The 1998 Mary Washingi:on College Field Hockey team faced a series of hurdles which they had to overcome in order to return to the elite among the nation's Division III programs. Coming off two rebuilding seasons, the Eagles, one of the most dominating teams in the nation in the early 1990's, started the season knowing they would face perhaps the toughest schedule in the-nation, playing nine games against teams that eventually qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
The Eagles responded to the challenge, finishing with a more MWC-like 15-6 record, with two wins against top-ten teams, and a final season ranking of seventeenth in the nation. With only three seniors on the roster, the Eagles matured very quickly, winning ten of their first twelve games, including a win over nationally-ranked SUNY-Cortland, and a 2-0 win over conference foe and nationally-ranked York College of PA. Offensively, the Eagles set nearly every major scoring record, led by First Team All-CAC forward Jessica Morris, who broke the school season goals record (17) as a freshman.
The Eagles also tied the record for assists in a game (twice), and broke the season mark for goals by the team (56), eclipsing the mark held by the 1993 National Runners-up team that finished 22-2. Morris wasn't alone in offensive production, as the Eagles had five players finish with at least five goals and 18 points. All-CAC midfielder Christine Jeffrey, a rising senior for '99, had ten goals and seven assists (including three in a CAC win at Goucher), while classmate and fellow CAC honoree Robin Wild added seven goals and eight assists, including game-winning tallies against Cortland and Bridgewater College.
Rising junior Abby Porter added five goals and a team-high nine assists, and All-CAC selection Ellen Ashton Smith scored five goals and picked up eight assists. In addition to Smith, the Eagles lose two defensive stawarts to graduation in 1998 Second-Team All-American Erin Broome and First-Team All-region selecticin Aimee Seward. Broome, who became the eighth MWC player to play in the prestigious NFHCA National Senior North/South Game, didn't allow her mark (some of the top forwards in the nation) to score a goal all season. Seward was also instrumental in the MWC defense, after converting from forward a year ago.
Broome added two goals and two assists from her center defensive slot, while Seward added a pair of assists. The leadership and stellar play of the three seniors drove the young Eagles; who had 15 freshmen and sophomores in uniform. The seniors for the 1999 season include All-CAC goalkeeper Heather Carter, who led the conference with a 1.36 Goals-Against Average and 85.3 save percentage, all-conference picks Jeffrey and Wild, midfielders Lillian Pitts (four goals in '98) and Katie Lengyel, and defender Megan Kinnear, who was injured for the entire 1998 season.
The offense should thrive again in '99, with six of the top seven scorers returning. Morris, Jeffrey, Wild, Porter, Pitts, arid rising junior Claire Van Til join sophomore Amy Smith, who suffered a season-ending injury for the entire 1998 season after being one of the top freshmen in the CAC in 1997. Defensively, Carter and rising sophomore defenders Christine Ballance and Liz Wojcicki head a veteraran group that yielded just seven goals in conference play and helped carry the team to the 1998 Capital Athletic Conference final.
Of the Eagles' six losses in '98, all were to teams that played in the NCAA Tournament; with four of those extended into overtime. The' Eagles scored two goals against then-undefeated Eastern Mennonite before falling in OT, and rallied from a 1-0 deficit to beat number four-ranked Gettysburg College, 2-1, at Homecoming.