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Following a 10-7 regular season and NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals loss in 2023, Syracuse field hockey placed No. 10 in the 2024 National Field Hockey Coaches Association Preseason Poll. After a disappointing loss to Duke in the NCAA Tournament, SU has significant hopes for the 2024 season. Though, with the departure of many key players, its plans to obtain high seeding in the Atlantic Coast Conference will run through a challenging schedule and a young team.

To begin 2024, Syracuse was ranked fourth in the ACC Preseason Poll. The Orange are tied with Louisville and feature one player on the conference’s All-ACC Preseason Team — senior midfielder Willemijn Boogert.

Here’s everything to know before Syracuse field hockey starts the season Friday on the road against Lock Haven:

Re-tooled roster

With Boogert being one of only four seniors on the roster this year, Syracuse needs to rely on its youth. The team features six freshmen and seven sophomores, most of whom have limited time playing at the Division-I level.

Louise Pert, Vivian Rowan and Olivia Bell round out SU’s senior class. Pert, a goaltender from Ireland, appeared in six games as a sophomore, playing over 100 minutes and making two saves on the season. As a junior in 2023, the goalkeeper missed the season with a lower-body injury but returned to practice late in the year.

Rowan, a forward, appeared in nine games last season. She took three shots, two of which came against Wagner. Bell, a forward, appeared in all 19 games last season for the Orange, notching a career best in appearances. She started six games while tallying four goals and one assist.

With Boogert and Bell’s experience, SU needs its seniors to uplift the younger and less experienced players. With three of the Orange’s top-four point scorers for the 2023 season leaving, players such as sophomore Hattie Madden, junior Lieke Leeggangers and redshirt junior Aiden Drabick will be forced to take a more prominent role.

Aside from just seniors, freshman midfielder Cato Schreinemacher has left the team, which is a considerable loss for SU. She appeared in all 19 games, making five starts. Schreinemacher notched the first goal of her college career against No. 8 Louisville and finished the year with nine assists. She was pivotal to SU’s offense and defense and will be difficult to replace.

Stiff showdowns

The ACC is commonly referred to as the most competitive D-I field hockey conference. According to the NFHCA preseason poll, the ACC fields seven of the top 20 field hockey programs, with defending NCAA champion North Carolina leading the conference ranked No. 2.

For Syracuse to succeed this season, it must win its ranked matchups. In 2024, SU will face nine of the top 20 teams in the country. With 17 games on the schedule, 53% of its matchups come against ranked opponents.

Sophia Burke | Digital Editor

In 2023, it was challenging for the Orange to play at home. In ACC play last season, Syracuse went 0-3 playing at J.S. Coyne Stadium. After a 9-0 home record in 2022, the 0-3 record was a surprise. In 2024, SU must win its home contests, especially in conference play.

The Orange will officially begin their season on Friday, Aug. 30, at 3 p.m. when they face Lock Haven. SU then gets right into difficult matchups, matching up against No. 16 Penn State and then No. 13 Ohio State. Syracuse’s biggest game of the season is on Sept. 20 against No. 2 UNC at Chapel Hill. For the rest of their season, the Orange face a number of nonconference opponents, including Longwood, Princeton, Bucknell and UConn, before the ACC Championship begins on Nov. 5.

Goalie battle

Throughout SU’s preseason practices and exhibition games, there has been a significant goaltender competition. Syracuse currently has two goaltenders who have been playing at a high level. First, there is Vera Hekkenberg, a freshman from Naarden, Netherlands. She played club field hockey for the Gooische Hockey Club and helped lead it to a runner-up finish in the indoor championships.

On the other side of the battle is Pert, who missed her entire junior season with an injury. She played in six games as a sophomore and five as a freshman, both with limited minutes, but still has much more experience than Hekkenberg.

SU’s goaltender last season was team co-captain Brooke Borzymowski. She started in the first 13 games before being sidelined with a lower-body injury. On the season, Borzymowski made 27 saves in 737 minutes of action, including a season-best nine against No. 6 Virginia in a double-overtime loss. With the loss of Borzymowski, SU will look to Hekkenberg or Pert to step up.

Published on August 28, 2024 at 10:57 pm

Contact: jordankimball28@gmail.com | @JordanKimball_