Boston College Athletics
Field Hockey Hopeful Changing Tides Can Lift a 'Ship
August 25, 2019 | Field Hockey, #ForBoston Files
Eight freshmen will lead a charge through an ultra-packed ACC.
Coaches have a number of ways to decompress after their seasons end. They review games through an individual game lens to identify what worked or failed in situational opponent or formation settings, and it forms a collective, overall comprehension of the completed year. By breaking it down, they identify and formulate a roadmap for the future with both short-term and long-term goals.
This past offseason, Boston College field hockey head coach Kelly Doton did her usual breakdown and identified a need for change. Her Eagles went 10-9 last year, and with seven seniors graduating, she saw an opportunity to become flexible about everything. She broke down the existing talent and the habits they developed, then looked for how it could change. Nothing was off the table, and it led her to a breakthrough that she wanted to shift.
It wouldn't be starting over, but it would be starting anew.
"Reflecting back, personally and professionally, this is my fifth year," Doton told The Perch podcast. "The first couple of years as a head coach can be a rough patch because you don't know what road you're on or what road you're taking (as a program). You want to do (different things). This year, though, we have eight incoming players to the roster. We lost a big class. We were senior heavy, and unfortunately, it didn't lead us to (the desired) success. So the mentality is to switch that. The freshmen bring in new ideas, and we're hoping they contribute and bring us success."
The talent assembled at BC always instilled her with confidence, so she took an introverted perspective. Within it, she found a new path and a lofty goal: make the NCAA Tournament.
"I did a lot of reflection," Doton elaborated. "We're changing some things from the past three or four years. I told the rising seniors that they have to be comfortable being uncomfortable. We're going to do some things differently. If things aren't going right, you have to change it. That's my job as head coach. Sometimes change is hard. They get used to the same schedule, doing the same stuff culturally, doing the same stuff day in and day out.
"We're implementing some new things to reach our goals," she said. "It's a good thing. We want to reach the NCAA Tournament, and that's certainly the goal this year."
Getting there is always easier said than done, so the ambitious endgame is still a long way away. No team or player is able to wiggle a nose and immediately get into the national picture. It's a process that began almost immediately with a restructure of the team's style. To do so, Doton called upon her own experience and went to work this preseason on developing the team's movement and skill without a ball.
"When you're a young team, the defensive structure is the first and foremost thing to address," Doton said. "If you're not on the same page as a defense, you're going to be exposed pretty quickly. The natural tendency of a field hockey player is a comfort level with the ball. Defense is a little different. Kids coming from high school didn't have to move and think for 60 minutes, and they're going to have to do it from the forward line to the back (in college). So we're going to have to be on the same page. I'm a huge Bill Belichick, 'do your job' fan. If we're on the same page, the defense is going to be difficult. I honestly believe that it's going to be a way to win games."
Finding a way to win even one more game - or even score or prevent one goal - could be the difference in becoming that NCAA Tournament team. BC finished last season with a 10-9 record but was one of three teams with a 2-4 conference record. Both Wake Forest and Virginia finished with the same ACC finish, one game behind Louisville, but both went to the NCAA Tournament while the Eagles sat home. Wake Forest made the most sense with a 13-win record and a trip to the ACC Championship, but the difference between BC and Virginia was literally a 1-0 victory for the 'Hoos in the conference tournament.
It was a trend down the stretch for the Eagles. BC played five consecutive one-goal games to finish the season but lost four times, including the Virginia game. It was a small subset of the 12 one-goal games that dotted the entire 2018 season. A one-goal swing against Duke, Louisville or Syracuse, and BC finishes in third place in the ACC, and a one-goal swing against Maryland, Northwestern, Harvard, or Liberty results in a potential at-large bid.
It was an unfortunate finish for a talented group of athletes within the program. BC had threats all over the field and featured talented players like Frederique Haverhals, Brooke Matherson, Lucy Lytle and Ymke Rose Gote. The roster was chock full of experience and leadership, but with the unavoidable turnover, it instead represented an opportunity to reinvent the Eagles instead of trying to recreate what the old roster had.
"There's eight (freshmen), so there's a variety," Doton explained. "It's not just personality; it's on the field. We have versatile players, and there's a depth to us. I don't know what the starting lineup or where the depth chart is going to be, but having been around these players and recruited them, I'm looking forward to a successful four years for them. I'm just looking forward to watching them grow."
That growth will result in new heroes for the Maroon and Gold. The Eagles return two goalkeepers in senior Sarah Dwyer and Jonna Kennedy and will likely shift Sky Caron from the left back position to a center back leadership role, but after that, it's a wide open, competitive race for playing time.
