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When Ruth Fitzpatrick took over the Husson College field hockey program two years ago, she hit the recruiting trail in some familiar places.
Look at her roster today, and you’ll see the dividends those trips have reaped: Nearly all of Eastern Maine’s field hockey powers are represented.
Piscataquis Community. Skowhegan. Central. Belfast. Name a perennial contender, and Fitzpatrick probably has a Brave who played there.
“These are people who come from very good programs, but it will take some time to come together,” Fitzpatrick said, hours after the Braves had begun their season Tuesday with a win over Thomas College of Waterville.
Fitzpatrick said one of the challenges is trying to meld players who come from various systems and figure out which game plan works best.
“Some of the systems are different,” Fitzpatrick said. “We’re just trying to figure out, with the personnel we’ve got, what’s the best.”
Fitzpatrick led the Braves to a 4-5 record in her first season and improved that mark to 8-5 last year, including a double-overtime loss to eventual Maine Athletic Conference champ UMaine-Farmington in the league semifinals.
This year the Braves are missing last season’s top scorer, Darby Smiley, who has moved to North Carolina.
But Fitzpatrick’s second and third leading scorers are back and have been handling midfield chores in early workouts.
“Our leadership this year is coming from two sophomores,” Fitzpatrick said, referring to Crystal Strout of Central in Corinth and Amanda Brown of Belfast.
Joining them in the midfield has been freshman Nicole Palmer, who played at Nokomis of Newport in high school and scored two goals in the Braves’ opener.
Backs Nikki Corson of Skowhegan, Jaime Ross of Rockland and Nola Boynton of Stearns High in Millinocket will play plenty, while Christie Fitzmaurice is an able sweeper. Sophomore Shani Hollins of Connecticut is a returning starter at goalkeeper.
The forwards will likely be freshman Kim Knower of Massachusetts, Yoko Egami of Japan and Meagan Galuski of Piscataquis in Guilford.
Another freshman, Sara McIntire, played high school field hockey with Brown at Belfast, and Fitzpatrick hopes to play them together in order to capitalize on their proven chemistry.
The lone senior is Kelly Dow of Dover-Foxcroft, who is recovering from ankle surgery and has been “almost adopted as an assistant coach,” Fitzpatrick said. Dow is also the JV field hockey coach at John Bapst.
Fitzpatrick is quick to point out, however, that the Braves are still a work in progress, and she’s still tinkering with the lineup in order to find the combinations and systems that work best.
“They’re all very talented young ladies and we just have to work together to find the best system for this group,” Fitzpatrick said. “They all just love field hockey, and they’ll play wherever they can, as long as they can.”
Fitzpatrick said the team’s youth – 10 freshmen join six sophomores, three juniors and the injured Dow on the roster – is a reason for optimism.
“We’ve got a lot of young athletes, but the talent’s there,” Fitzpatrick said. “We just have to get together in the chemistry of the team.”
Husson fields cross country team
Husson College athletic director Pam Hennessey admits that her institution’s “new” sport isn’t exactly new … although you’d have to look pretty far back in the history books to find the precedent.
The Braves are back in the cross country business.
“We used to have it way, way back,” Hennessey said. “Like 30 years ago. But we’ve added it.”
The Braves began practices on Wednesday and the team will swing into competitive action on Saturday in a meet at the University of New England.
Coach Jon Connolly, a professor of biology at the school, will coach the Braves.
“What happened was that we’ve just joined the NCAA Division III, and to be in compliance we needed to have another men’s sport,” Connolly said. “We identified the market and interests here [and chose cross country].”
Husson has dual membership in the NAIA and NCAA Division III.
Hennessey said the sport is Husson’s fifth men’s sport and its sixth for women.
Connolly started looking for athletes last spring. He posted fliers, talked to fellow runners, and talked to some high school coaches.
And whenever an incoming student checked “Cross country” as one of their interests on their student questionnaire, Connolly sent them a letter.
Connolly said he also sent prospective members a training schedule that would get them in good enough shape to start practicing when school resumed.
Among the 15 or so people who have expressed an interest in the sport are eight Connolly is quite certain will suit up on Saturday: Rod Schoenbacher, Bart McCarthy and Eric Conley on the men’s team and Kristin St. Hilaire, Melissa Burns, Jessica Johnston, Katie Ramey and Sarah Turner for the women.
“My goals are to get us on the map for people on the outside to recognize that Husson has a cross country team,” Connolly said.
“I just want to put us on the radar screen.”
UM-Farmington to fete MacPhee
Len MacPhee, who retired earlier this year as the athletics director at the University of Maine-Farmington, will be honored during a Sept. 28 retirement dinner.
The event is scheduled to begin with a 6 p.m. social hour at the North Dining Hall of the Olsen Student Center. Dinner begins at 7.
In recognition of MacPhee’s contributions to UMF as a coach and administrator, the school is establishing a fund to create a UMF Athletics Hall of Fame Room to document athletics achievements at the school.
To make reservations for the banquet or to make a contribution toward the Hall of Fame Room, call 778-7090
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