BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College field hockey team is set to begin its 2013 Landmark Conference season on Saturday, September 28 when the Greyhounds host Susquehanna University in a 1:00 p.m. match at Rocco Calvo Field.
The Greyhounds will have four straight Saturdays with Landmark opponents, and are challenging for the first post season berth in school history.
"I expect the Landmark Conference schedule to be extremely competitive," stated Head Coach Amy Endler. "With only six conference games to determine the four playoff spots, every game is critical."
The Greyhounds have opened the year with a 6-3 mark after defeating rival Muhlenberg College, 2-1, on Wednesday at Betty Prince Field. The victory improved Moravian's home mark to 4-2 this season and 11-3 at home since the start of 2012. The Greyhounds have been in every match this season with all three losses coming by a one goal difference with one contest going to double overtime.
Looking back at the first month of the season, Ender stated – "I think the individual improvements that many of our players have made not only in the last month, but since last year have been the biggest surprise."
Senior forward Keriann Badessa eads the Greyhounds with six goals and two assists so far this season while netting three game-winning goals while senior midfielder Chelsea Grotyohann has added four goals and an assist. Grotyohann has a pair of game-winners this fall, and she has been Moravian's primary inserter on penalty corners, starting 99 of the team's 120 penalty corners through nine matches.
Junior midfielder Catherine Duffin, a two-time Landmark All-Conference Second Team selection, has added three goals and three assists with one game-winner while junior forward Cayley Wise has added three goals while junior Taylor Holly has found the back of the cage twice. Sophomore forward Kelly O'Donnell and freshman forward Kyla Rodrigues each has added a goal and an assist for the Greyhounds while sophomore midfielder Rebecca Hamel has netted one goal.
Senior Erin Gilbert has one defensive save so far this fall and is anchoring Moravian's defense along with midfielders senior Emily Marley and juniors Bryn Tafuri and Valerie Male.
Senior goalie Andrea Eck has played 605 of the team's 650 minutes in the cage this season with a 0.93 goals-against average, 28 saves and one shutout.
"The strengths of our team are our maturity, experience, and teamwork," Endler said. "We are really starting to feed off each other's strengths and understanding our roles."
