The unparalleled success of the 1991 MWC field hockey team has a blue-collar flavor in that prosperity stemmed from hard work, perseverance ...and a penchant for putting in overtime. The Eagles gained a firstever NCAA Tournament bid (losing to eventual national-champion Trenton State) in a 12-4-2 campaign, gaining mental toughness along the way.
Four overtime games, including a marathon victory in the Capital Athletic Conference final against Catholic University, tend to test the mettle of a young team, and the players of second-year head roach Dana Soper answered. Asenior class short on numbers was long on talent and determination. Tri-captains Jennifer Freed (Newport News, VA), Rebecca Gajdalo (Cherry Hill, NJ) and Melody Brown (Stafford, VA) piled up individual records and honors, but were far more instrumental in team success by providing leadership. Freed and Gajdalo anchored an Eagle defense which allowed just 1.1 goals/game, with eight shutouts, including five straight late in the season culminating in the CAC title-game win over Catholic.
Freed was named CAC Player of the Year and first-team All-South Region, and eventually became MWC's first field hockey All-American (second team) in 10 years. She also participated in the College Field Hockey Coaches Association Senior All-Star Game and the National Hockey Festival. Like Freed, Gajdalo was named AllRegion for the second time in addition to making the All-CAC First Team. Brown finished fourth in career scoring with 48 points (26 goals, 22 assists) after leading the Eagles in goals (15) and assists (9), including a school-record four goals in a 5-0 win over Hollins en route to All-Region and All-CAC laurels.
"Our young team (10 freshmen and eight sophomores) was led by three excellent role models, who set examples both on and off the playing field," said Soper, the CAC Coach of the Year in 1991. "'The saying 'attack wins games, but your defense wins charnpionships'isvery appropriate for our season. Our defense succeeded because of its aggressive, attacking style. Every player on our team is attackminded, taking the play to our opponents rather than waiting for them to approach our 25-yard line."
A strong, young supporting cast gained confidence early in 1991 with a season-opening 3-2 overtime win over nationally ranked Johns Hopkins. This group will anchor the future success of the program, according to Soper. Five Eagles were named to the All-CACsecond team: goaltender Greta Nelson (Jr./West Redding, en,defenders Candice Malone (So./Reston, VA) and Michelle O'Hanlon (Fr./Fairfax, VA), attacker April Moshos (So./Fairfax, VA) and link Leslie Ptashinski (So./Basking Ridge, NJ).
Nelson started 17 games and recorded a 1.17 goals against average and an .855 save percentage. O'Hanlon made 12 defensive saves and Malone nine for the standout Eagle defense. Moshos tied for second on the team with eight goals, while Ptashinski added two with four assists. Attackers Chrissie Avery (So./Pomfret Center, CT) and Kim Cornell (So./Newport News, VA) contributed eight and six goals, respectively, with Suzanne Struve (So./McLean, VA) and Samantha Forshey (Fr./ Yorktown, VA) adding four apiece.
MWC outscored opponents, 55-21 and outshot foes, 658-241 in 1991. "The success of our 1990 and '91 seasons laid the foundation for our program to build on," said Soper. "The future hockey teams at MWC will have the opportunity to expand our accomplishments. Our long-range goals are to become a consistent, dominant force, both in the South Region and nationally. This can only be accomplished with continued hard work, dedication and commitment from the players, incoming freshmen included."