St. Luke's Field Hockey: Season Preview

The St. Luke’s Field Hockey Team welcomes a new Head Coach with a deep connection to St. Luke’s. Seeley Fancher ‘14 played four years of Varsity Field Hockey for the Storm and another four at Skidmore College where she received the Tim Brown Scholar-Athlete Award.

Fancher is happy to be back on the Hilltop and has been very impressed with the group: “It definitely feels different to be back here as the coach but it’s been really great. There are some traditions that have remained on the team which is awesome and the girls work just as hard.”

The new coach has had just three weeks to put her stamp on the team but is confident the players are buying in: “Preseason has been really good despite the heat putting us back a little bit. We have worked through it though and the girls are connecting really well. We have put a real focus on the basics as well as making sure the team chemistry is right.”

Much of the team-bonding exercises and events have been coordinated by the team’s captain Kendall Boege ‘19 and Katherine Pellegrino ‘19 and Fancher is looking for the two seniors to continue showing their leadership qualities: “They have been awesome. Their biggest focus, from day one, was to work on the team dynamics and they have done a great job of getting everyone involved. They are also a great branch between players and coaches and I can really rely on them to relay information to the team. They have high expectations for themselves and each other which I think will really benefit the team."

Fancher is expecting some of her other upperclassmen to play key roles this season. Emma Cropper ‘19 returns in goal and Abby O’Meara ‘20 will play alongside Boege in the midfield: “Emma will be huge for us. She has been keeping us in games so far during the play day and our season opener against Holy Child. She is just so consistent and really uses her voice to hold the defense together. Abby has great stick skills and vision on the field and will be a key piece of our line-up holding down the center.”

There are also some players new to the program who Fancher believes will be important to the team's success this year. Andrea DiTeodoro ‘22 and Macy Millones ‘23 have impressed during the first few weeks and the new coach is excited to see what they can add to the team: "Andrea came back in super great shape and really strong. She has done camps over the break and you can see she has had her stick in her hand the whole summer. Macy is a very good player and is very coachable. She had a seamless transition despite being young and not having played with the group before. She is very versatile and someone we can really rely on.”

The 2018 season looks to be an exciting one for the Storm Field Hockey team and despite an opening day loss to Holy Child and another 0-1 reverse against The King School on Friday, September 7 the team bounced back with three wins against Kennedy Catholic, Masters, and Hopkins.

Fancher concluded: "Ultimately, I just want the girls to be having fun and working hard. I will never be upset with them if they are giving 100%.”