Field hockey looks to follow up winning season as new era approaches

Jim Swing
Sports Editor
The Commonwealth Times Sports’ Twitter

In 2010, after years of latency, VCU’s field hockey program ushered in a new era.

It was just the second time since 1993 that the Rams produced a winning season and the first since 2003 that the program had qualified for the CAA Tournament.

Their emerging 27-year-old head coach Kelly McQuade had been named CAA Coach of the Year, and thanks much in part to leadership and direction from a pair of Dutch senior twins, VCU welcomed in a fresh age of success.

But that was then and this is now.

Another new page has been turned. A new page missing two crucial pieces that helped make the grand puzzle.

The van Dessel twins, Marle and Flore, played a major part in transforming VCU field hockey from a program once in fear of being terminated to a program on the rise. They accounted for 41 goals and 112 points in their four years of eligibility. Marle’s 36 goals ranks second all-time in VCU history.

Now that the twins have graduated, the pressure to lead the Rams to repeat success has been placed on their captains: forward Kelsey Scherrer and goalkeeper Erin Jablonski.

“I think we need a little bit of a reminder that we can do that again this year and that we need to build that mentality back up,” Jablonski said. “Losing three of our middle players, everyone’s in new positions and trying to gain that game maturity and tenacity on the field.”

Jablonski was a captain alongside the van Dessels last year, recording 74 saves in 20 outings. But for Scherrer, the title is new.

“Kind of finding your place is hard in the beginning,” she said. “You learn from the upperclassmen and people who have been captains prior to this and you just kind of do what you’ve got to do.”

While the title may be new for Scherrer, the assignment is not.

After leading the Rams in scoring in her first two years at VCU, Scherrer is just 11 goals from being the program’s all-time leader.

Her goal in VCU’s 4-1 win over Appalachian State on Sunday was Scherrer’s 11th goal in her last 11 games, dating back to Oct. 3 of last year.

She and Jablonski will team up to command a young squad with 12 underclassmen on the 27-man roster.

While the two share a similar role along with a good amount of experience, they bring two different styles of leadership to the table. Scherrer is the on-field, lead-by-example type, while Jablonski is vocal, with a loud voice reigning from between the pipes.

“They probably do feel some pressure because it’s a different role they have to fill,” McQuade said. “I think they have to understand that each team every year is going to be different so we’re never going to be the same as we were last year. So as opposed to staying the same type of leadership, it’s adapting to the current team and figuring the best way to lead that.”

Following a fourth-place finish (5-3) in the conference in 2010, VCU was picked to finish sixth in a CAA preseason coaches’ poll.

In embracing her new role as a captain, Scherrer knows the Rams have plenty to reveal while following up last year’s accomplishments.

“We’ve got a lot to prove this year,” she said. “As well, if not more than last year, to prove to the CAA and to everyone else that it wasn’t a fluke, and we are a talented team and gain that respect because it still isn’t fully there.”

Last year’s accomplishments are evidence of hard work paying off for the fifth-year head coach McQuade, who has been the foundation of the resurrected field hockey program.

Despite the loss of the twin sisters that assisted her in the rebuilding process, she remains optimistic about what lies ahead.

“It makes me really excited for this year,” McQuade said. “It makes me excited to see the potential that we have worked with and that we do have an opportunity; obviously it’s not too far out of reach.”

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Photo by: Kyle LaFerriere/VCU Athletics