#5 Warriors Set to Open 2012 at No. 1 West Chester, No. 9 East Stroudsburg This Weekend
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Entering the season ranked fifth in the nation, the Merrimack field hockey team begins the 2012 campaign against a pair of formidable foes, starting with a trip to top-ranked and defending national champion West Chester for a Saturday (Sept. 1) afternoon showdown. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
The Warriors, who posted a 17-3 overall record in 2011, set a school record for wins and clinched their first-ever Northeast-10 Conference regular season crown with a 10-0 mark in league play. Other milestones set last fall included a first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament and Final Four.
Merrimack will have plenty of scoring depth, led by the return of its top three scorers from last season. Leading the charge is reining Northeast-10 Player of the Year April Daugherty (Lincoln, R.I.), who set the school record for points in a career as a junior after posting a 50-point campaign on a team-high 22 goals with six helpers. The senior is one of four returning All-Americans that the Warriors will return to the turf, as joining Daugherty will be classmate Jen Otis (Peacock, N.H.), who ranked second in scoring with 31 points (13, 5a).
Returning in net for the Warriors will be senior All-American Kerri Bergquist (Mashpee, Mass.), who is coming off a stellar season and will look to seal her spot as one of the best – if not the best – goaltenders in Warrior history. In addition to All-American honors, Bergquist was tabbed the Northeast-10 Conference Goalie of the Year and broke the school records for wins and shutouts in a season with 17 and nine, respectively.
Merrimack will have its hands full against the reigning national champions on Saturday, as the Rams finished last year 14-3 en route to their fifth national title in program history after upending the reigning champions UMass-Lowell, 2-1, in the title game.
The Golden Rams return six starters to help defend that crown, including four stalwarts up the middle, but will have to atone for the loss of the National Player of the Year, Brynn Adams. Nicole Fiorilla and Michelle Schrift represent the lead returning scorers after three of the top five offensive players graduated from last year's team. Fiorilla finished tied for the team lead with 30 points (13g, 4a), while Schrift notched 17 points on seven goals and three helpers.
In net, Kristin Arnold returns to man the pipes after seeing the bulk of the action in 2011, leading the Rams with a 1.79 goals-against average and .748 save percentage.
The Warriors will face a quick turnaround before squaring off against ninth-ranked East Stroudsburg on Sunday (Sept. 2) at 1 p.m. East Stroudsburg returns 12 letterwinners and six starters, including players who scored 26 of their 36 goals as a team, as ESU looks to rebound from an 8-10 season that saw a run of 24 consecutive seasons with a winning record come to an end.
Senior forward Lauren Ventrella represents the lead returning scorer for ESU after posting 20 points on nine goals and two helpers last fall. Classmate Mallory Pope ranked third in scoring last year with 11 points (3g, 5a).
--
