View full sizeLindsay Hughes, left, Kristen Vath, center, and Aubrey BechtoldWith a wealth of returning talent, the
entered this spring as a leading contender in the Skyland Conference Raritan Division.
But the expectations set by people outside of the program are no greater than those the Terriers have constructed on their own.
Del Val graduated
, the 2011 Express-Times Player of the Year, but returns three
players (
,
and Aubrey Bechtold) from a 14-4 team.
Hughes, a senior, and Vath, a junior, are both 100-goal scorers while Bechtold is a senior defensive leader. Those three, along with senior goalie
, are the team's captains.
According to the second-year coach, that despite a large amount of individual talent, the Terriers are a cohesive, unselfish unit.
Freshman
, Kristen's sister, and junior
are expected to add to the offense while senior Maggie Philkill is back on defense.
has the luxury of returning last season's points leader in The Express-Times region,
. P'burg coach Bob Stem Jr. is hopeful that Nunes and the Stateliners can extend their 2012 schedule beyond the regular season.
Junior
and senior
provide additional scoring threats for the 'Liners while senior
returns to the cage with Katie Oswald, also a senior, and junior Katie Decker providing defense.
and Mariya Saydek are also expected to contribute for P'burg.
, the lone area participant in the highly-competitive Delaware Division, is looking to improve upon an 11-11 season while competing for a Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament title.
Seniors
, Tatum Burns, Lindsey Arnold, Charlotte Coleman and Samantha Cose provide Stacy Ditze's group with experience.
Junior
is another key component for the Lions along with three-sport athlete Allison Lane,
and freshman Kelsey Shelofsky.
Courtney Thibeault has taken over at
, replacing Tim Cullen, who is now coaching the boys team.
Talented goal-scorer
is back for her senior season along with Erin Miller and Olivia Baggstrom. Sophomores Brittney Van Veldhuisen, Stephanie Linzer and
will play a prominent role for the Vikings.
, which struggled through a 1-15 campaign last year, will call upon Sara Kearney, Lexi Young and Julia Rivara to be leaders this season.
Outside of the Skyland,
is participating in its first varsity season and will play as an independent.
While they don't have any experience with a varsity schedule, the Blue Streaks have a coach that knows something about success:
, a three-time Express-Times Field Hockey Coach of the Year.
Senior captains
(attack) and Lauren Iacobucci (defense) direct Warren Hills. Paige Childers, Meghan Dempski and Casey Brands are in the midfield, Grace Orbine is on attack and Alex Stoner is the goalie.