Washington & Jefferson Favored to Break Through With Empire 8 Field Hockey Title
Washington & Jefferson College, which has finished as the conference runner-up in all four Empire 8 Field Hockey Championship tournaments, has been chosen to break through and win its first conference title this year according to the preseason coaches’ poll.
The Presidents return junior forward Jennifer Marabella, the reigning Empire 8 Player of the Year, after she set school records last season with 22 goals and 51 points. She ranked 13th in NCAA Division III in goals and 19th in scoring. Junior midfielder Erin Baro earned second-team all-conference honors last year, tallying six goals and 17 points. Washington & Jefferson received five first-place votes in the polling.
Emily Beach takes over the helm of three-time defending Empire 8 champion Stevens Institute of Technology, which received three first-place votes and is picked to finish second this year. Senior midfielder Mallory Swanson garnered first-team all-conference honors last year, scoring six goals and tallying 14 points, second-best on the team. Senior midfielder/forward Jillian Price and junior forward Mary Niokish each earned second-team all-Empire 8 recognition in 2010.
Utica College, which advanced to the conference tournament last year, is the coaches’ selection to place third this year. Senior defender Jessica Ahearn was an honorable mention selection last season.
Hartwick College has been picked in the preseason poll to finish fourth this season. Junior Kelsey Kimble, the 2009 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, was named to the all-conference second team for the second consecutive time a year ago. She paced the Hawks with six goals and 13 points last season.
Nazareth College and Ithaca College were chosen to share fifth place in the coaches’ poll. The Golden Flyers advanced to the conference tournament last season, keyed by a 2-1 road win over the Bombers, who made the tournament the previous two years.
Junior Kailee O’Hara received second-team honors last year, leading Nazareth with six goals, seven assists, and 19 points.
Elmira College and St. John Fisher College were picked to share seventh place in the preseason poll. Katie Augustine-Moore, who coaches the women’s lacrosse team at Elmira, will fill the interim coach role this year for the field hockey squad. Sophomore McKenna Light was named to the all-conference second team last season.
St. John Fisher is competing in field hockey for the first time and is led by a familiar face, former Utica coach Tara Christenson.
Five different schools have won or shared the Empire 8 Field Hockey title. Stevens became the first team to win three consecutive championships.
2011 Empire 8 Field Hockey Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Washington & Jefferson College (5 first-place votes) 47 points
2. Stevens Institute of Technology (3) 45
3. Utica College 33
4. Hartwick College 29
5. Ithaca College 25
Nazareth College 25
7. Elmira College 10
St. John Fisher College 10