Field hockey builds on success from last year’s conference win
Arrick Wilson, Contributing Writer
Last season, the field hockey team took home the Atlantic 10 Conference championship title after defeating the Saint Joseph’s Hawks 2-0. This time around, the Rams have continued the success from last year’s championship, ranking second among other A-10 teams.
The Rams started the season off with a 2-1 loss to American, but came out in their second game, bulldozing Villanova 7-1. Junior forward Lonica McKinney led the Rams with a career-high four goals, and senior back Janne Wetzel, sophomore back Ashlyn Hughes and freshman forward Maggie Goodwin all scored a goal. Wetzel has led the team with seven goals and McKinney has also had five goals for the season.
For games played Aug. 30-Sept. 5, McKinney was named the A-10 Field Hockey Player of the Week and graduate midfielder Maite Sturm was named the A-10 Defensive Player of the Week. Wetzel was also named the A-10 Field Hockey Player of the Week for games played Sept. 13-19.
The Rams are being led by Wetzel, who is sixth in the A-10 rankings in average shots per game at 2.90, sixth in shots on goal with 20 points, fourth in goals with seven points, second in game-winning goals with three points, third in average points per game at 1.60 and 10th in defensive saves per game at 0.10.
Other Rams leading in the Atlantic 10 categories include McKinney, Maite Sturm, senior back Litiana Field, graduate midfielder Svea Sturm, senior midfielder Lynea Gregory and freshman back Carolina Mujica-Robles.
Currently, the women’s field hockey program is ranked No. 33 among all national Division I teams in the country. The Rams will be back in action on Sunday, at St. Louis University.
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