Pios Set to Embark on 25th DI Campaign

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (August 14, 2023) – The Sacred Heart University field hockey team is poised to make a jump in 2023. The squad's entire core returns, as its top three scorers, and 10 of its top 11, return for another go-around this fall.

For a team which went just 2-16 a year ago, that core will feel it has something to prove in 2023.

"We definitely have some unfinished business, but we also feel like we learned a lot on the field this spring," said head coach Sydney Van Der Merwe, as the team dove into its preseason camp. "Basically everyone is back, and now they know how to play with each other. I think lots of good things are going to come to this group."

It would be cliché to point to off-season tragedy (link) as a bonding moment for the program, but it is also impossible to ignore the impact on the team, when so many who lived through it return to the field this fall. One cannot spend five minutes around the team without noticing the plethora of #AnnaStark shirts in support of their injured teammate, and honoring her has been a theme on the program's social media accounts since the incident in March.

Whether a direct result of the accident or not, their coach has noticed an uptick in team chemistry over the offseason and heading into preseason.

"There's just something about this group, and I have a really good feeling about them," said Van Der Merwe. "Everyone is getting along, there's good chemistry, there's just something special about them. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I'm so excited for what's ahead."

A pair of seniors highlight the returning Pioneers, as forward Aine Keaney (New City, N.Y.) and midfielder Mira Poelzer (Munich, Germany) are the team's two returning leading scorers from a year ago. Keaney was the only Pio in double digits in points in 2022, as she scored five goals to total 10 points while playing in all 18 games, including 16 starts. Poelzer added a line of 2-4-8 across 17 games, including 10 starts.

The 27-player roster features a pair of graduate students, six seniors and six juniors, to provide a steady dose of upperclassman leadership. Mix in seven sophomores and six incoming first years, and the group is well-rounded heading into its 25^th season at the Division I level. Senior Isabelle Chamberlain (North Yorkshire, United Kingdom) and graduate students Ally Frampton (Somerdale, N.J.) and Mikayla VanHorn (Old Bridge, N.J.) will serve as tri-captains in 2023.

The silver anniversary DI season will open in Burlington, Vt., on Aug. 25-26, as the Pios take on Vermont on Friday afternoon and Syracuse on Saturday, the latter of which was a national quarterfinalist a year ago. SHU will travel to Colgate on Sept. 1, before returning home to host Monmouth in its home opener on Sept. 3.

The non-conference schedule also features home dates against Quinnipiac (Oct. 1) and Dartmouth (Oct. 15), as well as road games against Lehigh (Sept. 10), Yale (Sept. 17) and Lock Haven (Oct. 29). SHU is slated to meet Cornell in a non-conference, neutral-site game in Greenwich, Conn., on Sept. 24.

The Northeast Conference portion of the schedule kicks off on Sept. 29, with a road trip to LIU. The Pios, who were picked to finish sixth in the eight-team league, will also travel to Fairfield (Oct. 6), Rider (Oct. 13) and Saint Francis (Oct. 27) in NEC play, while hosting Wagner (Oct. 8), Stonehill (Oct. 20) and Merrimack (Oct. 22).

"It's a competitive schedule," said Van Der Merwe. "I'm really excited to find out who we are, both in conference and out."

Schedule

Players Mentioned

Isabelle Chamberlain

Ally Frampton

Aine Keaney

Mira Poelzer

Mikayla VanHorn

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