When field hockey head coach Ange Bradley needs motivation, she knows where to go.

Four years ago Bradley was hired as the head coach at Syracuse, and with her first recruiting class, she brought in a group of five girls who will serve as her inspiration this season: seniors Shelby Schraden, Kristin Girouard, Maggie Befort, Kim Coyle and Lindsey Conrad.

‘It’s like when you have a young puppy or a young child,’ Bradley said. ‘You teach them things, and by the time they get it, they know how to walk. Then they are able to teach others how to walk.

‘They’re well-trained soldiers and I’m so proud of everything they have done, and I’m so excited to look at what they are going to do in the future.’

The seniors made their presence felt Sunday at J.S. Coyne Stadium as the Orange (2-0) went on to beat Northeastern (0-2) by a score of 4-1.

Girouard and Schraden led Syracuse. Girouard finished with one goal and two assists, and Schraden had a goal in a game in which the seniors either scored or had an assist on all four Orange scores.

To find evidence of this class’ contributions, look no further than the record books.

Befort and Conrad are the top two point getters in Orange field hockey history. Befort, a defender, is first with a total of 108 points and is second to teammate Martina Loncarica (48) in assists with 46.

Conrad isn’t too far behind Befort with a total of 98 points, but Conrad has also played one fewer season because she redshirted her freshman year. Conrad, a forward, is also tied for third among all-time Orange goal scorers with 40 goals.

Befort said she wants her final year to be her best. The seniors have been close to national championships the past two years, but Befort said nothing would compare to winning it all this year.

‘It’s great, as seniors, to take ownership of what you have done your past four years,’ Befort said. ‘The seniors have already been through so much together that we just want to finish the job and leave the legacy of winning a national championship. That’s what we all came here for.’

Last season the Orange had a much different dynamic, as there were only two seniors. Ashleigh McGowan was a graduate student goalie who split time in the net with current SU sophomore Leann Stiver. Tracy Deitrick was a senior forward who contributed four goals and two assists.

Loncarica, a junior, said the larger number of seniors this year has yielded a change and led to a more structured team.

‘It’s more organized and there is better communication,’ Loncarica said. ‘I think it’s coming out well (this year).’

Bradley has focused on the change as well.

Last year the team was — in Bradley’s own words — ‘a little bit off.’ The team exited from the NCAA Tournament earlier than it wanted. The Orange went to the final four two years ago, but lost in the second round of the tournament last year to Princeton.

This offseason Bradley spent time focusing on growth, even though she knew she would have five seniors returning.

‘I think that taking the loss that we took in the second round of the NCAA’s to Princeton made us all sit back, evaluate and think about what we need to do differently to be able to get back where we want to be: the final four,’ Bradley said.

‘With the maturity, with it being (the seniors’) last go at this, we were really able to get a lot of cohesive teamwork going. It’s been very, very positive.’

It’s clear the seniors would want nothing else than to end their careers with a national title. It would be a storybook ending for the standout class, but they still understand they’ll need to lean on their experience to get there.

‘Everything you put in is exactly what you put out,’ Befort said. ‘We are putting everything on the line in our last year.’

rwmarfur@syr.edu

 

Published on August 31, 2010 at 12:00 pm