USM Field Hockey Coach Bonny Brown-Denico (seventh year) will be looking toward her large group of freshman to fill the void left by the departure of 14 players from last season’s roster. Six of those 14 holes were made via graduation including leading scorers Renee Heath (28 points) and Sarah Dolley (18 points), and goaltender Jessie Superchi who achieved a 0.97 goals against average.
Last season the Huskies finished with an 8-2 record in the Little East Conference (LEC), and a 17-6 record overall. However, the obstacles that must be overcome this year are much different than last year’s. “Last year we knew we had the talent to win the LEC” said Denico “This season we have a lot of new players, many of whom could use some touching up.”
The Huskies offense will be led by Kayla Vaughan, a junior captain from Monroe, ME who scored a total of 18 points last season and the Camtain Rachel Nimon, from Augusta, ME, who chipped in eight points of her own. Vaughan and Nimon will be backed up by a pack of brand new Huskies including Tracey Montgomery, a junior from St. George, ME, Lisa Henley of Bristol, VT and Erika Kroon of Bryantville, MA, both freshman.
Returning along with Vaughan and Nimon are captain Sarah Metivier, a junior midfielder from Old Town, ME, and Denise Minigell, a sophomore defenseman from Auburn, ME.
Sadie Garnache-Poirier, a sophomore transfer from Sweet Briar College in Sweet Briar, VA will anchor the defense in goal for the Huskies. In a season where a team is rebuilding, it is imperative that the goaltending is strong. “Our goaltending will be very strong this year, Sadie is great in the net” Denico enthused. Amanda Spoffard, a freshman from Westbrook, ME will be expected to play a large role in the defensive corps for the Huskies along with Minigell. Also combining to keep opposing players out of Poirier’s hair will be Laura Pratt a freshman from Greene, ME, Justene Larnard, a sophomore from Cherry Hill, NJ, and Caterina Riitano, a junior from Sangerville, ME.
“We are going to have to take this season one game at a time” said coach Denico “I hope to make the LEC tourney again. We’ll have to finish in the top seven out of 11 teams to do so, and we definitely have the talent to do that.”
In 2003, Denico led her team to the Little East Conference (LEC) tournament where they avenged regular season losses to Plymouth State in the first round of the tourney and again vs. Keene State in the finals to take the LEC championship. They then made their way to Middlebury, VT for the NCAA tournament where they attempted to ride their 10-game winning streak into the final rounds. Unfortunately, the girls were ousted by New Jersey’s Rowan University in the first round 2-1 in overtime. A heartbreaking loss to look back on, but a great example for this year’s young team of where hard work can bring them if they continue to work hard.
The Huskies kicked off their season this past weekend (after press time) at the St. Lawrence University Invitational playing Saturday vs. Utica College and Sunday vs. SUNY Oneonta.
Joe Bilancieri can be contacted at [email protected]