St. Joe’s field hockey earns third consecutive Atlantic 10 title
The seconds ticked down, from five to four to three. That is when it started to hit the St. Joe’s field hockey team that they were about to capture their third consecutive Atlantic 10 Championship in a 1-0 victory over the University of Richmond Spiders.
Sticks were tossed aside, stern competitive expressions morphed into gleeful smiles and the celebration commenced on Crenshaw Field in the aforementioned Richmond, Virginia.
“There is no feeling in the world like that feeling,” junior forward Jordan Olenginski said. “I ran up to [junior forward] Emily Henry and gave her a hug but she didn’t hug me back. She said there were three seconds left but I was like ‘We have the ball. Hug me.’”
The field hockey team is the first team in St. Joe’s history to win three consecutive conference championships. The final championship didn’t come without some hairy moments in the final minute, though.
“Even with five seconds left, it wasn’t really over because they were still within our defensive circle,” senior goalkeeper Victoria Kammerinke said. “But once the final buzzer sounds, it was just crazy.”
This latest championship caps off a four-year run that has seen St. Joe’s go 38-2 against A-10 competition.
“I was really proud of the group,” Head Coach Lynn Farquhar said. “It was definitely a battle. Just because you are the higher seed doesn’t mean it is going to happen, you have to make it happen. I was just in the moment and really excited for this group. Especially these seniors who have been through a lot.”
Olenginski scored the lone goal in the Hawk’s victory 55 seconds into the second quarter. Despite a late push by Richmond, the St. Joe’s defense stood firm to secure the title.
“Endless hours of work have gone into this,” Olenginkski said. “We aren’t just breezing through. We put so much work in, not just on the field, but off the field working on our communication skills. It really pays off.”
A key component of that strong defensive play was senior back Kathrin Bentz. Bentz was chosen as the A-10 Championship’s Most Outstanding Player for her role in shutting out the Spiders’ offense.
“It is a great souvenir,” Bentz said. “For me it is all about the team. I couldn’t have done it without them. I like leading the way for the team but knowing that they are behind me really backs me up and gets me my opportunities.”
For the senior class, this conference title caps off the careers of one of, if not the most, successful athletic classes in school history. Kammerinke was a big part of that, and with her two wins over the weekend, she became the active wins leader in all of collegiate field hockey with 63 wins.
“It is definitely a statement,” Kammerinke said. “Building off the past couple of years and all that hard work is paying off and I think that is pretty cool to see.”
With this being their last shot at both a conference championship and an NCAA Tournament berth, Bentz was motivated to make sure the Hawks’ season wouldn’t end on Saturday.
“We stepped on the turf and I said that this was not my last game,” Bentz said. “We have nothing to lose. It is our last year so it is now or never. We aren’t done yet.”
Coming into the A-10 Tournament, St. Joe’s was ranked 13th overall nationally and was the number one seed in the A-10. With championships the past two years, Olenginksi said the team had to deal with the added expectations prior to the tournament.
“We did feel that pressure on our backs,” Olenginski said. “We are supposed to win. We talked about it as a team and made an effort to turn that pressure into something that fuels us instead of something that makes us afraid to play.”
The team gathered in the Hall of Fame room in Michael J. Hagan ’85 Arena to watch the NCAA Tournament selection show on Nov. 10. They found out their opponent on Nov. 15 will be the #2 seeded University of Maryland.
“I’m excited,” Farquhar said. “We were excited to face anybody. You do your best with scheduling and you do your best with every match and I think we put ourselves in a good position.”
The NCAA Tournament begins on Friday in Charlottesville, Virginia at the University of Virginia. The Hawks take on the Terrapins at 2:30 p.m., and the winner moves on to play on Nov. 17 at 1 p.m.
