Bucknell University Athletics
Field Hockey Opens Season Friday at Rutgers, Hosts Monmouth on Sunday
8/27/2015 5:08:00 PM | Field Hockey
Rutgers - Live Stats
Monmouth - Watch Live | Live Stats
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell field hockey team opens the 2015 season with a pair of games this weekend. The Bison will travel to play Rutgers on Friday at 4 p.m., before returning home to host Monmouth on Sunday at 11 a.m. Sunday's game at Graham Field will be shown free of charge on the Patriot League Network.
The Bison opened its schedule with the same two teams last season, falling 3-2 in overtime at Rutgers before posting a 3-1 win at Monmouth. It was the start of an outstanding season that finished with a 13-6 record and a spot in the championship game of the Patriot League Tournment.
Rutgers finished 9-10 overall and 2-7 in the Big Ten last season, but is expected to improve this year with the return of most of its key players. The Scarlet Knights have their top four scorers back, as Katie Champion, Sofia Walia, Nicole Imriaco and Rachel Yaney combined to score 26 of the team's 34 goals. They closed the season ranked 27th in the RPI.
Monmouth returns three of its best players from a team that won the MAAC title with a 6-1 victory in the championship game. The Hawks went on to lose 4-3 to Princeton in the NCAA Tournament. Returning from that team are Casey Hanna (MAAC Defensive Player of the Year), Meg Donahue (MAAC Rookie of the Year and Cori Allen (First Team All-MAAC).
The Bison will be looking for someone to step up offensively. Both of their goals against Rutgers and all three in the win over Monmouth were scored by seniors.
The following is a closer look at the 2015 Bucknell field hockey team:
A season like the one Bucknell's field hockey team had last year can have a lasting impact on a program. As the Bison prepare to start the 2015 campaign, head coach Jeremy Cook is already seeing positive changes that can come from winning a Patriot League regular season title with an unbeaten 6-0 record.
“The young players are coming into the program with the expectation of winning, which is very different than it used to be,” said Cook, who was voted the 2014 Patriot League Coach of the Year. “That really helps. We know we don't necessarily have to change anything, we just need to get better at what we're doing.”
With the largest recruiting class - nine players - in his eight years at Bucknell, Cook will need some of those freshmen to step up in a hurry. The Bison lost five seniors from last year's team. All five were starters, and four were voted to the All-Patriot League Team. The group included players from both ends of the field and accounted for 49 percent (20 of 41) of the team's goals and 62 percent (18 of 29) of the team's assists.
“It's always a little interesting at the beginning of the year figuring out where the goals are going to come from,” Cook said. “Our corner group was very productive from last season, but we've had to replace all three of those positions. That's one group we didn't really sub much. They were out there together for the past few years and now they've graduated. That's going to be difficult to replace starting from scratch.”
As for the rest of the field, Cook isn't as concerned. While the team rarely switched up its three corner spots, he says the Bison subbed players during gameplay significantly more often than most teams in the country. He hopes that will pay dividends as players step into a larger role this season, as well as in the years to come.
“You make decisions that are for the short-term while also keeping the long term in mind,” Cook said. “That's something I've learned over time. If you want to have a program with a longer period of being good, you have to make those kinds of decisions. In the past we have done a good job of getting more players on the field than other teams. We typically play 17 or 18 players and we will continue to do that. The benefit from that is you end up with players filling in next year that already saw time this year, even if it wasn't as an impactful at the time. They at least know what they have to do to be successful on the field instead of being new to everything.”
Offensively, the Bison return two seniors that are expected to anchor the team up front. Kiersten Sydnor was second on the team with seven goals last season, while also adding two assists. Abby Watson added three goals and assisted on five. Multiple players are still battling for the third spot.
The four midfield spots, especially on the inside, could provide the most stability for the Bison. Senior Kayla Sullivan and junior Amy Mucelli, both of whom were named captains prior to the season, started every game last year and are expected to fill the two inside positions. On the outside, juniors Estelle Palandjian and Kelsy Kauffman are the frontrunners to start. Neither player started last season, but Palandjian played in all 19 games, while Kauffman appeared in17.
In the back, Anna Wills started all 19 games last season and will make the move from the left side into the middle. The outside backs are up for grabs, but senior Emily Hitchings is battling her way back from an injury that caused her to miss all but four games last season, and freshman Lexi Quick has impressed the coaching staff during preseason practice. Prior to her injury, Hitchings had played in all 41 games of her career, including 22 as a starter.
“The backfield is where we will see the biggest change, because we lost two all-league players,” Cook said.
Watson was named the lead captain for the Bison, joining Hitchings and Mucelli as team leaders this season.
“Abby and Kayla are in their fourth year here so they really understand what they're doing and offer a lot on and off the field.” Cook said. “Amy has come on really strong. She was a starter this past season and has really emerged since last spring as one of our more physical players on the field. We expect big things from them.”
In addition to competing in a conference that has greatly improved over recent years, the Bison will be tested with tough competition throughout the season. Four teams on the schedule, including No. 20 Boston University, are ranked in the top 20 of the first NFHCA Coaches Poll. The others are Albany and Penn State, both tied for seventh, and No. 15 Princeton. They have an additional three teams - Temple, Delaware, and Rutgers – on the schedule that finished in the top 30 of the RPI last season.
Bucknell was picked third in the Patriot League Preseason Poll, coming in behind defending champion Boston University and American. The Bison swept both teams during the regular season last year, but were edged by the Terriers in the Patriot League Championship held at Graham Field.
“I'd say from top to bottom it's the best since I've been here,” Cook said of the Patriot League. “Everybody seems to be getting better. American and Boston have been good for 15-20 years, so looking at that we still feel like a little bit of an underdog with those two teams in the league. But, with Lafayette winning a few championships recently and us getting competitive, it has really changed the league.”
Boston University returns the reigning Patriot League player of the Year in Sofi Laurito and three other All-Patriot League selections, while American has the reigning Rookie of the Year in Angela Virtu.
Bucknell's four All-Patriot Leaguers have graduated, of course, but that hasn't had an effect on the team's attitude during preseason practice.
“I'm really happy with the group we have,” Cook said. “The positive culture and environment this group has created is awesome. It's a joy to come to work every day with this group, win or lose. I think we are doing things the right way. The vast majority of our team has invested themselves fully into what we're doing. I don't think anybody is going to outwork us this year.”
