Season Preview: Field hockey looking to break through in 2023

Photo by: ©?2023 Dave Pidgeon Photography LLC

Season Preview: Field hockey looking to break through in 2023

8/29/2023 3:00:00 PM | Field Hockey

By: Connor Glunt, Athletic Communication Graduate Assistant

MILLERSVILLE, Pa. — After nearly reaching the mountaintop of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) last season, the Millersville University field hockey team is looking to build on a strong 2022 campaign.

The Marauders went 14–4 in the 2022 regular season and made it to the PSAC Tournament championship before falling in overtime. Last season marked the 10th straight season of a .650 winning percentage or better, featuring a seven-game win streak to open the season, five wins over nationally ranked top 10 teams, which included No. 1 West Chester once and the NCAA Tournament runner-up Shippensburg twice. However, the Marauders fell short of making their first NCAA Division II playoff appearance since 2017. Head coach Shelly Behrens was not deterred by the overall outcome of the season. Instead, she sees it as a launchpad to achieve more success this season.

"I thought it was a fantastic 2022 season, and I thought our approach to our work and our approach to our game management was exactly where it should have been," Behrens said. "The 2023 team is on task. And I think the growth, although you look at graduation, the continued growth, and the addition of the people we have and the people that are just rising and shining, it's such a positive. I'm very pleased with where we are and where we're headed."

Offensively, the Marauders are returning four players who reached double digits in points last year, with Codi Bollinger, Kortlin Yetter, and Bri Harsh returning for their fifth years, and Kristin Strijdom entering her senior season. On the back end, goalkeeper Kerstin Koons assumes the top spot after starting every game for the last two seasons, and familiar faces like redshirt senior Taylor Geisel, seniors Caroline Griffin and Caitlin Wasserman, and junior Morgan Lennon will take  their spots on the field after appearing in nearly every contest last year. With a strong returning class of experience and potential, Behrens said she's confident in her team to take that next step.

"I have no expectations, we have standards, and I'll let people meet those standards," Behrens said. "The opportunity is up to all the players really; it's in front of them. And I think it's time for certain people to shine."

The elephant in the room heading into the season is the graduation of Kate Strickland from last season's team. Strickland put up 20 goals and four assists for 44 points on the season. Behrens is not worried about replacing Strickland's production, since the team is in a similar spot now as they were prior to last season.

"It's time to [see] who's next, you know, next person up," Behrens said. "…So we're going to approach this year's production the way we approached last year, and Kate just stepped up.  It was her time. But we want it to be many other people's times."

After being thrown into action last season, the sophomore class of forwards Emily Buss, Emma Ruley, Emma Zauck, and Paige Webster, and defenders Myah Yesko, Madison Shea, and Jillian Kringe showed Behrens they can keep up at the "mach 10 pace" that the team plays. Additionally, the early returns on the freshman class have been similar, but the underclassmen have kept up well.

Providing the defensive stability the program has been long known for is Koons in net as she posted a .744 save percentage and 1.08 goals allowed average, the sixth best in Division II last season. The Marauders sport depth in that position as well, as Behrens voiced confidence in both sophomore Sarah Crysler and freshman Payton Killian. Regardless of who is in net for the Marauders, Behrens said the team is in good position to find success all throughout the lineup.

"Having Taylor [Geisel] and [Caroline Griffin] back in the backfield is a positive, we also have some transfer students that are just fitting their way into so and then some other folks who have played in midfield have stepped back and step up," Behrens said. "So there's a lot of versatility. I think our coaching staff will say we have good problems when it comes to lineups and our team roster in general."

A pair of polls released prior to the season, with the Marauders coming in at fifth in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division II Coaches Poll, and the PSAC preseason poll. Millersville was slotted at five last season as well in the PSAC preseason poll but outperformed those expectations. Behrens said she has an appreciation for preseason polls putting the spotlight on field hockey but is focused on the work ahead of the team.

"The only thing that truly matters is where we finish," Behrens said. "If that's where we are, that's where we are. We don't really look at polls and standings and rankings. We have returned to being so process oriented, and just, 'how are we getting better? Who are we making better? Who would we make better today and really just focusing on us?' And I think in that is where we'll find our own success. So I'm looking forward.  Ask me when it's October where we are. I'm sure we will make changes along the way. I really don't have a lot of faith in rankings and polls, I just have faith in results."

The Marauders look to hit the ground running as they start on the road with matchups against Saint Anselm and Bentley in the first weekend of September and kick off their in-conference competition three weeks later. Behrens knows there are challenges in the schedule, but she said she is looking forward to seeing how the team responds to the travel and competition.

"I love to be a coach in the PSAC because it's like Monday Night Football," Behrens said. "Every time we play each other it is a game of the week. And sometimes we're doing that two, three days a week. I'd be remiss if I didn't say every single PSAC game is one I'm looking [forward] to, just seeing how we perform.

Millersville begins the 2023 season on the road against Saint Anselm, which went 13–5 last year and finished as No. 2 in the NCAA Division II East Region, squaring off against the Hawks at 2 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 1 in Manchester, New Hampshire.