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Aug. 26, 2008
Garden City, NY - A new era begins for women's athletics at Adelphi University as the field hockey program is revived for the 2008 season after a 25 year hiatus. One of the oldest sports offered at Adelphi, Field Hockey resumes its varsity status this fall under the direction of veteran coach Gloria O'Connor. "I'm more than excited to be in the position I'm in - coaching at Adelphi and continuing a program that has so much history. I'm eager to get the alumni involved and get the girls ready to carry on the tradition." Nearly a list of 300 athletes and alums, an NCAA Division II finals appearance in 1981, and a start date of 1929, hockey is a staple in the Adelphi athletic community and will carry on in 2008 with 23 girls, 15 of which are freshmen, and a coach with a winning percentage just shy of .800 in her 10 years of high school coaching experience. Due to the fact that this season is the first year as a varsity program, most of the athletes on the team are young, and almost all have never played with each other before. To O'Connor, however, that doesn't seem to be a prevalent issue. "In just a short period of time the girls are really coming together. The freshmen are emerging as strong leaders, and the upperclassmen from the field hockey club are transitioning very well. Our practices are hard and intense, with doubles and even triples on some days, and our athletes are working extremely hard," O'Connor explained. The facilities are quite different than the team of '29 played on or that of nationally ranked program of 1981. Beginning in the summer of 2008, Adelphi has unveiled a state of the art sports and recreation building packaged with a transformation of Stiles field into a turf playing surface for the Panther's "field" sports. "The new facilities are beautiful and great for training on," O'Connor stated. "We are at a real advantage in that respect. Whether it's on the [turf] baseball field, or right on [The Stadium at the Outdoor Complex] - it's beautiful and ideal to work on." O' Connor will also be joined by her two first year assistants Ellen Axelsen and Elise Galvanin, both with a wealth of hockey experience. Axelsen, an all-Alantic10 selection and captain at LaSalle University, will help primarily with coordinating the defense and goalkeepers. "Ellen's strength is her dynamic approach to the game and to the team," Coach O'Connor said. Galvanin, who played field hockey at Hofstra and helped the Pride finish the 2003 season 12-8 overall, will use her certification as a personal trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning Association as an asset to the squad, along with her knowledge of the game. "Elise does an outstanding job of instructing, and has a work ethic that is beyond reproach." O'Connor stated. Offense The last time hockey sticks were on Stiles field, athletes like Susan Kane, '83, and Jacki Booth, '83, led the Brown and Gold's offensive attack to an NCAA Championship appearance. Coach O'Connor sees freshmen Julianne Gerbino (Port Jefferson, NY) and Jeanette Heimerle (Smithtown, NY) picking up where Kane and Booth left off. "Both freshmen work so well together, bringing two very different aspects of playing to the field," O'Connor talked about her freshmen. "Julianne is a technical yet aggressive player, while Jeanette has that raw power and speed. Look for both to be high scorers this season." Gerbino will also serve as one of the Panthers' quad-captains. The transition from the midfield to the offense O'Connor describes as the Panther's biggest asset up front. Senior quad-captain, Katelyn Jules (Baldwin, NY) will be a key part at the receiving end of that shift. "Jules is a great leader and will work well off the post. Look for her to pick up a lot of deflections and capitalize on them." O'Connor said. Off the bench freshmen Stephanie Marciano (Medford, NY), Michelle Maurici (Massapequa Park, NY) and Kristin Karoff (Little Neck, NY) will be helpful on attack. "Stephanie has great attitude day in and day out. Michelle is making the move to the left side of the field and doing very well with the transition," Coach O'Connor explained. "This is Kristin's first time picking up a stick, but she has already showed tremendous progress in just a short period of time. Her speed and ability to learn quickly will earn her playing time this season." Midfield As touched upon before, the transitional game of field hockey, from the midfield to offense, will be the Panthers core of success, with a vastness of talent in the midfield to help make that happen. Freshmen Lindsay Williams (Port of Spain, Trinidad) comes to the Panthers' program with a tremendous resume, having played on the national level for Trinidad, and her experience will be a huge factor in Adelphi's success in the midfield. "Lindsay is an outstanding player with beautiful stick work that can distribute the ball on any side of the field," O'Connor discussed. "She directs plays well on defense and leads the transition to offense." Also showing strength in the midfield is sophomore transfer from Kent State University, Crystal Gray (Smithtown, NY). "Crystal is a natural leader, which is the reason she serves as one of our captains. She sees the field extremely well and works well with the younger players. Crystal will pick up a lot of assists with her great stick skills," O'Connor stated. Laura Stafford (Sag Harbor, NY), an all-conference player from Pierson, contains knowledge of the game that has been priceless for the Panthers' effort in the midfield. "Laura is great on both ends of the game and her understanding of the game will help out tremendously. Look for her to start throughout the season." O'Connor commented. Theresa Murphy (East Northport, NY), Kelly Gorman (Floral Park NY), and Jaclyn Kaszubski (Valley Stream, NY) will round out the Brown and Gold's midfield and add much needed strength off the bench. "All three of these players are students of the game and are making tremendous progress." O'Connor said. "Their drive will place them on the field." Defense Going along with the theme of new for this program, Coach O' Connor is instituting a form of defense that is new to most of her athletes, the 3-4-3 system. "Most of the girls are learning a system that they have never played before and are doing a tremendous job doing so. This style of defense requires a lot of movement out of our midfielders and requires our backs to be heads up and strong. Both are answering the call," Coach O'Connor said.
The defense will be led by captain Ornella Schneider (Port of Spain, Trinidad), also making the transition from the national level to the collegiate level. "Ornella will run the defense for us this year and call the plays," Coach O'Connor explained. "She is our flyer on corners and her experience from playing at the national level will be invaluable to us." Also looking to step into lead roles on defense are Erin Hahn (Union, NJ) and Brittany Kinsley (Putnam Valley, NY). "Erin is smart on defense. She will support the midfield, cut off pass lanes and dominate the right side." O'Connor stated. "Brit is a dynamic player that can move the ball up the field and get back quickly. She's a great natural leader that will get a lot of assists." Look for Alexandra Dranoff ( Sayville, NY) and Amanda Serif (East Meadow, NY) to make their presence known in the back field. "Both ladies are versatile players that can play both sides of the field and have excellent self drive." O'Connor added. Goal Adelphi has a tradition of excellent goalies like Debbie Bardong, '77, who led the Panthers to a Metropolitan crown in 1975, and this year will be no different. Immediately freshman Jacqueline Grant (Wading River, NY)has shown she is ready to guard the Brown and Gold's cage. "Jackie is an all-county player that knows what it takes to play at this level. She is strong, quick and very hard to get by in goal. We're working on her becoming more verbal in the back and expect great things from her." O'Conner commented about her keeper. Also looking to fight for some time covering the Panther's net will be Lucia Vigliotti (Westbury, NY). "Lucia is a great pick up from [W.T.] Clarke. Her attitude is what this sport requires and look for her to step up and play at the collegiate level." Coach O'Conner said. Schedule As expected for a first year, independent program, the schedule is smaller than usual. The Panthers have 10 games this season. "I look at this year to be a preparation year. We are gearing up for the jump to the Northeast-10 [conference], a larger schedule with stronger competition." Coach O'Connor stated. The team thus far seems willing to do what is necessary to help make that transition a successful one. "We're going to continue preparing by playing indoor hockey this winter and resume outdoors with a spring ball schedule. We are all looking forward to the next year and the challenges that it brings." |
