One of the top programs in the very successful history of athletics at Mary Washington College, field hockey continues to draw national attention to the school into the new millenium, just as it did in the nineties, when the team advanced to four NCAA Division III Tournaments.
The 1999 squad started the season with a young lineup that needed to replace three all-conference seniors from 1998, including All-CAC midfielder Ellen Ashton Smith, All-Region defender Aimee Seward and All-American defender Erin Broome. The Eagles started practice in August with six seniors, including eventual All-Conference selections Heather Carter, Christine Jeffrey, and Lillian Pitts. Carter and Jeffrey would go on to represent MWC at the National North/South Senior All-S tar Game; their record-breaking exploits on the field helped make 1999 one for the books for' Eagle field hockey.
The Eagles, who were ranked as high as twelfth in the nation, opened the season with victories over Villa Julie College and Bridgewater College, then fell 3-2 to the #1 ranked team in the nation, SUNY Cortland, in the opening week. Christine Jeffrey carried the load offensively, earning HockeyPoint.com's NCAA Division III Player of the Week for her exploits over the first three games.
After disposing of Bridgewater College, 6-0, the Eagles fell to second-ranked Lebanon Valley College in double overtime, 3-2. Then, in the CAC opener against York College of PA, the Eagles found themselves behind, 2-0, after just four minutes of action, but rallied to win, 4-3. That come-from-behind effort seemed to spark the Eagles, who won five of their next six games, including league wins over Catholic University and St. Mary's College. After falling to NCAA Tournament-bound Eastern Mennonite University and Salisbury State University, MWC topped Goucher College and Lynchburg College in home games, before facing third-ranked Gettysburg College on the road in mid-October.
MWC proved to be roo much at Gettysburg, handing the Bullets their only loss of the regular season, in penalty strokes. Heather Career was the srory in goal, stopping four penalty strokes, and ensuring the Eagle victory. The Eagles closed the season by advancing to the Capital Athletic Conference championship for the eighth time in nine years, defeating York in the semifinals, 3-1, before falling to Salisbury in the championship.
The 2000 field hockey team will have more experience than its predecessor, but will need to replace a senior class that included Carter, the school record holder for career saves; Jeffrey, the school's career assist leader; Pitts, Katie Lengyel, Robin Wild, and Megan Shilling. Keying the returnees will be All-Conference performers Jessica Morris, Amy Smith, Jessica Von Bargen, and Christine Ballance.
Morris, who broke the school goals record as a freshman in 1998 with 17, saw little dropoff a year ago, rattling home a team-high eleven goals en route to first team All-CAC accolades. Smith, who missed the entire 1998 season due to a torn ACL, rebounded a year ago to score three goals and add three assists and claim second team all-conference mention.
Other returning forwards who willlook to duplicate last season's will be led by Ballance and Von Bargen, who finished one-two in the conference defensive saves category. Ballance, a first team conference selection, led the league with twelve defensive stops in 16 games, while Von Bargen received serious consideration for league rookie of the year, with six defensive saves, as one of the fastest defenders in the nation.
The Eagles also welcome back a talented, battle-tested gtoup that include rising seniors Claire Van Til (three goals, four assists) and Brandy Nelson (one goal, six assists), junior Sarah Dudley, and sophomores Kara Neviackas, Jennifer Maxwell (two penalty stroke goals), Shannon Nobile, Keri Campbell, Megan Canigiani, Shelley Sabo, and Courtney Childe.
Once again, Mary Washington will play one of the most competitive schedules in the nation, with games against NCAA Tournament regulars Washington College, Salisbury State University, Johns Hopkins University, Gettysburg College, and Lebanon Valley College on the 2000 slate. With a large returning group playing one of the most challenging schedules in the nation, head coach Dana Hall's Eagles will look to continue challenging for conference and national acclaim in 2000.