The Bucknell field hockey offices featured a poster last year with the message “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” That sentiment will continue to be a goal as the Bison plan to let their game speak for itself facing one of their toughest schedules yet. “I don’t want to jump the gun on this, but it’s probably the most difficult schedule that Bucknell has ever had,” said head coach Jeremy Cook. “We play about half the teams that were in the NCAA Tournament last year. That is intentional. What we’re trying to do is push the whole idea for the girls and Bucknellians in general to rise to challenges.” Going up against some of the best teams Mallory Smith in the country is hardly new for the Bison as they continue their series against perennial power Princeton as well as Temple, Michigan and eight-time reigning Patriot League champion American to name a few. The challenges are all part of the plan for Cook, who has been steadily increasing the strength of his program’s schedule since his arrival to Bucknell four years ago. “Gone are the days when we’re going to host weekends and score 14 goals and not have anybody score against us,” said Cook. “Every single game this year is going to be extremely competitive. “The hope is to compete for a [Patriot League] championship. If you play a tough enough schedule that prepares you in the right way, then maybe you take a game off American when it counts in the end.” Bucknell’s climb into the upper tier of field hockey competition has been accompanied by hard-hitting offseason development including the annual spring workouts and another trip to the Junior High Performance Championship for junior Tayler Siegrist and sophomores Vickie Resh, Rachel Misko and Erica Perrine. The additional playing time already appears to be paying off for the veterans. “They worked really, really hard in the spring, and despite some injuries, I think the group really made a lot of progress,” praised Cook just prior to the start of preseason practice. “A lot of leadership emerged.” Among those back for another season are seniors Marci Richard, Mallory Smith, Sarah Zargarpour and Kate Bowen. Bucknell will benefit from its speed in 2011, and Richard and Smith will be key contributors to that team strength. After putting up a strong performance during the spring season, Richard has solidified her role as one of the Bison’s go-to players. “This spring she grew into a more dynamic player,” Cook said of Richard. “The defenders that she’s playing against, she’s putting them under a huge amount of pressure through her ability to move the ball around. Her ball movement has gotten better. Her vision on the field has gotten dramatically better, and her first touch and release skills have gotten really good. She’s going to be huge for us.” Smith ended her junior campaign on a high note, scoring her lone goal of the season against Lafayette in the Patriot League Tournament semifinal. The Bison hope to cash in on her explosive speed to create even more scoring opportunities for the forward. “She’s great at holding onto the ball in some tough situations. This spring, she took some strides toward being able to be a little more aggressive, being a little bit more free as she’s going forward with the ball,” said Cook. “My guess is that she’s going to get a lot of opportunities in the circle this year. She’s going to create a lot for herself.” Zargarpour also returns after breaking into the record books for career wins (10), saves (117) and shutouts (5) last season. The goalkeeper missed the spring season while studying abroad in Scotland but has been back on campus training throughout the summer, regaining her old form. Also guarding the net for a fourth year is Bowen, a midfielder who made a breakthrough last season by starting in all 19 of the Bison’s games for the first time in her career. “She’s grown leaps and bounds,” lauded Cook. “She’s got great size and strength and is a really strong leader. She’s getting better and better at controlling the area around her and playing in a really good team way.” Leading the way in the junior class will be Siegrist, who spent her offseason balancing a trip to the NCAA East Regional Championships throwing javelin for Bison track and competing in her second Junior High Performance field hockey tournament. Even with the hectic schedule, Siegrist continues to develop an already solid game that saw her score 10 points on three goals and four assists a year ago.
6
“Her ball speed has always been fantastic, and she’s gotten even better at that,” said Cook of Siegrist, who finished second on the team in scoring among non-seniors last year. “Her game understanding has grown leaps and bounds, and this summer the big thing for her was that her individual defense improved pretty dramatically.” Joining the defender will be classmates Katie Durkin and Kelly Stefanowicz. Back from an injury-plagued fall, Durkin will undoubtedly energize the Bison with her hardnosed play. “She loves diving to finish, and I really hope that we can get her up there and scoring some goals just on cleaning up the scraps,” said Cook. Stefanowicz is in just her second season with the Bison after joining the squad as a walk-on, and Bucknell will be looking to get her more into the mix as she continues to improve. “She’s come a long way,” said Cook. “She has good close skill, [and] is very, very good in small spaces.” Among Bucknell’s returning major award winners in 2010, is Misko, the Patriot League Rookie of the Year (Scholar-Athlete of the Year Christine Weiss graduated in the spring). Misko started all 19 games in her debut season and is the team’s leading returning scorer after tallying six goals and two assists for 14 points. The Bison are not going to rest on Misko’s past success, however. “What we’re going to try to do is move her up the field, try to get her a little bit more involved in the attack,” Cook explained. “Her basic skills are absolutely phenomenal. She sees the field really well, but we’re going to try to get her more scoring opportunities than we did last year.” Classmate Resh joined Misko in the offseason at the Junior High Performance Championship, refining the skills that have made her one of the sophomores’ biggest contributors. The pint-sized midfielder’s speed and field vision will be key to the Orange and Blue’s game plan this fall. “Her individual defense has just been phenomenal for us. It was great last fall. The progress that she has made has been offensively,” said Cook. “It looks like we’re going to put a lot of weight on her shoulders in terms of carrying the team out of the back.” Vying for more time in goal will be Perrine, who is considered one of the most athletic and coordinated players on the field. She saw action in just two games last fall, but with Zargarpour overseas in the spring, Perrine was able to showcase her full range of skills for the first time and build confidence in her play. “She got to play every single spring game. I think that really helped her,” said Cook. “Being able to come down and play with us at the High Performance level just took her up a notch in terms of her confidence.” Adding to the large cohort are Leigh Hillman, Cassie Goggin, Hannah Jones and Jennifer LaBarre. Hillman’s speed came into play during the Bison’s spring game against Penn State, giving her two goals against the Nittany Lions, who are again on the schedule this fall. Quickness will also be a key contribution from Jones who returns to the team after spending the spring with the track team as a hurdler. “Getting her back is big,” said Cook of Jones. “It just adds a little bit more speed up front.” Goggin got her big chance during the 2010 Patriot League Tournament when she stepped in for an injured teammate. That opportunity translated into a strong spring campaign, and Bucknell will look for those improvements to continue into the current season. LaBarre will be making her way back from offseason shoulder surgery, but with her defensive improvements will likely see time in the midfield. Cook sees teamwork as especially crucial for his squad to be successful this season. The players understand the vital importance of working together, making the integration of the Bison’s nine freshmen - Kristen Felt, Cassie Lawrence, Kelsey Mucelli, Maggie Murphy, Hope Obernesser, Gabby Palumbo, Amie Pritchard, Ellie Riegel and Liz Wills - that much more of a priority. “Out of that group (of freshmen), we’re going to probably need at least three or four of them to give us significant time on the field. It doesn’t make you nervous, but it’s definitely something that we look forward to seeing how that all works out,” said Cook. “We’re really happy with them. They all came to summer camp, and it was really fun to have them on the field. “It’s a really well-rounded class. Overall, top to bottom, it’s got really good basic skills and a lot of speed.” Bucknell will open its 2011 campaign with Temple in Philadelphia at noon on Aug. 26, while the home slate kicks off with Princeton at 6 p.m. on Sept. 2. The game versus the Tigers is the first of two to be aired live on Bison Vision.