Muhlenberg field hockey was energized and ready to compete against the Johns Hopkins University team, ranked 6th in the nation by the DIII National Coaches Poll. Over the weekend, on Oct. 15, Muhlenberg unfortunately lost 1-0, with the score reflecting the team’s determination to shut the Blue Jays down. Nevertheless, throughout their fall season, they have battled hard against all of their opponents.
The Mules have accomplished big wins in the conference with conquests including Dickinson College (1-0) on Sept. 23, Gettysburg College (2-1) on Oct. 8, and a McDaniel College slaughter (4-1) on Sept. 30. Johns Hopkins should be considered an unequivocal display of the women’s fight and resilience in their game. The Blue Jays scored their lone goal 98 seconds into the game and were held at bay by the Mules for the remainder of the game. Grace Leard ‘25 was an instrumental player in the game to highlight. While keeping the Mules in the game, she made a career high of 11 saves at goalie. The offense was motivated by Nicole Randaza ‘24, who had two shots, and Zabella Aslanian ‘25 with a shot on goal. According to Paige Goldberg ‘24, “Although we lost 1-0, there were multiple occasions where we were so close, and no team has yet to score on Hopkins.” After the result at Hopkins, Kaitlyn Hennelly ‘23 restated their mantra, “Our team mantra this season was ‘Together—we will.’ We understand that this sport is not just about us as individuals, but us as a team. Whether we win or lose we leave it all on the field, which is just as important as any score.” Mainly, Johns Hopkins may have won the game, but our Muhlenberg field hockey team won the fight.
With their final four games of the season left, the women continue to make the most of their time with seniors Hennelly and Mallory Holson ‘23. Holson is a psychology major and Hennelly is on the Pre K-4 education track, both made the academic honor roll in 2020 and 2021. Most of all, since they are coming up on their last few games, the team has the goal to make the Centennial Conference playoffs.
Hennelly comments, “This team is constantly growing and evolving which makes me so hopeful that we are going to finish out the regular season strong—allowing us to make the playoffs. Though I try not to think about my field hockey career ending soon, it’s inevitable. I use [that] as motivation to always play like it’s my last, because soon it will be.” It is very clear that there is a surge of excitement and motivation for the women to make the playoffs. Also, Goldberg states, “They just changed it so that six teams can make it and we know it’ll be close with a few other teams with similar records but ultimately want to try our best to win out the rest of the games.”
In addition to being positive student athletes, their comradery is a vital part of the team. Hennelly describes their inspiration, “My favorite part of being on this team is being surrounded by people who push me to be the best version of myself. Whether it’s as a person or player, the women on this team are always motivating and supporting me.” Despite any result on the field, the women always have each other to lean on.
Finally, Hennelly recognizes such accomplishments, “The proudest accomplishment I have of this season is the ability to respond to adversity. Whether it’s refs, weather, turf, injuries, etc. we always rise to the occasion and overcome.” Ultimately, despite any challenges the Muhlenberg field hockey team faces, they continue to get stronger on and off the field.
