Let the games begin!
The 2009 field hockey season is underway, and it promises to be another exciting year for SOL teams. Regular SOS.com notebooks will feature a team from each conference and will also include other items of interest from around the league.
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The new season brings with it several new faces on the sidelines – long-time Neshaminy coach Lisa Pennington has stepped down to accept an administrative position in the district. She has been replaced by assistant Sara Camilli.
Central Bucks South coach Meg Hutchinson, who took the Continental Conference champion Titans to the Final Four of the state, has been replaced by her former assistant, Christina Ford. At Council Rock South, Lisa DeFeo, a former assistant, has taken over the helm for Pat Toner, who is now an assistant coach at Council Rock North.
Pennsbury has a new face at the top with former assistant Brooke Bergmann filling in for Tracey Arndt. At Springfield, long-time head coach Linda Nixon, who most recently served as an assistant for the Spartans, is filling in for Kati Dougherty.
One of the most welcome faces on the sidelines this fall is the return of Hatboro-Horsham coach Marie Schmucker after an 18-month battle with breast cancer.
Throw in plenty of new faces on the field, and it should be an interesting season with more than a few surprises along the way.
National Conference
Aiming for 10 - The number 10 has special significance to the Abington field hockey team this season.
For starters, it’s the number of wins coach Amanda Deering has targeted for her team - an ambitious goal for a squad that won just four games last year.
“Is that a huge jump for us? Sure, but the girls are up for the challenge,” the second-year coach said.
In preparation for Friday’s opener, the Ghosts did everything in sets of 10 at the preceding day’s practice. It apparently worked because they turned in quite a performance, scoring four second-half goals to earn a 5-0 rout over neighboring Cheltenham.
“This year’s team is coming together as a whole,” Deering said. “We have many strong players, but they all depend on each other. They’re not out there for themselves, and that’s going to be key.
“My big thing is – let’s play a possession game. A goal or an assist is equal to me, so put it together. They’re really taking that mentality and doing it.”
In Friday’s win, the Ghosts received goals from three different players – Kim Begley, Ellle Clark and Courtney Enderle. Christina Geating, contributed an assist.
“Christina is usually our goal scorer, and this shows we have other people to depend on,” Deering said.
Begley, a three-year starter, will anchor the Ghosts’ defense at center back.
“She’s our backbone,” Deering said.
Clark has moved from left back/left midfield to right midfield this year.
“She really worked hard – her work ethic is one of the greatest on the team,” Deering said. “We call her the bulldog of the team. She goes out there and fights for every ball – it doesn’t matter if it’s practice or a game.”
Enderle and Geating will be counted on to come up big on the forward line.
“They both have good stickwork, and they both have been finding the cage a lot better than last year,” Deering said.
Deering loves her team’s versatility and has already used players in several different positions.
“In one of our scrimmages, I had Elle Clark playing center back and moved Kim Begley to right mid,” she said.
Senior Kate Cooper, who could see action in any one of several positions, is recuperating from an ankle injury. Enderle, who broke her nose, is playing with a mask.
“Right now there’s a question of how healthy we’re going to be, but I would love to see major improvement,” Deering said. “I told them, ‘You have to be healthy. Take these days, and do not do anything, so you’re coming back Tuesday ready to go.’”
The Ghosts will host Upper Merion on Wednesday.
Continental Conference
Panthers on the rise - Peach Draper inherited a field hockey program that had fallen on hard times when she took over the helm at Quakertown last fall. Although the Panthers won just one game last year, they showed marked signs of improvement along the way. Twice they fell to district runner-up and conference champion Central Bucks South 2-1, and the Panthers forced North Penn to settle for a 1-1 tie.
“We graduated 12 seniors from that team, but it was kind of refreshing too because I can start fresh with this team and really get going what we want to get going,” Draper said.
As fresh starts go, they don’t get much better than the Panthers’ start in Friday’s opener when they earned a dramatic 2-1 overtime win in their non-league battle with Plymouth-Whitemarsh.
“That was so big for their confidence,” Draper said. “Now they know they can win. If things would have gone differently in this game, it would have set the tone for the season in a negative way.
“Now it sets a tone in a positive way. They’re so excited.”
The Panthers are led by senior captains Casandra Landis, Brooke Jordan and Jessica Camburn, and it was Camburn scoring the game winner in OT with an assist from Landis. Jordan, meanwhile, controls the game for the Panthers from her center midfield position.
Another senior – Vickie Gluck – is the starting goalie.
The Panthers’ roster also boasts some talented sophomores who figure to play starring roles.
Erin Mikolai, who helped set up the game winner against PW, is a talented forward who was a varsity player as a freshman.
“She’s going to be a huge player,” Draper said. “She just has tremendous skills, and she can play anywhere.”
