Season Preview: Salisbury rebuilds defense, focused on national championship run

SALISBUY, Md. - The Salisbury University field hockey team posted an impressive 20-2 record last season as the Sea Gulls reached the NCAA semifinals and claimed its 13th consecutive Capital Athletic Conference title. SU coach Dawn Chamberlin was honored as the Dita/National Field Hockey Coaches Association NCAA Division III South Region Coach of the Year for 2007 and will use her experience to guide a young Sea Gull team into the new 2008 season with just one senior on the roster.

"We've lost some leadership," said Chamberlin, "They [team captains and veterans] need to lead by example. They will have a strong teaching role on the field for us."

FORWARDS
The SU offense will be run through two high-powered juniors who were both All-Region first team selections in '07.

Junior Lauren Correll (Bridgeville, Del.) is the only returning All-American from last season. The co-captain earned a spot on the second team to go along with her All-Region and All-CAC honors. Correll led the Sea Gulls and the CAC in scoring with 21 goals and three assists for 45 points and had a team best eight game-winning goals in the '07 campaign. Correll has scored 40 goals, 12 assists and 92 points in her first two seasons at SU and now looks to continue her success in a leadership role for the Gulls.

Fellow junior, Beverly Beladino (Putnam Valley, N.Y.), was second in scoring for SU last season with 16 goals and three assists, and second in the CAC in three other offensive categories (goals, goals per game, and points per game).

"We know what we are supposed to do on offense," said Chamberlin. "We're going to need to put points on the board to help out the defense."

The dual scoring threat of Beladino and Correll will be strengthened by returning sophomores Katy Lamboni (Salisbury, Md.) and Abby Tedford (Chester, Md.). Incoming freshmen Caitlin Walker (Fallston, Md.) and Allison Bloodsworth (Delmar, Md.) will learn from the veterans in an effort to make an impact of their own.

MIDFIELD
The midfield for SU will look a little different compared to '07 but one thing that won't change will be the strong play from sophomore Kandice Hancock (Westover, Md.). Last season, Hancock was named the CAC Rookie of the Year and earned All-CAC first team honors. She started all 22 games and scored five goals and had a team-high 11 assists. This season Hancock's former high school teammate, sophomore Courtney Webster (Chance, Md.), is back completely healed of her injury from a year ago and ready to head up the midfield.

Junior Michelle Rowe (Elkton, Md.) is another All-CAC first team selection at midfield where last season she had seven assists and one goal in 22 games started. Junior Caitlyn Ruffus (Lincroft, N.J.) made a strong contribution to the Sea Gull midfield in a non-starting role, 20 games played, and hopes to continue her growth in '08. Junior Jennifer Bandy (Ellicott City, Md.) and sophomores Christine Craddock (Burtonsville, Md.), Liz Tollett (Severna Park, Md.) and Camile Walker (Wilmington, Del.) bring game experience, leadership and depth to the midfield unit.

The other new freshmen faces you may see on the offensive end of the field for the Sea Gulls this season include forward Kelsey Fetsko (Gambrills, Md.) and midfielders Danielle Lehman (Dover, Del.), Kim Palenchar (Salisbury, Md.) and Tara Williams (Timonium, Md.).

DEFENSE
Chamberlin and her staff have spent a lot of the preseason teaching defense to a young team that graduated the entire starting defense from last year's team. The quicker the Gulls can solidify the backs could be the key to success of the season.

"To lose three of your backs and goalkeeper at one shot is a lot" said Chamberlin. "We have to start fresh."

Co-captain Heather Berntsen (Madison, N.J.) is the lone senior on this year's squad. Berntsen has worked hard during the offseason to earn a starting position. She brings three years of experience to her first starting role with the Gulls. Sophomore Katie Fost (Lusby, Md.) has been asked to move from midfield to the back position to help the rebuilding effort on defense. Fost played in all 22 games last season and started 21 games. Junior Megan Maloney (Milford, Del.) is another returning letterwinner with game experience for the maroon and gold.

"We are putting some solid things together," said Chamberlin of her new look defense.

Two new additions to the Sea Gull squad are looking to have an impact on the defensive side of the field. Freshman Tara McGovern (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) and transfer Paige Lowry (Denver, Colo.) should see action in '08. Lowry transfers to Salisbury from Chamberlin's alma mater University of Iowa. Freshman Shannon Hanratty (Arnold, Md.) will add more depth to the rebuilding unit.

GOALIES
The goalie position is too close to call as Chamberlin has two solid sophomore goalies to choose from. Claire Davey-Karlson (Chevy Chase, Md.) returns for her second season with the Sea Gulls. Last season, she played in six games (started one) and logged over 177 minutes for SU. Davey-Karlson made 10 saves and allowed only one goal. The other sophomore is transfer Anna Cooke (Ann Arbor, Mich.). Cooke comes to Salisbury via stops at Miami University of Ohio and Old Dominion University. Cooke and Lowry are two of the first student-athletes to play SU field hockey who hail from the states of Michigan and Colorado, respectively.

SCHEDULE
The 2008 Sea Gulls enter the season ranked No. 2 nationally but will face a challenging road to the top. The '08 schedule features five teams ranked in the preseason top 20 poll. The third game of the year for SU features a home game with Christopher Newport University (September 10). The Captains are the only team that defeated the Sea Gulls during the regular-season in '07. After the annual SU Invitational the Sea Gulls hit the road for three consecutive road games against nationally ranked teams; No. 11 Johns Hopkins University (September 17), No. 7 Messiah College (September 20) and No. 9 Rowan University (September 24). Salisbury returns home where it will begin a four-game home stand that ends with a night game against No. 3 The College of New Jersey (October 18) in a showdown of two of the top programs in the country.

"Nobody on our schedule will give us a break" said Chamberlin.

The season begins Wednesday for Salisbury on the road against conference foe Hood College. The regular-season concludes with a non-conference game with Catholic University followed by the CAC tournament (November 2-8). The NCAA tournament selections are announced a day after the conclusion of the CAC tournament. 

SUMMARY
Salisbury, four-time national champions, knows what it takes to end the season with a NCAA Division III championship trophy in hand. Last year's overtime loss to Middlebury College in the national semifinals will only serve as motivation for this year's team.

"The returning players don't want to end a season like last year again. We come back and have a chance to fight for a national title this season," said Chamberlin. "We like where we are ranked right now, it's a nice motivation for our team to shoot for No. 1. But we don't want to be sitting at No. 2 at the end of the season."