Just two players graduated from the field hockey team last season, but the squad's newcomers will have some big shoes to fill.
Filling in for the four-year starting goalkeeper, Liz Attewell, will be one of two incoming freshmen. Attewell had nine shutouts last year and was aided by a superb defense in front of her. Junior Katie Broecker and sophomore Taylor Helms have become a dynamic duo in front of the goal. Head coach Gina Preston believes the team will grow with the goalkeeper transition in more ways than one.
"The defense will make an easier transition for the freshman in goal," Preston said. "With two freshman goalkeepers coming in, it's good for the team during practice to see two different goalkeepers."
The other graduating senior, midfielder Katie Sowar, will be missed for her energy and leadership on the field.
"She wasn't always the flashiest player, but the most vocal, and the person we could count on to give us energy or make a play when we needed to," Preston said.
The newest addition to the field hockey coaching staff should prove critical in the first season of NCAC play. New assistant coach Molly McCue graduated from Denison University, a NCAC school, in 2010. McCue was a four-year starter for the field hockey team there, totaling 28 goals and leading the team twice in that category. She hopes that some of her knowledge and experience can help the Tigers with the conference transition.
"I feel like teams keep a somewhat similar strategy, although there have been some coaching changes since I graduated," McCue said. "But just having a familiarity with the conference and how the teams play, I'm excited to go back to places I've been."
Preston and McCue will be coaching an exciting and dynamic team primed to succeed this season.
Junior forward Margaret Ellis led the team last season with 24 goals while receiving the ball from senior Kim Trainor, who notched a team-high six assists.
"Margaret is great because as we faced teams for the second and third time they would start to put pressure on her," Preston said. "She worked a lot to create opportunities for other people and find ways to score herself."
In the midfield, sophomore Chelsea Cutler emerged last season as a ball winner and accurate passer up field. She will be, according to Preston, the link between the defense and Trainor up field.
The prospect of having a successful season is made more exciting as the NCAC provides the team with a guaranteed chance of making it to the NCAA Div. III playoffs.
"It's huge for field hockey in that now we're in a conference where we can have an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament," Preston said. "That wasn't there for us in the SCAC because there weren't enough teams, and that changes the goals for the team a bit because it's more attainable."
To reach that goal, the Tigers must go through Wittenberg University (15-4, 11-1 NCAC) and College of Wooster (16-5, 10-2 NCAC). DePauw's first NCAC game is away at Kenyon College on September 10.