Despite a very disappointing 3-14 (1-6 Ivy) record in 2006, head coach Amy Fowler remains optimistic about the coming season.
"Our goal is to win the Ivy League, and I think it's within reach. I have a lot of confidence in our returning squad and I have a great deal of confidence in what we're coming in with in our recruiting class," she said. "My hope is that combination will lead to a stronger showing for us in the fall, and there is no question in my mind that we can't walk away with an Ivy League title."
Headlining the class is midfielder Claire Byrne of Rye, N.Y. Byrne received all-state honors in 2005 and 2006 playing for Rye High School and participated in the Junior Olympics in 2005 and the National Futures Championship in 2005 and 2006. NFC is the premier event for US Field Hockey's Futures Program participants.
In her senior year, Byrne had 11 goals and 23 assists and excelled defensively and exhibits a strong skill base. Fowler believes that Byrne was good enough to have played for Dartmouth before she had even finished high school.
"She is definitely someone who can impact the program right away," Fowler said.
Kelly McHenry is a quick-footed scoring threat from Williamsburg, Va. She was an all-state selection in 2005 and 2006 at Lafayette High School in Williamsburg, where she was co-captain of her team.
The Big Green coaching staff discovered her when she, like the other recruits, attended its summer field hockey camp. Fowler stressed the importance of the summer camp to her recruiting efforts.
"We have a first opportunity to see them and work with them personally, which helps in the [recruitment] process," Fowler said.
The decision to recruit McHenry was also impacted by a recommendation by Tess Ellis, a former assistant coach of the US National Team with whom McHenry has been working.
Virginia Peisch, daughter of Christopher Peisch '75, is a member of the German U-18 Junior National Team and currently lives in Konigstein, Germany. She attends high school at Bischof-Neumann-Schule in Konigstein and plays for the youth and women's teams at Russelsheimer RK Hockey Club, a top club squad in Germany.
Her stick work and one-on-one skills are extremely strong, which Fowler attributed to the fact that she competes on both indoor and outdoor surfaces.
"She's going to be a center midfielder and will help to hold structure in our system," Fowler said. "Her fundamental skills are some of the best we have ever had come through the program."
Rebecca Sobel is an energetic and hardworking midfielder/forward from Larchmont, N.Y. She was captain of her team at Mamaroneck High School in Mamaroneck, N.Y., notching 11 goals, 11 assists and was an all-state selection in 2006.
The University of Maryland, a program that has won the last two field hockey national championships, also sought to recruit Sobel as a walk-on.
"To know that the national championship coach wanted her says a lot about what she would bring with her work ethic," Fowler said. "Her skills need developing, but she can run a gun with anyone in terms of her work ethic and attitude."
These incoming players are joining a team that has been struggling both on the field and on the bench. An exodus of players expected to return to the team this past season led the team to take an unprecedented step of holding open tryouts, which no potential players attended.
Fowler said that the recruits were aware that many players had decided not to return to the team and that the coaching staff had spoken to some of them about the open tryout situation.
Claire Byrne said that she had been informed that many seniors had decided not to return, but was not aware of the open tryouts. Her decision to attend Dartmouth was not impacted by the fact that many seniors did not to return to the team.
"I didn't want to get into it and I didn't want to ask other players about it because I wasn't sure if it was a sensitive subject. I know that they probably had their personal problems with the team and I wanted to form my own opinions when I got there," Byrne said.
Byrne's choice to attend Dartmouth over other schools recruiting her, including the University of Connecticut, was motivated by both the prestige and challenge of attending an Ivy League institution, and the character of Dartmouth's field hockey team.
"I think when I came to Dartmouth to visit I had a better sense of what I would be experiencing and wouldn't be overwhelmed," she said. "It's completely different in Connecticut. The field hockey atmosphere was much more intense and competitive."
The upcoming resurfacing of Fahey-Scully Field is also causing some concern for the field hockey team.
No final decision has been made as to whether the new turf field will be filled or unfilled. Filled turf fields, like the new surface at Memorial Field, have small rubber balls that better simulate the feel of grass.
However, a filled turf field is less than ideal for Division I field hockey, according to Coach Fowler.
Fowler confirmed that there is a possibility that this could mean the field hockey team would have to play its home games off campus.
"I don't know what [the administration] will decide on, but they have that in their minds about what would be a backup option. Best-case scenario is that there is another non-filled surface on campus that we could play on. Indoor, outdoor, whatever," she said.
Brian Austin, senior associate director of athletics for intercollegiate sports, agreed that playing on a filled surface would be less than ideal, but added that the University of Pennsylvania currently plays field hockey on a filled turf field, as did Columbia University until this past season.
Austin said that he is currently researching the different options for a new turf field and that he hopes a decision will be made soon.
"There are all kinds of possibilities," Austin said. "We're trying to find a surface that will serve the teams that use it. Our goal is to support all of our teams to the best of our ability. Some options would serve all of the programs better than others. We're trying to find out what is feasible."
Austin would not comment on the prospect of the team playing its home games off-campus.
The team's 2007 season schedule had not been released as of press time.
