Ball State University Athletics
Field Hockey Opens Season on the Road at Colgate
August 25, 2011 | Field Hockey
MUNCIE, Ind. – Ball State field hockey opens the 2011 season with a two-game series in Hamilton, N.Y., beginning 7 p.m. Friday against Colgate, followed by a contest versus Rider at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Ball State returns three starters and nine of 18 letterwinners from the 2010 season in which the Cardinals recorded an overall mark of 6-14 and a Mid-American Conference tally of 2-8 for a fifth place finish in the league.
Head coach Beth Maddox enters her second season with the Cardinal and White with assistant coach Jacque DeMarco and student coaches Morgan Cloutier and Brittany Hammer.
“We are excited to open up our season with Colgate and Rider,” Maddox said. “We know that both teams are going to work hard and compete. Our goal is to stay connected and fight harder than anyone else.”
The Cardinals return seven seniors in an experienced upperclassmen group, including forward Kristen Falk (Pennsburg, Pa./Perkiomen), forward CJ Hermes (Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy), forward Devanny Kuhn (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart), defender Gretchen Lulow (Ballwin, Mo./Cor Jesu Academy), midfielder Caitlin Maguire (Louisville, Ky./Presentation Academy), goalkeeper Chelsea Mitchell (Stevens, Pa./Cocalico) and defender Katie Norris (Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy), while defender Devon Bell (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) and midfielder Marisa Weachter (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) make up the two-member junior class.
The squad welcomes ten freshmen to the 2011 roster in forward Charlie Digby (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams), goalkeeper Haley Fusting (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy), midfielder Leanne Goldblatt (Yorktown Heights, N.Y. (Lakeland), midfielder Sanne Hermans (The Hague, Holland), defender Laura Malinoski (Eastampton, N.J./Rancocas Valley Regional), defender Jenna Rosenberry (Manheim, Pa./Elizabethtown Area), midfielder Tarel Teach (Virginia Beach, Va./Ocean Lakes), forward Kaitlin Thompson (San Carlos, Calif./St. Francis), midfielder Bianca Velez (Virginia Beach, Va./Floyd E. Kellam) and midfielder Tori Widrick (Cazenovia, N.Y./Cazenovia).
The weekend contests stand as the first meetings all-time between Ball State, Colgate and Rider. The Raiders finished the 2010 season with a 5-12 record (2-3 PL), while the Broncs went 16-4 (7-0 NEC).
“We have six games before we start the MAC,” Maddox said. “This gives us the opportunity to work on some things and make sure our freshmen get some experience.”
Maddox and the team opens the home portion of the 2011 season Tuesday, Sept. 13 at the BSU Turf Field against Northwestern at 3 p.m. The Cardinals have tallied an all-time record of 47-59 (.443) at BSU Turf Field in Muncie, Ind. since the facility opened Sept. 12, 1998.
Live Stats will be provided for all games on BallStateSports.com and updates can be found by following @BSUFieldHockey on Twitter.
