FIELD HOCKEY GAME CENTRAL

HAMILTON, N.Y. (8/25/11) –The Colgate field hockey team will open its 2011 season this weekend at Tyler's Field as the Raiders host Ball State and Rider.

Colgate's first game will come on Friday night at 7 p.m. against Ball State, followed by a neutral site game between the Cardinals and Rider on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Tyler's Field. The final game of the weekend is on Sunday as the Raiders take on Rider at 12 noon. All games will have live stats available and all the necessary links can be accessed through Field Hockey Game Central on the field hockey web page.

FIELD HOCKEY TABBED FOURTH IN PRESEASON POLL
The Raiders were picked to finish fourth in the upcoming 2011 season in the annual Patriot League preseason poll, which was voted on by the league's coaches and sports information directors. The Raiders earned 22 points in the poll for the fourth spot after a 2-3 mark in league play a season ago. Colgate finished 5-12, but went 2-2 down the stretch last year to make the Patriot League Tournament. The Raiders return nine starters from last season, but have holes to fill on the offensive and defensive sides of the field.

American was picked to take home its ninth-straight title with 50 points in the poll, including 10 first-place votes. Lafayette was the only other school to finish with first-place votes with two and earned 40 points to end up second. Bucknell, who finished one spot ahead of the Raiders last season after a 3-2 overtime win in the final game of the season, was slated to finished third in the league. Lehigh and Holy Cross rounded out the bottom of the poll.

HILL AND HAWKINS SELECTED AS TEAM CAPTAINS
Seniors Sarah Hill and Peyton Hawkins have been selected as team captains for the 2011 campaign. Hill returns for her final season as a forward. She played in 10 games a season ago, while Hawkins played in eight games on the defensive end with seven starts.

NEWCOMERS
The squad is filled with rookies as 11 are coming to campus. Seven of the 11 playing in their first season are offensive players. Zoe Beaumier comes from Bexley, Ohio, and was a two-time All-Ohio League Second Team selection and a first teamer in 2010. Katelyn Francese makes the trip upstate from Chappaqua and was a two-time all-league honoree for Horace Greeley. Eliana Brown arrives from Virginia and W.T. Woodson High School and led the team in goals three of the four years played, including 21 scores when her team went to the state quarterfinals. Jen Godbout comes from eastern Pennsylvania and was a first team All-Colonial League player at Moravian Academy. Ashley Jones and Alex Solin are both from Connecticut. Jones played at Greenwich Academy and was a New England Prep School Athletic Conference Class A Finalist in 2010 and won a gold medal at the 2011 National Indoor Tournament for her club team. Solin won two conference titles at Daniel Hand High School and was an all-conference second teamer.

The defense will be helped by three additions. Rebecca Libutti, younger sister of Adriana, played four years at South Windsor High in Connecticut and posted 52 goals and 65 assists. She was a three-time state quarterfinalist. Jade Dennett joins the Raiders from Fishkill, N.Y., where she was a four-time all-league selection for John-Jay. Giuliana Kafaf comes to Hamilton after four years at Mountain Lakes High School in northern New Jersey. She was a two-time all-conference selection on defense.

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
Ball State enters this season after a 6-14 overall record and a 2-8 mark in Mid-American Conference competition. The Cardinals return nine letterwinners and only three starters from last year. Head coach Beth Maddox will be coming back to Hamilton for the first time since 2010 when she was an assistant under Cathy Foto. Jacque DeMarco, Colgate Class of 2007, is on her staff as an assistant coach.

The Cardinals return their top scorer from last season in senior Devanny Kuhn. She had 33 points on 15 goals and three assists. Five of her goals came as gamewinners and she posted 81 shots with 53 on cage. Classmate Gretchen Lulow is back for her final year after a 20-point season in 2010 with four goals and 12 assists. Senior Chelsea Mitchell returns as the goalkeeper after a 5-7 season last year with a 3.20 goals against average and a .689 save percentage.

SERIES HISTORY
This is the first meeting between these two schools.

SCOUTING THE BRONCS
Rider comes into the season as the defending Northeast Conference champions and are picked to repeat as title holders in 2011. The Broncs went undefeated through the NEC schedule (7-0) last year and earned a 16-4 overall record. Rider returns 13 letterwinners from last year and multiple postseason NEC award winners.

Two-time NEC Player of the Year Virginia Egusquiza returns for her final season after a 44-point season in 2010 on 11 goals and 22 assists. She was 4-for-5 on penalty strokes and scored one game winner. Second-leading scorer Megan Pisani is also a senior and posted a team-high 16 goals last year, while reigning NEC Rookie of the Year Sandra Penas put in 14 goals of her own. Senior goalkeepr Rebecca Lotito also is back and she led the nation with a 0.68 goals against average and has a career record of 13-2.

SERIES HISTORY
Rider and Colgate will be competing for the 19th time in the series with the Raiders holding an 11-7 advantage. The teams have split the last six meetings, but the Broncs have come out on top in the last two matchups, including a 5-0 win last year in Lawrenceville, N.J.