Starting Where They Left Off
Field Hockey Team Hopes to Improve Upon 12-6 '97 Season,
Opens 1998 Season Saturday Hosting Cedar Crest
SELINSGROVE, (Pa.) - Head coach Connie Harnum believes that her senior captains - left wing Kim Aurand (Lewistown/Lewistown H.S.) and center midfielder Brandy Crum (Harrisburg/Central Dauphin H.S.) - best summed up her thoughts on the 1998 Susquehanna University field hockey season when they told her "we're going to start where we left off last year."
Where they left off was a 12-6 season which tied for the second most wins in program history. While a 4-3 Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth League and fourth-place finish appeared less impressive, it included a pair of competitive losses to eventual NCAA Division III semifinalists and league powers Lebanon Valley and Messiah.
Now in her 23rd season, Harnum must replace a pair of graduated MAC Commonwealth League All-Stars and four other starters from that team, but returns a pair of All-Stars in Aurand and Crum and believes she has the additional young talent which could allow her team to once again vie for a conference playoff spot. It didn't hurt that a group of her players got a jump on the fall season during a trip to Europe last spring where they went 1-2 against German club teams. She also had her confidence bolstered by a strong showing in a scrimmage last week against Division I Bucknell University.
The Crusaders will officially open the 1998 season hosting Cedar Crest College this Saturday a 1 p.m.
"I was very, very excited about the way we played in the scrimmage against Bucknell. We really dominated the game in the 10 minutes my starters played," said Harnum. "From a conditioning standpoint, we got something out of our trip to Europe in the spring. It was also good because it really pulled us together as a team."
THE OFFENSE
The team should have plenty of firepower offensively this season, returning four of its top five scorers from a year ago.
Aurand leads that group as she scored a team best 10 goals and two assists for 22 points from her left wing position, earning second-team All-Star honors in the process. Her 10 goals tied for the fourth most in a season at Susquehanna, while her point total was sixth-best all-time. A six-time MAC All-Academic pick who also earned honors in the winter and spring for her involvement in track and field, Aurand enters the season sixth in both career goals and scoring with 15 goals and 33 points respectively (Records: 43 goals, 97 points, both by Cheryl Irvine, 1992-95).
"Kim is a real focused player this year and is physically in great condition," said Harnum. "She has improved upon her one-on-one ball-handling ability and has really stepped her play up aggression-wise."
Joining Aurand at wing will be another returning starter in sophomore Alison Hughes (Reading/Muhlenberg H.S.). Starting 13 games and playing in all but two during her rookie season, Hughes was fourth on the team in scoring with four goals and an assist for nine points (0.56 per game).
Inside, a pair of seniors are battling for one of the inner positions in both Melissa Templet (Guilford, Maine/Kent Hill H.S.) and Jenny Wunderle (Bellows Falls, Vt./Bellows Falls Union H.S.). While Wunderle earned a varsity letter as a sophomore, each played in three games last season and scored a goal apiece.
Freshman Jeannie Yarrow (West Amwell, N.J./South Hunterdon Regional H.S.) will definitely be the other inner.
THE MIDFIELD
While Aurand may be more vocal, Crum is the team's more fiery leader. Also a second-team league All-Star, she started all 18 games at left midfielder last season and scored a goal with a team high five assists for seven points (0.39 per game). More importantly, she was a key player in a defense which gave up less then a goal per game (0.88 team goals-against average). Like Aurand, she is a starter in another sport (women's lacrosse) and has also been on the MAC All-Academic Team.
"Brandy is really ready to handle being our center midfielder this season," said Harnum. "She played a key role at some crucial times last season and really goes that extra mile."
The team's second leading scorer from last season joins Crum in the midfield as sophomore Danielle Wenger (Hamburg/Hamburg H.S.) will play on the left side. Wenger had a spectacular rookie season, scoring four goals with four assists for 12 points (0.67 per game).
Junior Janelle Reed (Shamokin/Line Mountain H.S.) will be in her first year as a starter for the field hockey team, but was a key starter for the women's lacrosse team which finished as MAC runners-up last season.
THE DEFENSE
The defense is the biggest question mark for Harnum as she graduated all-league goalkeeper Amy Zimmerman, and has lost two other starters.
Senior Jen Swope (Perkasie/Pennridge H.S.) is the heir-apparent in goal and split time with Zimmerman during the women's lacrosse season last spring. Making seven starts and playing in 11 games, Swope compiled a team low goals-against average of 9.35 during the spring, also sporting a .508 save percentage. While she didn't play a varsity minute last fall in field hockey, Harnum was impressed with her performance in the Bucknell scrimmage.
With the team's other recruited goalkeeper not reporting for medical reasons, freshman Kylie Cook (Huntingdon/Huntindon Area H.S.) has volunteered to be the number two keeper. While she has never previously played in goal, Harnum believes she has made remarkable progress since making that decision.
Leading the defense in front of the keepers will be returning starter and junior Amanda Reigle (Middleburg/Middleburg H.S.) at center back. Reigle started all 18 games last season and comes from a state championship program at Middleburg.
Joining Reigle will be a pair of first-year starters in freshman Sara Fuller (Mountaintop/Crestwood Area H.S.) and sophomore Erin Meglic (Belvidere, N.J./Belvidere H.S.) at left and right back respectively. A three-year letterwinner who was also academic all-state at Crestwood, Fuller helped her team post a 60-5-1 record during her prep career.
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