Field Hockey clinches second straight regular season A-10 title
The St. Joe’s field hockey team celebrated Senior Day by securing their second consecutive Atlantic 10 regular season championship with a 3-0 shutout against Davidson University on Oct. 28.
The Hawks tallied 16 wins over the course of the season, which ties with their regular season record.
Headed into the matchup against Davidson, St. Joe’s moved up two spots in the Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Coaches Poll. This marks their seventh consecutive week as a ranked squad.
Prior to the game, junior Anna Willocks was the team’s leading overall scorer with 38 points on the season. She was also ranked second on the team and third in the league in goals this season with 14. Freshman Quinn Maguire and sophomore Kathrin Bentz followed closely behind with six assists. Sophomore goalkeeper Victoria Kammerinke led all of Division I in save percentage. She also led the A-10 in goals against average.
“They’ve [the team] exceeded my expectations to be honest,” Kammerinke said. “Also, it’s a very new team. We have 10 new freshmen so it’s a long process to get the team together as one. This year was easy. The freshmen stepped up early. They weren’t afraid of anything. I think that helped a lot to build this team.”
Before play began, the Hawks held their Senior Day ceremony honoring senior Jackalyn Pauling. She was well received by the St. Joe’s home crowd at Ellen Ryan Field. Pauling commented on her last regular season game and highlighted notable memories.
“I feel a little sad,” Pauling said. “Our team has progressed so much in the past four years. It was amazing to be a part of it and I know they’re going to accomplish so much more. One of my favorite memories this season was beating [defending National Champions] Delaware. It was a really great team effort.”
As play began, St. Joe’s and Davidson struggled offensively for a large portion of the half. Both teams couldn’t capitalize off of penalty corners and clean shots in the circle. It wasn’t until the 27 minute mark that sophomore Pepa Serrano assisted Willocks to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead headed into halftime.
“The ball went a little back behind me,” Willocks said. “It was a penalty corner and I remember thinking ‘Get it on goal because you miss one hundred percent of the goals you don’t take.’ I think that’s true for a lot of the goals I’ve scored this season. They haven’t been hit the hardest, but I just put them on cage. People make mistakes and it goes in sometimes.”
The second half produced two more Hawk goals within a 20 minute span. Serrano assisted Willocks once again to give St. Joe’s a 2-0 lead at the 48 minute mark. This gave Willocks her 16th goal of the season.
Six minutes later, Serrano charged onto the field and secured a goal for herself to notch her second of the season. This secured a 3-0 win for the Hawks, contributing to their 16-3 regular season record and 7-1 A-10 record.
Head coach Lynn Farquhar recognized the team’s overall growth throughout the season.
“This team is a lot of fun,” Farquhar said. “We have so many different personalities and so many different strengths. Every year I’ve been here has been a new challenge. It’s like putting puzzle pieces together. This year has been so cool to see the tactical side, the skill and the speed really taken to the next level.”
As the number one seed, Hawks players and coaches are ready for the conference championship.
“Our confidence and excitement levels are very high, especially with us as the number one seed,” Kammerinke said. “It is so tight in the conference. Every game is a fight, so we have to bring our game every single time.”
Despite high stakes imminently approaching, preparation is going to remain the same.
“The prep is exciting and we’re inspired,” Farquhar said. “The work is going to be the same. We know what we need to focus on.”
St. Joe’s travels to Massachusetts for their matchup against the number four seed, The University of Richmond, in the 2017 A-10 Field Hockey Championship on Nov. 3.
