Next Step Awaits For BC Field Hockey

Arriving at Newton Campus for Boston College field hockey's first practice of 2017, head coach Kelly Doton felt something different. There were nerves and anxiety as the team set foot on the field for the first time. There was the usual excitement. But there was something else, something potentially setting the tone for the upcoming season that made it more special.

"This group has an aura about them that, as a coach, I have not felt before," she said. "It's almost uncontrollable. They want to learn. The progression from the first couple of hours of practice to the end of the second session is already a huge leap."

That feeling is something she hopes won't stop as the Eagles enter their regular season. Coming off of a .500 season where it finished 10-10, the team now hopes to take the next step forward in competing for national glory after last year's NCAA Tournament exit against Connecticut.

"I like to win, namely because I'm just a competitive person," Doton said. "But I want to set this team up for success and set them up to win every game. Our opponents are always going to be tough, but everyone can win an ACC match at any time regardless of what year it is. And regionally we compete against top-15 and top-20 opponents. But that's how we want it. We're a competitive team that wants to play against the best, compete against the best and hopefully beat the best."

To do that, the team will need to develop from its strengths. It begins with a midfield core led by its two junior captains. Dutch imports Ymke Rose Gote and Frederique Haverhals are both coming off of All-American campaigns. Haverhals finished 2016 as an NFCHA Second-Team selection while Gote garnered third-team honors.

They're joined by fellow junior Carly Kauffman, a junior midfielder who played every game last season. Up front, Lucy Lytle is the team's leading returning scorer after a year in which she potted 12 goals.

"We don't have a thing where someone is a center forward or a right mid," Doton said. "I want people to overlap and get into the midfield because that's hard to defend. I was a defender, so I think about how and when I was vulnerable. So that's what I try to have (the players) do. They get it. They hear it first, then they have to see it and then they execute it. The hardest teams to defend are the ones that are unpredictable."

That unpredictability stems from strong fundamentals. Boston College is a roster built on speed, so stickwork and ball movement will be paramount in keeping opponents off balance.

"Everyone is working really hard," Gote said. "Everyone is trying their best even though they're tired in the heat. Everyone fights for the ball to stay in the play and just keeps going. You need to have that, and it's good to see everyone doing that."

"The teams that go far into tournaments execute fundamentals really well," Doton said. "That's what I focus on and that's the base level of coaching. It's also understanding that the teams on our schedule are doing the same thing. So we're pushing our athletes to their limits where they're comfortable. Our game is fast, and we have really fast, fit athletes. But now it's about applying that speed when they're running with the ball and executing at that speed."

In preseason practice, BC began working immediately on those fundamentals, utilizing the team's unique chemistry to improve. The Eagles worked on passing drills during intrasquad scrimmages, moving between space in order to find where a teammate should be. The full communication spectrum was already on display, with encouragement and adjustments coming from one player to another both in and out of play.

"I think this is one of the most tight-knit groups we've ever had," Doton said. "I say that because that's what the players tell me. I'm not in the locker room or eating dinner with them and they're around each other. When it's our time to win, I want to see teammates hugging each other because it's genuine. I want them to be friends off the field and compete against one another on the field. At the end of the day, I want great people. National champions aren't necessarily the best technical or tactical teams, but they have something. It's team chemistry. You can win games on chemistry alone."

"As a team we have a good shot to work for trophies," Haverhals said. "For me personally, it would be amazing but it would be even better for the team because of our chemistry. We have the field hockey (knowledge), and I think this season we can show what we're made of and what we can do."

"The feel here is so amazing," Gote echoed. "The freshmen are fitting right in. The chemistry feels special. There's something about this team that's coming into preseason that started back in the spring. Everyone passed the conditioning test and everyone got better starting with even the second practice. It feels good to be on the field with everyone."

The season begins for the Eagles on Friday with a home game in Newton against UMass Lowell. Kicking off three straight games in the Bay State to start 2017, BC will play crosstown rival Boston University before hosting Quinnipiac. It's preparation for the ACC/Big Ten Cup, where BC plays both Northwestern and Maryland. With regional games against New Hampshire, Harvard, Northeastern, the Eagles end the regular season with a tournament rematch against the Huskies.

Then there's the ACC schedule. Five conference teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament last year. Duke was the top overall seed and North Carolina was a one-goal loss to Delaware away from winning the national championship. After Syracuse earned the third seed, that means, with Maryland in non-conference play, BC will play the top-three teams from last year's national rankings.

"Winning a game in September is great, but it's not where we want to be in November," Doton said. "I want to win hardware, and I want to fill my office with as many championship trophies as I can. To do that, we really have to go one day at a time. We can't focus on the end goal. We have to take care of the goals at the beginning, reassess in the middle and hopefully at the end be in a position to win an ACC championship."

"You always want to peak towards the end," Haverhals said. "But you need to have a good start. We need to grow during practice and just keep getting better every single day. We can learn from our mistakes, think better and just keep doing what we're doing now. If we keep doing that, we should be able to peak at the right time and really work for those trophies."

Players Mentioned

Ymke Rose Gote

Frederique Haverhals

Carly Kauffman

Lucy Lytle

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