NEW YORK – The BIG EAST regular-season and tournament champion Connecticut Huskies were tabbed by the field hockey coaches as the preseason favorite in the coaches’ poll released on Friday by the league office.
The top preseason individual awards were split between Connecticut and Liberty, the top two teams in the poll. Liberty junior defender Ashley Dykema was voted BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, while Connecticut senior forward Svea Boker was selected BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year.
The Huskies, who have won 32 straight league regular-season contests, received seven first-place votes for a total of 49 points in the poll. Liberty, the 2018 BIG EAST regular-season and tournament runner-up, grabbed the remaining first-place vote along with 42 total points. Providence came in third with 34 points, just ahead of Old Dominion with 33 points.
Villanova was voted fifth, picking up 24 total points. Temple and Quinnipiac came in at fifth and sixth, with the Owls grabbing 16 points, just ahead of the Bobcats with 15. Georgetown rounded out the poll with 11 points.
In addition to the poll, the conference also released the preseason All-BIG EAST team. The 11-member squad includes three forwards, three midfielders, three defenders, a goalkeeper and an at-large selection, chosen by the league’s eight head coaches, who are not allowed to cast votes for their own players or team. Due to ties in the ballot, the preseason all-conference team includes 14 members in 2019.
The Huskies add a league-leading five members to the preseason all-conference squad. In addition to being honored as Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, senior Svea Boker, was also voted a unanimous preseason all-league selection. Last season, Boker recorded five goals and five assists for a total of 15 points in seven conference games. Overall, she was second on the team with 18 goals with 52 points in 23 contests. The All-BIG EAST First Teamer and All-Tournament team selection was also named a Second Team NFHCA All-American and NFHCA First Team All-Region in 2018.
Connecticut goalkeeper Cheyenne Sprecher joins Boker as a unanimous selection on the all-conference squad. The 2018 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year led the conference in goals against average (.59) and save percentage (.857) in 2018. Sprecher ranked 12
th nationally with an overall 1.28 goals against average, and 16
th in the country with a .750 save percentage.
Lindsay Dickinson, Toni Tiedtka, and Jessica Dembroski join Boker and Sprecher on the preseason All-BIG EAST squad. U-19 National Team member, Dickinson returns for her sophomore campaign after starting 22 of 23 contests as a rookie. Tiedtka led the Huskies in 2018 with eight assists in conference play and 20 overall, while being named NFHCA Second Team All-Region. Dembroski, a U-21 National Team member, started all 23 games in 2018 and recorded four goals in conference play. The Huskies finished the 2018 campaign with a record of 19-4 after falling in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to eventual national runner-up Maryland in a 2-1 overtime thriller.
The Flames added three members to the preseason all-conference squad, headlined by Dyekma. A unanimous selection for the second year in a row, Dykema helped the team secure five shutouts on the season with 37 goals against at a 1.93 average per game. The Preseason Defensive Player of the Year was tabbed an All-BIG EAST First Team selection in 2018 along with a NFHCA All-South Region second team nod.
Liberty teammate and junior midfielder Jill Bolton finished second on the squad in goals (10), points (24), and shots on goal (34). She was also named to the All-BIG EAST first team for the second straight season, in addition to a selection to the NFHCA All-South Region second team. Liberty senior goalkeeper Allison Schaefer boasted a 1.54 goals against average with three shutouts and 17 saves in seven conference games. Schaefer recorded her 300
th career save in the BIG EAST Championship Title game against UConn last November. The Flames finished second in conference play at 6-1 and 13-6 overall.
With an overall winning record of 11-8, Providence finished 4-3 against BIG EAST teams last season. Graduate defender Corinne Kenney and senior midfielder Mary O’Reilly were the two Friars voted to the preseason all-conference team. Kenney started all 19 contests for the Friars and notched single season career highs in assists (five) and points (five). The senior was tabbed to the All-BIG EAST First Team and selected a NFHCA All-Northeast Region First Team member. In seven games, O’Reilly notched six points to go along with three goals. O’Reilly was recognized on the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team, named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team as well as the NFHCA All-Northeast Region Second Team.
Old Dominion added a pair of players to the preseason all-conference team in senior defender Rebecca Birch and senior forward Erin Huffman. In seven league games, Birch, an All-BIG EAST First Team selection, scored seven goals while assisting on two for 16 points en route to being named a NFHCA South Region Second Team member. Huffman, voted to the All-BIG EAST first team last season and selected to the NFHCA South Region First Team, had four goals with three assists and 11 points.
Junior midfielder Riley Dolan, was Villanova’s representative on the preseason All-BIG EAST team. She was voted to the all-conference second team last season. In 2018, She tallied four assists in seven league games.
Quinnipiac’s Ines Ruiz Martinez rounds out the all-conference preseason selections. As a junior in 2018, Ruiz Martinez recorded 4 defensive saves in six conference contests, and led the NCAA in the category with nine overall on the season. Ines also added one assist in conference action against Temple on Oct. 26.
The 2019 field hockey season starts with five teams in action on Friday, Aug. 30.
2019 BIG EAST Field Hockey Preseason Honors
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Svea Boker, Connecticut, Sr., F
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Ashley Dykema, Liberty, Jr., B/M
2019 Field Hockey Preseason All-BIG EAST
Allison Schaefer, Liberty, Sr., GK
Cheyenne Sprecher, Connecticut, So., GK ^
Rebecca Birch, Old Dominion, Sr., B
Lindsay Dickinson, Connecticut, So., B
Ashley Dykema, Liberty, Jr., B/M ^
Corrine Kenney, Providence, Gr., B
Toni Tiedtka, Connecticut, Sr., B
Jill Bolton, Liberty, Jr., M ^
Riley Dolan, Villanova, Jr., M
Mary O’Reilly, Providence, Sr., M
Ines Ruis Martinez, Quinnipiac, Sr., M
Svea Boker, Connecticut, Sr., F ^
Jessica Dembroski, Connecticut, Jr., F
Erin Huffman, Old Dominion, Sr., F
2019 BIG EAST Field Hockey Preseason Coaches’ Poll
First place votes in ( )
| 1. UConn (7) |
49 pts. |
| 2. Liberty (1) |
42 |
| 3. Providence |
34 |
| 4. Old Dominion |
33 |
| 5. Villanova |
24 |
| 6. Temple |
16 |
| 7. Quinnipiac |
15 |
| 8. Georgetown |
11 |
|
|
^ - denotes unanimous selection