(August 22, 2007)
Field
hockey
coaches in the Pennsylvania State Athletic
Conference have made their preseason predictions for how
the league's eight teams will fare in the 2007 season.
Bloomsburg is the coaches' favorite to win the crown
after posting a perfect 24-0 record en route to the
program's 14th national championship in 2006. The
Huskies are led by a pair of talented juniors in Jamie Vanartsdalen and Samantha Kropa. The duo has led
the team in goals and points in each of the last two
seasons. Vanartsdalen is a two-time All-American
who finished as the nation's leading points scorer a
year ago (62) while Kropa earned her first All-America
honor. Defensively, Bloomsburg must replace
goalkeeper Tracey Hudak, a three-time All-American and
first-team All-PSAC selection who led the league in
shutouts (6) and goals against average (0.84) a year
ago.
IUP
has earned three straight berths in the NCAA Tournament,
advancing to the semifinals for just the second time in
school history before falling to Bloomsburg, 2-0.
The Crimson Hawks finished with a 10-3 record in PSAC
play and 15-6 overall, winning 13 of its last 14 regular
season contests. Two-time All-American Liz Martini
returns for her senior season after leading the squad
and finishing ninth in the PSAC in goals (15).
Martini is joined by fellow All-American Sylvia
Guerrieri on the offense. Guerrieri ranked fifth
nationally in assists per game (0.48). Also an
offensive threat is sophomore Marlous Bijleveld, who
finished second on the team in goals (13) and third in
the league in assists (10).
Shippensburg should prove to be a threat to both
Bloomsburg and IUP as the Red Raiders are picked to
finish third. Shippensburg earned the 2005 PSAC
Championship after defeating Bloomsburg while splitting
a pair of regular season and post season contests with
the Crimson Hawks. The Red Raiders will be without
Ashley Watt, who finished her career with the
second-highest point total in NCAA history (189), and
Natalie Grazan, whose 57 career goals ranks second in
Shippensburg history. Junior Kimberly Davies will
be looked upon to guide the offense, as Davies finished
in the top four in goals scored each of the last two
seasons. Goalkeeper Allie Rutland will anchor the
defense after posting the league's third-best goals
against average (1.40) a year ago.