Sophomore Courtney Heverly, who played jayvee as a freshman, is starting at forward and scored the first goal against PW. Sophomore Connie Henderson will be a key in the midfield.
Junior Stephanie Zischang, who also had a hand in the game-winning goal, joins Henderson in the midfield.
“She had the best game I have ever seen her play,” Draper said of Zischang. “She was just incredible on defense – very, very aggressive, good stickwork and an incredible drive.”
The Panthers, who have already equaled last year’s win output, will host Saucon Valley on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in their home opener.
“Hopefully, this season we’ll turn it around,” Draper said. “The football team was 1-9, and last year they were 9-2, and we’re hoping to do the same.”
American Conference
Cardinals have high hopes – Upper Dublin coach Heather Boyer doesn’t spare any punches when she talks about her team’s expectations this season.
“We’re confident we can make a very, very strong run for our league title and not only get to districts for the fifth year in a row but get beyond that first round,” the Flying Cardinals’ coach said. “Those are the two challenges we’ve set for ourselves.”
Boyer’s excitement would seem to be well-founded. The Flying Cardinals boast a pair of four-year starters in their lineup in seniors Amy Cross and Amy McCaffrey, both of whom earned first team all-league honors last year.
Seniors Sarah Boyd, Erin Cummings and Jordan O’Reillyare all three-year starters, and a pair of sophomores – Kelly Cross and Emily Hitchings – started every game last year as freshmen.
That translates into an awful lot of experience for the Cardinals.
“We have a lot of experience and a lot of versatility which makes for a really exciting year,” Boyer said. “We can do lots of things with our lineup and lots of things with our offensive corners because we don’t have just one go-to player. There are about seven of them actually. It’s a very good position to be in.”
The Flying Cardinals dropped their season opener to Methacton 3-2 on Friday, but it’s a loss Boyer and her players can live with.
“I put them on the schedule for a reason,” Boyer said. “They were the PAC-10 champs last year and seeded very high in districts.
“I’m trying to challenge the girls with their non-league schedule, which is why we have Methacton, C.B. South and Conestoga on it, so we will get more competition outside our league.”
Hitchings, who led the Flying Cardinals with 14 goals as a freshman, scored both goals in Friday’s non-league opener, and the Cardinals’ defense effectively silenced Penn State-bound Brittany Gryzwacz, who did not have a hand in any of Methacton’s goals.
“Our game plan was to double team her,” Boyer said. “Sarah Boyd and Amy Cross did most of the double teaming, and Jordan O’Reilly stepped in to give Amy a little bit of a breather here and there. They did an outstanding job.
“It wasn’t a season opener kind of game – it looked like both teams were in midseason form. I was happy with the way my kids played. It was a fast-paced, intense game – not a lot of mistakes, not a lot of turnovers. It was pretty evenly matched.”
The Flying Cardinals will travel to Conestoga on Wednesday.
Odds and ends – Wissahickon coach Lucy Gil lost her starting goalie to a broken foot several weeks before the start of the season. Jess Scannapieco was pressed into emergency duty for the Trojans, moving from the field to the cage.
“She’s a lacrosse goalkeeper, so it just seemed like a good fit,” Gil said.
The rookie goalie was put to the test on Friday when the Trojans travelled to Council Rock North for their season opener. Scannapieco was untested in the first half but earned her keep in the second half.
Late in the second half, she came up with a dazzling, leaping hand save of a perfectly-executed lift shot by Elly Plappert.
“Her learning curve is amazing, and she’s doing a great job,” Gil said. “But this being our first game and being on grass – I was very, very scared for her, but I thought she did a really good job.”
Scannapieco turned away seven shots in her debut – a 3-2 overtime win for the Trojans.
SOS.com’s Fab Five (Subject to change at a moment’s notice!)
1. Hatboro-Horsham (The Hatters defeated Neshaminy 3-1, and whether the Redskins will be a team to contend with this season or not, there’s no mistaking the fact that this Hatter squad has some talent.)
2. Wissahickon (The Trojans looked impressive on grass in their 3-2 OT win at Council Rock North and figure to look even more impressive on their home turf.)
3. Central Bucks South (Their 12-0 season-opening win over Lansdale Catholic aside, the defending district runner-up Titans have to be taken seriously until someone can prove otherwise.)
4. North Penn (Anchored by all-state midfielder Elizabeth Fedele, the Maidens boast plenty of talent.)
5. Souderton (After a sub-par regular season last year, the Indians came on strong in the post-season, and although they lost several key players from that squad to graduation, they should once again be in the hunt in a tough, tough Continental Conference.)
Under consideration: Council Rock North, Council Rock South, Pennsbury, Upper Dublin
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