotten better and better with her communication as well,” praised Cook. “I'm looking forward to her having a really good year. She makes ridiculous saves seem easy in practice and has had some games in the past, especially when we were overwhelmed, where she just stood on her head and did a phenomenal job of keeping us in the game.”
Like Perrine, Resh has played an important role in Bucknell's defense and Cook anticipates her impacts being even bigger this fall as she settles into a rhythm. The Hamburg, Pa., native missed a portion of the non-conference schedule while playing with Team USA at the Junior Pan-American Games in Mexico. Upon her return, she then played out of her natural position due to injuries to her teammates.
“Having her consistently in the midfield this year will be a big plus for us. She reads the game really well and she's really threatening on the offensive end too,” said Cook.
The Patriot League Rookie of the Year three years ago, Misko is looking to go out on another high note. Soon after receiving another Second Team All-League selection last fall, the forward added Patriot League All-Tournament Team to her resume. She will return in 2013 tied with Amie Pritchard as the team's leading returning scorers having totaled six goals and five assists for 17 total points.
“Last year was great because we kind of figured out a role for her that worked,” Cook said of Misko. “You don't want to play a cookie cutter system that plugs players into roles that are arbitrary. We've figured out a way to take advantage of her strengths and presence and leadership on the field. This system that we're playing will really showcase that this year more than any other.”
Rounding out the senior class is Hillman, who will be every bit as important to the Bison system as her cohorts. Hillman made huge strides last year when she totaled seven of her eight career goals, making her Bucknell's second-highest goal scorer on the field in 2012.
One year younger but certainly no less impactful is Kelsey Mucelli, who will be joined on this year's team by younger sister, Amy. Kelsey was selected as the team's MVP last fall. Among her other highlights were earning nods to the Patriot League's First Team and All-Tournament Team, taking a share of the school record in single-game assists with three against Temple and tying for 10th on Bucknell's single-season assists record list (9).
“She has great vision and her basic skill has improved dramatically since she arrived,” lauded Cook. “Her first touch and her passing skill have gotten better and better. She's at the point now where I think it's relatively seamless. She sees the field and can actually perform the skills that she needs to to do what she wants.”
Mucelli was not the only Bison dishing out assists last year. She actually ranked second on the team to Maggie Murphy's 10, which ties for fourth all-time at Bucknell. Murphy's contributions last year came while alternating between striker and outside midfield, and her improvements in the recent months should be another boost for the Bison.
“She made some really great strides this year in understanding how to play within herself and in hockey IQ,” said Cook. “She adds such a spark whenever she's on the field. I think that with her improved fitness level, she'll be able to spend more time on the field and give us more.”
Liz Wills, who is also being joined by her rookie sister, Anna, this fall and Pritchard will also continue to be defensive forces for Bucknell. The elder Wills registered five defensive saves last year, giving her the fifth-highest single-season total in program history. She missed portions of the end of the campaign with a broken foot, but with her temperament, the misfortune has a silver lining that does not worry the Bison.
“She's worked really hard to make herself into a really dynamic player,” said Cook. “She doesn't get rattled easily at all. She's been able to keep her composure and has done a really good job distributing from the center back position. I think having her consistency and experience, maybe even from watching at the end of last year, are going to help.”
“Aime Pritchard is so speedy and just so skillful that it adds an offensive punch even from a defensive position,” Cook continued.
As proof of her goal-scoring punch, the midfielder Pritchard was named the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 22 last fall. She finished the season with 17 points on five goals and seven assists.
Filling in some key support roles last year were juniors Hope Obernesser and Cassie Lawrence. Obernesser missed the beginning of the season due to illness but still made herself a presence as the ultimate teammate and has since ramped up her fitness level. Lawrence also gained valuable experience in the spring and will continue to be a key source of speed Bucknell hopes to take advantage of throughout the season.
Sophomores Abby Watson, Kayla Sullivan and Kiersten Sydnor combined for six Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors last year and Emily Hitchings should be one of the more interesting cogs in Bucknell's system in 2013. Hitchings moved from forward to left defender in the spring and the change paid some early dividends.
“It's a pretty dramatic change in position and she knocked it out of the park,” Cook praised. “She's an athletic, strong person and she was making good, very simple and effective decisions. Her mentality was perfect for it. She really went beyond our expectations this spring.”
“Abby has worked very hard in the wieght room this past spring and that will no doubt have a huge impact on her game,” said Cook of his young forward.
Shannon Keen wraps up the group of returning players. The backup goalkeeper saw limited game time in her rookie campaign, but her opportunities should expand as she continues to put pressure on Perrine for playing time. She also has the added benefit of a new full-time goalkeeper coach as the Bison added two new assistants in the offseason, including Erin Singleton in her second stint at Bucknell and Meghan Dawson, a former national champion at North Carolina.
Also new on the scene are eight freshmen. Amy Mucelli is expected to be a good compliment to sister Kelsey and Resh playing in the midfield while Emma Fitzgerald will likely factor in on penalty corners and be a threat to defenses.
Anna Wills and Emily Goodloe should be key contributors on the defensive end. “These are backfield players that are really good right now and will only get better,” predicted Cook. “Their possession skills are really strong, their distribution is very good and intuitive.”
Sarah Ross, Estelle Palandjian, Kelsy Kauffman and Madison Molinari will also see additional playing time as they develop. Kauffman and Molinari in particular bring an immense amount of speed that should help create more opportunities for teammates.
