2003 William and Mary Field Hockey Outlook

07/16/03 3:36PM

- Coming off one of the best seasons in school history, the 2003 William and Mary field hockey team will look to continue building on the program’s recent successes. In 2002 the Tribe advanced to the Colonial Athletic Association championship game for the first time in more than a decade. For the second time in the last three seasons, the team earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament, before falling in overtime in the first round.

The Tribe graduated five players, all key starters, from last year’s team, including a pair of All-Americans in forward Ann Ekberg and goalkeeper Claire Miller. W&M lost its top three scorers, who accounted for 65 percent of the team’s goals, along with Julie Zoolkoski, arguably the Tribe’s best defender, and Miller, the starting netminder for two seasons.

Senior forward Jordan Steele, one of the team’s three captains and the top returning scorer on the squad (4 goals, 4 assists), will look to step up and become an even bigger attacking threat this season. With one of the hardest hits on the team, she has been a striker on the corner crew for the last two years.

Joining her up top will be junior Ginny Sutton, the team’s top scorer early last season with four goals in the first six games. A quick player with good stick work, her experience over the last two years has improved her ability to exploit the weaknesses of the defense.

Junior Kate Baird will likely start at either the forward or midfield position. Fast and quick, with the ability to weave the ball through traffic, she scored both her goals in the postseason last year, including the game-tying goal with less than nine minutes in regulation against Maryland in the NCAA Tournament.

Also available at the forward position are juniors Sydney Schell and Sue Taylor and sophomore Kelly Giles, all of whom showed great improvement in the offseason. One of the quickest players on the team, Schell had a great spring after being plagued with injuries in each of her first two years. Taylor also played well in the spring and was very effective on the left post. Despite seeing limited action in the fall, Giles is another quick player who could soon mature into a very effective offensive threat. Redshirt freshman Shawn Sullivan joined the team in the spring, showing good speed and a knack for being in the right place at the right time on attacking opportunities. Also in the mix will be freshman Gina Cimarelli, a versatile player who is effective at scoring in a variety of situations.

W&M brings back two starting midfielders from last year, junior Jill Hocutt and sophomore Shannon Karl. Hocutt has been learning the center midfield position in her two seasons and her excellent vision and the ability to distribute the ball up the field will be a valuable asset this year. Karl came on at the end of 2002, winning the conference’s Rookie of the Week award in the final week of the regular season after scoring a goal in W&M’s upset win at James Madison. A playmaker with impressive stick skills, she is comfortable both attacking the goal from the outside positions and moving to the center of the field to help distribute the ball and run the offense.

Along with Baird, who could see time at midfield as well as forward, the Tribe returns three other midfielders, senior Kelly McQuade and sophomores Carly Falgowski and JJ Kubicek. A two-sport athlete who also plays lacrosse at W&M, McQuade is a strong player who has improved her speed each season. With very good field vision and the ability to see the open lanes on the field, the versatile Falgowski’s excellent defensive skills could lead to her playing at the back of the field. Kubicek was performing well in the spring before a back injury forced her to the sidelines. Very fast and athletic, she can play a variety of positions. The Tribe will also add four rookie midfielders/defenders next season in Jamie Fitzgerald, Maggie Long, Julienne Palbusa and Becky Van Zee.

The back line will be led by senior captain Kelli Duggan. The most experienced defender on the team, she started every W&M game the last two seasons, with a career total of 40 starts in 47 games played. Duggan is a very aggressive tackler and also has one of the most powerful hits on the team. She recorded a key defensive save in the Tribe’s overtime win against Boston University last season and also has produced some timely offense. Both of her career goals have been game-winners and last season she assisted the game-tying goal with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation in what turned out to be a double-overtime win at Delaware.

Two other defenders with starting experience are sophomores Anna Davis and Diana Esposito. As a redshirt freshman last season, Davis led the team with three defensive saves, including two in the NCAA Tournament. A solid defender with good low stick skills, Esposito played well as a freshman on both the defensive and midfield lines.

Senior captain Katie Casto saw limited action last season, but has continued to show marked improvement throughout her career. A terrific team leader on and off the field, she is one of the hardest working players on the team. Also coming back next year are juniors Maria Scanelli and Tiffany Reeves, both of whom have shown steady improvement throughout their careers.

The biggest question mark for the team will be at goalkeeper, with three players in the mix for the starting spot. Returning redshirt sophomores Heather Kibbee and Sara McDonough both have the skill for the position but have little game experience. Kibbee saw the first action of her career last season, making two saves without allowing a goal in just over 12 minutes of play against Davidson, while all of McDonough’s experience has come in the spring season. They will be competing with senior transfer Stacy Gaenzle, who has enrolled in graduate school at W&M after starting the last two seasons at Rutgers.

As is the case every year, head coach Peel Hawthorne will test her team with a difficult schedule that includes five teams which played in the 16-team NCAA Tournament last season and seven that were ranked in the top-20 in the final NFHCA Coaches Poll. Among the non-conference teams the Tribe will face are traditional national powers Virginia, Duke and North Carolina. The Green and Gold will also be challenged in league play, as the CAA emerges as one of the top field hockey conferences in the nation. Two teams, Old Dominion and James Madison, joined W&M as nationally-ranked squads that competed in the NCAA Tournament, and all eight of the league’s teams were either ranked or received votes in the national coaches poll at some point during the season.