Field Hockey News

2007 SEASON PREVIEW

Delaware Valley College and Freedom Conference Coach of the Year Carol Di Girolamo will look for a repeat performance in 2007 as 10 letterwinners, including seven starters, return from a squad that went 10-9 overall and qualified for conference playoffs with a 4-3 league mark.

Leading the cast of returnees are all-conference honorees Michelle Cernobyl (Allentown, PA/Louis E. Dieruff) and Bethany Pavlik (Lewes, DE/Sussex Technical).

Cernobyl was named to the first team as she paced the Aggies with 13 goals and 29 points and placed in the Freedom’s top five in each category (fourth in goals with 0.68 average; fifth in points with 1.53 average). The junior forward also came through in the clutch with a hat trick in the playoff-clinching win over Drew and two goals in the playoff loss to King’s.

Pavlik was named the Freedom Conference Rookie of the Year and a second-team honoree as the midfielder finished behind only Cernobyl in both goals (12) and points (27) and led the way in game-winning tallies with three. Her average of 0.63 goals per game ranked sixth in the Freedom Conference and her 1.42 points per contest ranked ninth.

Juniors Meghan Clark (Madison, NJ/Chatham) and Amy Stafford (Bernville, PA/Hamburg) will take over the captaincy roles on the teams. Clark, a defender, helped the Aggies notch five shutouts last season.

Stafford will be back at midfield after splitting time there and in an emergency role as the team’s goalie when illness struck the starter. Stafford, who won five of nine games in the cage, scored two goals and assisted on another for five points last year.

Junior Jackie Deschenes (Oak Ridge, NJ/Jefferson Township) is back in goal after going 5-5 with three shutouts (third in Freedom) and a 2.10 goals against average (sixth) in her first year as a starter.

Juniors Stephanie Dec (Oak Ridge, NJ/Jefferson Township), Lauren Lansberry (Klingerstown, PA/Line Mountain) and Nicole Stefanoni (Levittown, PA/Harry S. Truman) return for their third campaigns.

Dec notched two goals and two assists for six points last year while Lansberry scored four goals and assisted on four others for 12 points. Stefanoni added two goals and five points.

Sophomores Danielle Heyne (Mt. Bethel, PA/Bangor) and Rachel Betz (Audubon, NJ/Audubon) round out the returning letterwinners.

Heyne, a midfielder, is coming off a rookie campaign that saw her net one goal and assist on another for three points. Betz contributed to the Aggie defense in the eight games that she saw action in.

Delaware Valley opens the season on Saturday, September 1 when the Aggies battle Wells College at the Villa Julie College Tournament.