Sports
Field Hockey Team Looks to Advance Program
Coach Donald Hes looks to continue advancement to Division I after rebuilding year last year.
The Saline Hornets field hockey team is looking to rebound after a rebuilding season last year. After advancing into Division II two years ago, the team hit a snag and finished second to last during last season’s campaign. This year, they hope to not only do better, but to advance into Division I by being the top team in Division II.
“In past years, we had very good players, but some weaker players. This year, the team has pretty equal capabilities,” said head coach Donald Hes.
Leading the way for the Hornets will be captains Allie Cope, Jessie Opaleski and Katelyn Dauer. The team is fairly balanced, with a strong goal keeper in Opaleski, returning stars in Cope, Dauer, Annie Carter and Shelby Frailey and a spark from newcomer Sarah Ball, among others.
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“Allie will help our offense; she has very good stick skills and while Sarah is new to the team, she has a lot of promise and keeps improving. Jessie had a shutout season two years ago, where nobody scored on us in our division,” said Hes.
Coach Hes sees improvement already from last year, with better ball movement and communication. That said, he believes that they can still improve more on passing and need more work on corner plays. Both are things he plans on focusing on in practice.
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“(We need to) fine tune our passing skills and corners. If we can be more efficient in those, then it will make a huge difference,” said Hes.
The team opened its season with three games at East Grand Rapids on Saturday.
Here is the schedule for the 2011 varsity season:
Date
Time
Opponent
Aug. 20
@ East Grand Rapids
Aug. 22
7:30 p.m.
Skyline
Aug. 24
6 p.m.
@ Washtenaw Whippets (Chelsea + Manchester)
Aug. 27
1:30 p.m.
Dexter
Sept. 6
8 p.m.
Greenhills
Sept. 9
7 p.m.
@ Grosse Pointe South
Sept. 12
4:30 p.m.
@ Greenhills
Sept. 14
6:30 p.m.
University Liggett
Sept. 17
11:30 a.m.
East Grand Rapids
Sept. 17
2:30 p.m.
East Grand Rapids
Sept. 22
7:30 p.m.
Mercy
Sept. 23
@ Maumee Valley Invitational Fall Tournament
Sept. 24
@ Maumee Valley Invitational Fall Tournament
Sept. 28
7:30 p.m.
Country Day
Oct. 4
5:45 p.m.
@ University Liggett
Oct. 10
5:45 p.m.
@ Country Day
Oct. 12
5:45 p.m.
@ Mercy