February 1, 2009 E-MAIL PRINT

Women's D3: No easy games in NESCAC

Colby's Kate Sheridan returns after scoring 58 goals and earning NESCAC MVP honors last season. (photo: Jeff Earickson/Colby College)

How competitive do things stand to be in the NESCAC this spring? Just ask Colby coach Karen Henning.

Up on Mayflower Hill, Henning’s White Mules are bidding for a return trip to the NCAA tournament, and they have the players to do it. League MVP Kate Sheridan (Hingham, Mass.) is back after putting up 58 goals, and she has a solid supporting cast.

Becky Julian (South Windsor, Conn.) was a second-team All-American at attacker, and backs Mary Clare Snediker (New Canaan, Conn.) and Caroline Duke, and goalie Sarah Warnke (Lakeville, Conn.) also played big roles in last season’s NESCAC tournament title.

“With this senior class, we want to be the best we can be here,” Henning said. “We want them to go out with a good feeling.”

But there don’t figure to be many easy games for the Mules, and not just because they are challenging Division 3 power Salisbury over spring break. Their league is loaded.

There’s perennial league front-runner Middlebury, with back Taryn Petrelli and middie Sally Ryan leading the way. Trinity boasts exciting sophomore attackers Rachel Romanowsky (Hampstead, N.H.) and Catie Irvine (Westwood, Mass.).

Amherst is coming off an NCAA bid and returns a pair of second-team All-Americans in senior attacker Amy Craig and senior defender Catherine Calvert. Connecticut College boasts a top goalie in junior Jenna Ross (Longmeadow, Mass.), who stopped 51 percent of her shots.
And there’s more.

“The team that everybody needs to watch out for is Bates,” Henning said. “They play smart and they have athletes out there. Middlebury, everybody knows about.

“I like the fact that we have a real competitive schedule. With the NESCAC the way it is, every game is a challenge.”

That includes even teams such as Tufts, Bowdoin, Wesleyan and Williams, who are striving to stay out of the second division.

Commonwealth Coast

Endicott has plenty of talent back from the 15-5 team that won the CCC, along with a new coach. Meghan Fitzgerald, a former assistant at Division 2 Stonehill, inherits a team that boasts first-team All-CCC players such as middie Kellie Cunningham (Derry, N.H.) and back Molly Moss (Yarmouth, Maine).

WNEC is coming off a 17-5 season and an ECAC Division 3 title. Sophomore back Nicole Poli (Medfield, Mass.) led all three divisions nationally with more than 4.0 caused turnovers a game.

Meanwhile, Roger Williams (14-5), Gordon (12-6) and Curry (11-6) also are looking to improve on strong records from a year ago. Gordon relies on junior goalie Chyanne Wilson, while Curry brings back two players — Nikki Mackay (Framingham, Mass.) and Ashley Hansbury (Chelmsford, Mass.) — who found a place on the All-CCC first team in 2008.

Looking to rise up from the bottom half of the league are Colby-Sawyer, the University of New England, New England College, Salve Regina, Nichols and Regis.

Great Northeast

Ally Daniels (Concord, N.H.) led Norwich with 65 goals and 95 points last year, cranking it up to win MVP honors as Norwich captured the GNAC tournament. Regular-season champ Emerson only lost three seniors, and boast a high-scoring midfield nucleus of Maeghan Ross (Wrentham, Mass.), Laura Miley (Cranston, R.I.) and Katie Peters (Acton, Mass.), who scored 60, 44 and 38 goals, respectively.

Maine’s Saint Joseph’s, Connecticut’s Saint Joseph and Boston-area schools Lasell and Pine Manor face a challenge trying to break up Norwich and Emerson’s control of the league.

Little East

Southern Maine only lost four seniors from a team that lost just once in the league and returns a number of talented players, including the league’s Rookie of the Year, midfielder Kristy Kendrick. Defending champion Eastern Connecticut was hit by graduation but returns Defensive Player of the Year Taylor MacDonald (Oak Bluffs, Mass.).

Keene State (13-8) and UMass-Dartmouth (9-6) were the only other teams to win more than they lost a year ago in the Little East, and they are hoping to mount a challenge as well. Keene is playing under new coach Katie Arsenault (Wayland, Mass.), who was promoted from assistant when Michelle Mason left for Iona.

Western Connecticut, Rhode Island College, Plymouth State and Framingham State struggled last season and face a challenge to improve.

NEWLA

ECAC runner-up Bridgewater State looks to defend its title in the NEWLA. Midfielder Shannon Manning racked up 56 goals and 105 points to pace a 15-5 season.

Castleton State (10-8), Worcester State (9-6) and Westfield State (8-7) were the only other teams that finished above .500 last year.
Second-division clubs Fitchburg State, Elms, Becker and Thomas look to make a move up this year.

NEWMAC

Babson is trying to prove it merits mention with the region’s best after getting to the NCAAs and winning a first-round road game against Trinity a year ago.

Coach Kully Reardon will turn to standout midfielder Anna Collins (Winchester, Mass.), who racked up 54 goals and 47 draw controls, as well as goalie Sarah Macary (Woodbury, Conn.), the Rookie of the Year in the NEWMAC, and attacker Jackie Godfrey (Franklin, Mass.).

“I feel real confident with our defense, but we’ve got to really put it together in the offensive end,” Reardon said. “The way we ended against Franklin & Marshall (a 15-4 loss in the NCAA tournament’s second round) was not stellar.”

With challengers Springfield (10-7) and Wheaton (7-10) breaking in new coaches, Babson could see its stiffest test coming from Wellesley, which went 10-8 a year ago. Middies Loretta White (Northampton, Mass.) and Haley Geller are coming off All-Conference seasons.

MIT (5-7), Smith (5-10) and Mount Holyoke (2-13) look to climb up a few rungs on the league ladder.

Independents

Green Mountain finished its first season as a varsity squad with a 1-7 record. Senior Amanda Jeffers, who scored five goals in the Eagles’ lone victory, returns to lead the offense.

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