The final installment of SOL Players to Watch highlights just a few of the National Conference players who will be making an impact this season.
Council Rock North shared the league title with Pennsbury last season, and if the Indians are hoping to duplicate that feat, they will have to do it with lots of new faces in the lineup. The Indians graduated six starters from last year’s successful squad. They fell in their non-league opener to defending American Conference champion Wissahickon 2-0 last Friday.
“We’re very young,” coach Heather Whalin said. “We lost six starters, including the (National Conference) Player of the Year (Elly Plappert).
“We’re definitely going to have some growing pains, but Wissahickon was a good team. We just couldn’t put one in. We have a very young forward line – two sophomores and a junior. Defensively, we looked better than I expected considering we lost all four of our starters from last year. We just have to kick it up a little bit on the offense.”
The Indians return several key players, including senior Becky Ely who contributed 12 goals and 12 assists last season on the forward line.
“She was our leading scorer last year, and we actually asked her this year to take more of a defensive role since we lost our entire defense,” Whalin said. “She is now playing center mid and center back – she’s flipping between the two. She’s such a versatile player that it’s seamless.
“She’s our best defender and our best scorer, so we want to put her in a role where she can do both. We felt center mid and center back were the two positions where she could help the team out most.
“She’s just a leader. She’s been there before, and she doesn’t crumble under pressure. She’s very selfless. We ask her to fill different roles, and she’s – ‘Hey, whatever you need me to do for the team to be better.’ That’s the kind of player you enjoy coaching.”
Becky Ely (Center Mid/Center Back)
- Competes for Mystx on the club circuit
- Second team all-state and all-league as a junior
- Top scorer for the Indians last season
Ely says: “We have big shoes to fill. We lost a lot of great players from last year, and coming in as seniors, it’s obviously a lot of fun, but we have a lot of responsibility to fill the spots of last year’s seniors and lead the team. We tied for the league last season, and we’re hoping to win the league again this year and then make it as far as we can in the postseason.”
Others to watch: Amanda Krause (Sr., Goalie), Kara Magley (Jr., Mid), Hannah Plappert (Jr., Forward)
Finishing right behind Council Rock North and Pennsbury in the standings was a William Tennent squad that turned more than a few heads en route to an impressive 10-4 mark in conference play and a berth in the district tournament.
Anchoring the defense of an improved Panther squad was junior Kelsey Hiltebeitel, who returns to lead the Panthers again this season.
“Kelsey gives 100 percent all the time,” coach Kate Wyatt said. “Even when she has a great game and does everything right and everything she’s told to – she’s always trying to better herself. As an athlete, that’s one of the best qualities one could have – no matter how good they are, they want to keep on getting better.
“Defenders absolutely go unnoticed the majority of the time, and one of her strongest points is that she is by far the fastest girl on the team, and she isn’t afraid to use that speed and the stickwork she’s learned over the years to take the ball up the field and completely change the pace of the game. She’s never afraid to keep pushing the mids up, keep pushing the forwards up and just not taking it herself but making a smart play for everybody on the field.”
Kelsey Hiltebeitel (Defense)
- Three-year starter, four-year varsity player
- First team all-league defender as a sophomore and junior
- Competes with Viper indoor club team
- Member of the track team in the spring, competing in 100, 200, 4x100 and long jump
Hiltebeitel says: “I’ve played defense since I was a freshman, and I enjoy it a lot. I like to be able to see the whole field. I like to be able to talk to everyone. It’s just more like the eyes of the field with me and the goalie working together. I was chosen a captain this year, and I don’t put myself in front of the other players, but I want to be a role model. We moved all of our freshmen up this year, and they always ask questions, and I love helping them. In our scrimmages, we’ve done surprisingly well. We’ll see what happens.”
Others to watch: Kirsten Doherty (Sr., Goalie), Brittany Mitchell (Jr., Forward)
In an era of specialization in sports, Alexia Ewing proves you don’t have to focus on just one sport to excel. The Bensalem senior standout also plays basketball and softball, and she has found a way to stand out in a league that has produced countless hockey stars.
“She actually started out playing offense for us, but I moved her to defense,” coach Amanda Tu said. “She’s quick thinking – she thinks ahead and knows what to do if she gets the ball.
“She wants to do well. She works hard at every practice, and if she can’t get it, she keeps trying. She’s just determined, and she has the athleticism to do it. She’s very motivating, and she teaches the other girls, helps them out. She doesn’t just play for herself, she helps others out which is a good characteristic when you’re playing field hockey.”
Alexia Ewing (Defense)
- First team all-league as a junior
- Four-year varsity veteran
- Three-sport standout who also is a member of the varsity basketball and softball teams
Ewing says: “My coach is a good coach and has taught me everything I know. This year we’re hoping to be competitive in the league. Last year we tied (National Conference co-champion) Pennsbury, so that gave us motivation. We are rather young, but we’re trying to help the young players out wherever we can, and we’re trying to get more wins this season.”
Others to watch:
Abington: Elle Clark (Sr., Midfield), Christina Geating (Sr., Midfield)
Council Rock South: Alex Agasar (Jr., Midfield)
Harry S. Truman: Mallori Kolar (Sr., Forward), Briley Acker (Sr., Midfield)
Neshaminy: Carleigh Kitchenman (Sr., Defense), Emily Hegner (Sr., Midfield), Lindsay Blum (Jr., Midfield), Annie Kopera (Soph., Defense), Brittany Sheenan (Soph., Forward)
Pennsbury: Julie Kang (Sr., Defense), Ashlyn Stevens (Jr., Midfield/Forward), Jen Laraia (Jr., Goalie), Julia Vogel (Jr., Midfield), Jackie Pollack (Jr., Midfield), Allie Brady (Jr., Forward)
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