By: Liam Cooney | Public Relations Coordinator
If you have yet to get to a Field Hockey game this fall, you need to get to one soon. Salve’s Field Hockey team is currently at an impressive 8-0 to start off the season, winning each of these matches by an average of four goals per contest.
4-0 at home and equally 4-0 on the road, the team recently kicked off NEWMAC play with a 4-1 victory over the Springfield Pride, back on Saturday 9/21.
In speaking with 5th-year captain Shannon Kennedy (Royersford, PA), she told me the biggest reason for this fall’s tremendous start is the energy and effort everyone brought into the year.
“Everyone came into preseason ready to work. We’re all very eager and hungry to be a better and stronger team,” Shannon told me.
Within Salve Regina’s second season as an athletic department in the New England Women and Men’s Athletic Conference, Field Hockey has pioneered the success of the department this fall. Currently the only undefeated team on campus, Kennedy was clear in stating why she came back to pursue her 5th-year of eligibility and the overall team’s goals for conference play.
“Last year we did not end the season the way we wanted to, (just barely not qualifying for the playoffs) so I think that upset made a lot of us excited and ready to come back and make a difference in the conference.” Kennedy is speaking about the team just barely missing qualifying for playoffs the previous season. “That’s one of the main reasons I came back as a graduate student. I saw the potential, hunger and drive this year’s team was about and I wanted to be a part of it.”
Regarding other high-ranking contributors on this year’s squad, junior Julia Decker (Newton, NJ) leads the team with 25 points, while fellow junior Georgia Costello (North Easton, MA) is second on the team with 18 points. Making their presence known at the conference level, Decker is currently first in the NEWMAC with ten goals in the season, while Kennedy stands third with seven goals herself. Costello is tied for most assists with six total, leading the conference in assists per game (.750).
That same junior class got even stronger over the offseason, as transfer Angela Regels joined the squad from SUNY New Paltz, a strong addition Kennedy told me has made a big impact. Regels currently has 10 points on the season, chipping in two goals on two shots in the team’s most recent victory in a 4-2 match at Smith College. A sign of good things to come for this year and the next, the triple threat of Decker, Costello, along with the introduction of Regels, should bode well for hopefully another successful season in 2025, in having both on-field production and strong upperclassmen leadership.
The team’s mantra so far this year has been “earn it.” Earn every practice, every quarter, and every game. So far, the ladies have certainly earned their early season success, and hopefully they will continue to be able to gain further the winning trend as they move towards the second half of their season, looking to reach that goal of a NEWMAC playoffs bid and to make a run in the tournament.
Field Hockey continues its road trip with a 4:00 p.m. away matchup against out-of-conference Eastern Connecticut State on Wednesday, 10/2, before heading back home to face conference foe Wellesley College on Saturday, 10/5.
Be sure to check out a Field Hockey game ASAP this fall and cheer on the team as they look to compete for a NEWMAC Championship.
GO SEAHAWKS!
Field Hockey Schedule: https://salveathletics.com/sports/field-hockey/schedule
Photos taken by Bella Gimenez, ’25 and provided by Salve Regina University.