"Jonna is going to step up," Doton said. "Sarah is experienced and going into her senior year, but I think the goalkeeping competition is exactly where it needs to be (because) Jonna finished the season last year strong.Â
"Sky Caron was our left back last year and will step into a center back role with Frederique leaving," she continued. "It's communicating, moving the ball around, and there's a big void to fill. The first thing people scouted about us was Frederique, but I think Sky can distribute. She just needs to get some confidence. Mistakes are okay."
It will thunder the Eagles into an ultra-competitive ACC schedule. It feels like a broken record, but the league never rebuilds as much as it reloads. It's a loaded conference where no team finished its regular season under .500. North Carolina was invincible, going 23-0 and winning the national championship, but the rest of the league remains as competitive as ever.
"(The competition) is a good thing," Doton said. "Competition is okay. (The players) look forward to competing in those games when they know the team is tougher than the games where we win, 5-10. They want to compete, and they want to walk off the field knowing they beat a really good team. There's satisfaction in that. In the ACC Tournament, a number of teams had a 2-4 record. With the exception of UNC, everyone was kind of middle of the road (in overall record). It's good for the conference, and it gives us confidence to compete with these guys - and win."
For BC, there's also an added benefit and secret weapon at the end of the season. The conference tournament returns to Newton in 2019, and the Eagles will host their southern counterparts against the spectre and looming shadow of November in Massachusetts. In the postseason, where anything can and often occurs, it could position the team for a deep run through the conference like what the Demon Deacons accomplished last season.
"I know the southern schools probably aren't looking forward to it," Doton joked. "It's nice to be home. We have one of the best surfaces in the country. This is year six (of the turf), and it plays great. We have a great watering system and a great stadium. We're looking forward to having all of those teams in to compete. Anyone can win it. We saw it last year with Wake Forest, who wasn't really favored and advanced. They weren't picked to in, but they made the Final Four."
Doton is quick to remind everyone, though, that a long time separates BC from any of those aspirations. There is no path to the conference tournament without first getting through Providence in the season opener on August 30. Two days later, BC opens its home schedule against Fairfield. The ACC-Big Ten Challenge looms large after that, so there is no predictable timetable for BC to talk about the conference games before it ever sets foot on the turf.
"They know the goal," Doton said. "It's about how we get there. It's the small steps. We're just guiding as coaches; they're the engines and pushers as players. We have a talented group. People say you can't judge potential, but we have a lot of potential. We could finish with 10 wins because we had so many one-goal games, or we could get up into the 14-win area because we turn some of those games (into victories). We're just looking forward now to getting through the preseason."
The Eagles open up on Friday at Providence with a 6 p.m. start. That leads to the home opener on Sunday, September 1 against Fairfield, at 1 p.m. on the ACC Network Extra.
This past offseason, Boston College field hockey head coach Kelly Doton did her usual breakdown and identified a need for change. Her Eagles went 10-9 last year, and with seven seniors graduating, she saw an opportunity to become flexible about everything. She broke down the existing talent and the habits they developed, then looked for how it could change. Nothing was off the table, and it led her to a breakthrough that she wanted to shift.
It wouldn't be starting over, but it would be starting anew.
"Reflecting back, personally and professionally, this is my fifth year," Doton told The Perch podcast. "The first couple of years as a head coach can be a rough patch because you don't know what road you're on or what road you're taking (as a program). You want to do (different things). This year, though, we have eight incoming players to the roster. We lost a big class. We were senior heavy, and unfortunately, it didn't lead us to (the desired) success. So the mentality is to switch that. The freshmen bring in new ideas, and we're hoping they contribute and bring us success."
The talent assembled at BC always instilled her with confidence, so she took an introverted perspective. Within it, she found a new path and a lofty goal: make the NCAA Tournament.
"I did a lot of reflection," Doton elaborated. "We're changing some things from the past three or four years. I told the rising seniors that they have to be comfortable being uncomfortable. We're going to do some things differently. If things aren't going right, you have to change it. That's my job as head coach. Sometimes change is hard. They get used to the same schedule, doing the same stuff culturally, doing the same stuff day in and day out.
"We're implementing some new things to reach our goals," she said. "It's a good thing. We want to reach the NCAA Tournament, and that's certainly the goal this year."
Getting there is always easier said than done, so the ambitious endgame is still a long way away. No team or player is able to wiggle a nose and immediately get into the national picture. It's a process that began almost immediately with a restructure of the team's style. To do so, Doton called upon her own experience and went to work this preseason on developing the team's movement and skill without a ball.
"When you're a young team, the defensive structure is the first and foremost thing to address," Doton said. "If you're not on the same page as a defense, you're going to be exposed pretty quickly. The natural tendency of a field hockey player is a comfort level with the ball. Defense is a little different. Kids coming from high school didn't have to move and think for 60 minutes, and they're going to have to do it from the forward line to the back (in college). So we're going to have to be on the same page. I'm a huge Bill Belichick, 'do your job' fan. If we're on the same page, the defense is going to be difficult. I honestly believe that it's going to be a way to win games."
