Starting off the season with a home opener against the Division III defending national champions, not to mention the preseason top-ranked team in the nation, would present a challenge for any program. But Wesleyan field hockey co-captain Morgan McCauley wouldn’t want it any other way.
After a preseason she considers the best she has been a part of, McCauley said she couldn’t think of a better way to start off the season than a game against Bowdoin, especially as the team looks to translate its potential into a successful season culminating in a run at the NESCAC tournament.
The field hockey team enters the season looking to improve upon a 10-4 record in their 2010 campaign, which saw the team qualify for the NESCAC tournament for the tenth time in its eleven-year history, but suffer an early exit at the hands of Little Three rival Amherst.
Led by senior co-captains McCauley and Liz Chabot, the 2011 Cardinals will feature 14 returning players along with five new freshmen as the team looks to fight its way to the top of what is arguably the toughest league in Division III field hockey.
Wesleyan returns their top four scorers from last year’s attacking group, among them Chabot and McCauley, and will depend upon another strong defensive effort by 2010 second-team Division III All-American junior goalkeeper Tori Redding.
While the Cardinals can depend on an experience-laden squad, McCauley is also looking forward to contributions made by a freshman class that has brought a renewed energy to the team.
A return trip to the NESCAC tournament will not be without its challenges, however, as the Cardinals are set to play five other league opponents ranked in the preseason Top 20 poll by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association this season. The Cardinals face their first test on their home turf this Saturday, Sept. 10, as they take on the top-ranked Bowdoin College Polar Bears at Smith Field at 2 p.m.