SEASON OUTLOOK: Tigers Hope To Get Back Into Title Contention

The Wittenberg field hockey team has ended each of the last two seasons with some momentum – in 2012, the Tigers won four of their last five games, and in 2013, the Tigers won three of their last five games. Head Coach Kelley Hubbell has high hopes that the Tigers will find a way to build momentum earlier in the 2014 season, which could pay dividends in the form of contention for the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) title.

With Wittenberg coming off a 2013 season that ended with records of 8-11 overall and 6-8 in the NCAC, Hubbell is hoping that the experience gained the last few years will be evident on the field. A total of 15 letterwinners, including nine starters, will return to the lineup in 2014, and an outstanding recruiting class figures to add multiple standout players to the rotation.

Much of that experience returns at the offensive end of the field as eight of the team’s top nine scorers return in 2014. Leading the charge are all-conference and All-Great Lakes Region midfielders Beth Warning (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame), a senior who led the Tigers with 25 points a year ago, and Paige Vanerstrom (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny), a junior who added 18 total points in 2013.

Senior Kim Loofbourrow (Propect, Ky./Ballard) also returns to the midfield after tying Warning for the team lead with five assists last season, and senior Megan Loofbourrow (Prospect, Ky./Ballard) will return to line-up in one of the forward spots after contributing eight points to the attack in 2013. In addition, senior Kelly McLean (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook South) is hoping for a breakout season at forward after struggling with injuries a year ago, and newcomers Riley Trexler (Louisville, Ky./Atherton) and Audrey Coler (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) figure in the mix as well.

Other returning letterwinners vying for playing time in the midfield and at forward include sophomore Michelle Murray (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) and senior Casey Fry (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea), as well as a host of newcomers, led by Maddie Goelz (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) at forward and Brighid Kortnya (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) in the midfield. Fry is also serving as a team captain in 2014.

Plenty of letterwinners return on defense as well. Senior Alena Mohler (Powell, Ohio/Pfafftown Reagan (NC)) and junior Andrea Mattingly (Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy) are the top returnees, while freshman Zara Tickner (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) is expected to step in and contribute immediately.

In goal, sophomores Laura Jansing (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) and Sarah Brownell (Ocnomowoc, Wis./University Lake School) split the playing time in 2013 right down the middle, with each starting nine games and appearing in a total of 13.

2014 At A Glance

Letterwinners Returning: 15
Sarah Brownell, Beth Warning, Michelle Murray, Kelly McLean, Paige Vanerstrom, Andrea Mattingly, Sydney Lang, Casey Fry, Michaela Bowler, Alena Mohler, Emma Foster, Clare Grady, Laura Jansing, Kim Loofbourrow, Megan Loofbourrow

Letterwinners Lost: 4
Eva van Dijkman, Sarah Jones, Mallory Skrobot, Samantha Diehm

Starters Returning: 9
Paige Vanerstrom, Beth Warning, Kim Loofbourrow, Casey Fry, Megan Loofbourrow, Andrea Mattingly, Michelle Murray, Alena Mohler, Laura Jansing

Starters Lost: 2
Mallory Skrobot, Eva van Dijkman