Seton Hill Field Hockey
Fourth year head coach Whitney Harness will look to build upon her first three seasons at the helm of the Griffins in which their win total increased in each year. SHU won 6 games in Harness’ first season and added one to win 7 in her second season. Last season the Griffins produced the best season in school history, finishing with an 11-8 overall record. Assisting Harness on the bench will be former Widener goal keeper Megan Purcell. Purcell, a four year starter brings a wealth of knowledge to help the Griffins in the cage. This season will be a season of change as the squad will be in a conference for the first time in Division II. The Griffins will play in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s (PSAC) Western Division. SHU is an associate member of the conference in field hockey. This will be quite a challenge competing in the tough PSAC but will give the Griffins a better chance of making the NCAA playoffs as a member of a conference instead of competing as an independent.
This year’s squad will be a very young one at the top with only one senior (Allegra Ramos) but the team returns a ton of experience in its junior and sophomore classes. The team will rely on these players to help them throughout the challenging PSAC schedule. A very good freshman class will challenge the upper classmen and give the Griffins the depth they need at all positions.
The Griffin defense returns two very solid players in juniors Gillian Hilbert and Kinsey McKenrick. Both players saw significant time last season and will be counted upon to lead the Griffin backline. Freshmen Carlee Harrison (Hanover, PA), Marcie Koenig (Pittsburgh, PA) and sophomore Melayna Currie also expected to see playing time on the Griffin back line. In goal, the Griffins return junior Brittany Parker who started all 19 games last season in the Griffin cage. Parker had a 2.55 GAA and a .733 save percentage which were both in the top 15 in Division II. Sophomores Sara Hirakawa, Rebecca Portillo and freshman Autumn Reed (Pasadena, MD) will battle Parker to see time in net.
The midfield will be led by junior Michelle Hogan and sophomores Natasha Nichols, Lauren Mariano,and McDonough Scanlan, who all saw playing time last season. Hogan led the midfielders with 5 goals last season. A strong group of newcomers in the midfielder include Kristen Vitali (Bel Air, MD), Amy Hart (Mohnton, PA) and Amanda Herman (Hillard, OH).
The Griffins return their top two scorers up front in Janelle Hofer and Allegra Ramos. Each player scored 12 goals which tied them for 15th in Division II. Junior Joanna Pichardo and sophomore Heather Apodaca also return to the Griffin front line. Freshmen Ashley Reid (Pasadena, MD) and sophomore Lauren Schumacher give the Griffins the young punch up front to carry them over the top this season.
The team opens their season at home on September 1st when they take on American International at Offutt Field. The Griffins will play their first PSAC game on September 13th when they host Mercyhurst and close out the regular season on Oct 22nd when they host defending Division II runner up Shippensburg.
