Garden City, N.Y. – Many teams deem each preseason as the “dawn of a new era,” but in the case of the Adelphi University field hockey team, 2012 truly brings the squad full circle.
 
Last season saw the graduation of nine seniors who made up the most successful class in Adelphi field hockey history. The class of 2011 also happened to be the first group of Panthers to play together for four years since the program was reinstated in 2008. The players laid the groundwork for this year's team, which features 10 returners and 10 newcomers who will pool their efforts to drive the Panthers back to the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament.
 
“The first group of Panthers had so much success but also went through the growing pains of a new program,” said Head Coach Gloria O'Connor. “They leave the program more skilled, more focused and more determined from lessons learned.”
 
Hailing from five states, as close as Massapequa Park, N.Y., and as far as San Jose, California, the incoming class features four midfielders, three backs, two forwards and a goalie. Adelphi's class of 2016 has some large shoes to fill. Last year's seniors accounted for nearly 65 percent of the team's points in 2011, and O'Connor expects her rookies to quickly make up the difference.
 
“The 2012 team will have a completely new identity,” O'Connor said. “The players who have graduated left a great legacy of success, and the 2012 team will bring a new athleticism, experience and a wealth of potential. Our expectation is to improve, win games, be competitive and win a championship.”
 
Forwards
 
The 2012 roster features the following forwards who will be called upon to light up the scoreboard: seniors Cassie Cabral, Alyssa Conklin and Erin Grekin; sophomore Carly Aceves; freshmen Kristen Bagley and Olivia Nowokunski.
 
“We need to finish more,” O'Connor said, emphasizing the importance of completing plays with everyone contributing. “We have worked hard during the spring season and pre-season with all frontline players becoming involved in every counterattack.”
 
Last season, Cabral finished second on the team in points and goals with 14 and six, respectively. Grekin knocked in a pair of goals, and Conklin and Aceves combined to appear in all 18 games off the bench.
 
Bagley comes off a standout senior season at Sachem East High School, where she led the Flaming Arrows to Suffolk County, Long Island and New York State titles while earning All-Division and All-State honors. Nowokunski, a Futures team qualifier, made her fame at Leominster High School in Massachusetts and could also see time in the backfield.
 
Midfielders
 
An experienced crew with an even mix of veterans and rookies seasoned beyond their years, the Adelphi midfield will feature: senior captain Emilee Rahner; juniors Jamie Ackerman and Brittany Souke; freshmen Brooke Bittel, Molly Cuevas and Sashal Hagan.
 
Rahner and Ackerman combined for five goals and 13 points last season and will anchor the midfield with their endurance and leadership. Rahner also led the Panthers in defensive saves and played a crucial role in Adelphi's 1.84 goals against average, good for fourth in the NE-10. Alongside the upperclassmen, Souke looks to step into an expanded role after appearing in 13 games off the bench in 2011.

The freshmen midfielders possess years of quality club field hockey experience. Bittel earned a spot on Team Connecticut for the Cape Cod Classic as a junior and senior in high school, and played club field hockey for the Connecticut Tsunami at the National Field Hockey Festival. Cuevas was named the Central Coast Section Most Valuable Player in San Jose, CA, suited up for Team USA Field Hockey and was selected to the prestigious U19 National Futures Championship this year. Hagan also played on the national stage between the Team USA Futures squad and a handful of trips to the National Field Hockey Festival as a captain of the G-Force Club team.
 
Backs
 
This year's backs will look to maintain Adelphi's tradition of a strong defense and preserve a three-year streak of holding opponents to less than two goals per game. The defense will include: junior captain Jami DeGrote, sophomore Briana Rubenstein, and freshmen Dana Ahrens, Maria Guerrisi, Samantha Hofmann and Nicolette Lodato.
 
“Our backs will need to be complete players,” O'Connor said, “learning each system, playing at a high tempo and fighting for possession in the back field.”
 
DeGrote started and played in all 18 games last season, while Rubenstein appeared in all but one. The pair should remain a staple on the Panther back line.
 
Ahrens, three-year letter winner and two-time Nassau County champion, captained her Massapequa team that took home a 2011 title, while Guerrisi was a two-time captain and All-Division selection at Rocky Point High School who participated in the National Field Hockey Festival last year. Hofmann was a First Team All-Conference and First-Team All-Area as a senior captain at Newton High School in New Jersey, and Lodato was a two-time All-League pick and All-County Honorable Mention selection as a senior at Commack High School.
 
 
Goalkeepers
 
The Panther cage will be shielded by senior Kristine Puzio and freshman Kelly Serrao. Both will compete to fill the pads of graduated senior turned assistant coach Lucia Vigliotti, who wrote the Adelphi goalkeeping record books during her time on Motamed Field.
 
“We have two outstanding goalies,” O'Connor said. “Both bring different strengths. They need to make big saves to keep us in each game.”
 
Puzio appeared in three games last season as a backup, posting a 1.66 goals against average and .750 save percentage. Serrao played goalie for the G-Force club team and participated in this year's National Indoor Championship in Virginia.
 
 
Schedule
 
Last season, Adelphi narrowly missed the playoffs for the first time in three seasons, posting a 6-12 overall record and 3-7 mark in NE-10 play. The Panthers started strong, winning four of their first five games, but extended losing streaks in September and October left Adelphi just shy of the final postseason slot.
 
The 2012 slate will not be any easier, but O'Connor has a plan to avoid the midseason slides of 2011.
 
“We need to focus more on the journey than the destination,” O'Connor said. “One day, one training session, one game at a time. We're staying focused and continuing to improve as a team.”
 
The Panthers open the regular season with a non-conference game at NCAA semifinalist Bloomsburg on August 30, and continue their Pennsylvania swing two days later at East Stroudsburg.
 
The Panthers' home opener is pegged for September 4 when they host Franklin Pierce for a non-league contest, followed by their first NE-10 matchup at Assumption on September 8. Back-to-back non-league games against Saint Michael's and Stonehill give way to a pivotal NE-10 matchup at national runner-up UMass Lowell on September 15. Adelphi hung with the River Hawks during a narrow 2-1 loss at home earlier last season, but will look to avenge a 4-0 setback suffered in Lowell in the squads' second meeting of 2011.
 
The following week, the Panthers travel to American International and Mercy with their NE-10 home opener versus Bentley sandwiched between the non-conference contests. NE-10 matchups then make up seven of the last eight games, five of which are at Motamed Field and six of which pit the Panthers against teams who finished above them in the 2011 standings.
 
Adelphi concludes the regular season with consecutive home games against AIC and Merrimack, finishing with a 1 p.m. contest against the Warriors on October 20.