Finding a way to win even one more game - or even score or prevent one goal - could be the difference in becoming that NCAA Tournament team. BC finished last season with a 10-9 record but was one of three teams with a 2-4 conference record. Both Wake Forest and Virginia finished with the same ACC finish, one game behind Louisville, but both went to the NCAA Tournament while the Eagles sat home. Wake Forest made the most sense with a 13-win record and a trip to the ACC Championship, but the difference between BC and Virginia was literally a 1-0 victory for the 'Hoos in the conference tournament.
It was a trend down the stretch for the Eagles. BC played five consecutive one-goal games to finish the season but lost four times, including the Virginia game. It was a small subset of the 12 one-goal games that dotted the entire 2018 season. A one-goal swing against Duke, Louisville or Syracuse, and BC finishes in third place in the ACC, and a one-goal swing against Maryland, Northwestern, Harvard, or Liberty results in a potential at-large bid.
It was an unfortunate finish for a talented group of athletes within the program. BC had threats all over the field and featured talented players like Frederique Haverhals, Brooke Matherson, Lucy Lytle and Ymke Rose Gote. The roster was chock full of experience and leadership, but with the unavoidable turnover, it instead represented an opportunity to reinvent the Eagles instead of trying to recreate what the old roster had.
"There's eight (freshmen), so there's a variety," Doton explained. "It's not just personality; it's on the field. We have versatile players, and there's a depth to us. I don't know what the starting lineup or where the depth chart is going to be, but having been around these players and recruited them, I'm looking forward to a successful four years for them. I'm just looking forward to watching them grow."
That growth will result in new heroes for the Maroon and Gold. The Eagles return two goalkeepers in senior Sarah Dwyer and Jonna Kennedy and will likely shift Sky Caron from the left back position to a center back leadership role, but after that, it's a wide open, competitive race for playing time.
"Jonna is going to step up," Doton said. "Sarah is experienced and going into her senior year, but I think the goalkeeping competition is exactly where it needs to be (because) Jonna finished the season last year strong.Â
"Sky Caron was our left back last year and will step into a center back role with Frederique leaving," she continued. "It's communicating, moving the ball around, and there's a big void to fill. The first thing people scouted about us was Frederique, but I think Sky can distribute. She just needs to get some confidence. Mistakes are okay."
It will thunder the Eagles into an ultra-competitive ACC schedule. It feels like a broken record, but the league never rebuilds as much as it reloads. It's a loaded conference where no team finished its regular season under .500. North Carolina was invincible, going 23-0 and winning the national championship, but the rest of the league remains as competitive as ever.
"(The competition) is a good thing," Doton said. "Competition is okay. (The players) look forward to competing in those games when they know the team is tougher than the games where we win, 5-10. They want to compete, and they want to walk off the field knowing they beat a really good team. There's satisfaction in that. In the ACC Tournament, a number of teams had a 2-4 record. With the exception of UNC, everyone was kind of middle of the road (in overall record). It's good for the conference, and it gives us confidence to compete with these guys - and win."
For BC, there's also an added benefit and secret weapon at the end of the season. The conference tournament returns to Newton in 2019, and the Eagles will host their southern counterparts against the spectre and looming shadow of November in Massachusetts. In the postseason, where anything can and often occurs, it could position the team for a deep run through the conference like what the Demon Deacons accomplished last season.
"I know the southern schools probably aren't looking forward to it," Doton joked. "It's nice to be home. We have one of the best surfaces in the country. This is year six (of the turf), and it plays great. We have a great watering system and a great stadium. We're looking forward to having all of those teams in to compete. Anyone can win it. We saw it last year with Wake Forest, who wasn't really favored and advanced. They weren't picked to in, but they made the Final Four."
Doton is quick to remind everyone, though, that a long time separates BC from any of those aspirations. There is no path to the conference tournament without first getting through Providence in the season opener on August 30. Two days later, BC opens its home schedule against Fairfield. The ACC-Big Ten Challenge looms large after that, so there is no predictable timetable for BC to talk about the conference games before it ever sets foot on the turf.
"They know the goal," Doton said. "It's about how we get there. It's the small steps. We're just guiding as coaches; they're the engines and pushers as players. We have a talented group. People say you can't judge potential, but we have a lot of potential. We could finish with 10 wins because we had so many one-goal games, or we could get up into the 14-win area because we turn some of those games (into victories). We're just looking forward now to getting through the preseason."
The Eagles open up on Friday at Providence with a 6 p.m. start. That leads to the home opener on Sunday, September 1 against Fairfield, at 1 p.m. on the ACC Network Extra.
Players Mentioned
GK
/ Field Hockey
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/ Field Hockey
B/M
/ Field Hockey
GK
/ Field Hockey
M/F
/ Field Hockey
F
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