When a team comes off its best season in history, expectations are always high. Women's hockey, which has those expectations, may be able to back them up.
Head coach Jeff Kampersal '92, who led Princeton to its first 20-win season in team history a year ago, heads back to the ice for another season. A strong senior class and experienced young players add up to what looks to be another successful year for the Tigers.
The most glaring losses for this team come at the forward position, though it is also the position most equipped to handle the loss.
Lost to graduation are Andrea Kilbourne '03, an Olympian and the second-leading scorer on last year's team, and Nikola Holmes '03, the third-leading scorer. Their leadership and skill will be sorely missed.
Princeton, however, returns three seniors to the front line — Lisa Rasmussen, Susan Hobson, and Gretchen Anderson. A year ago, Anderson was the top scorer, with 41 points, and figures to improve upon those numbers this year. Anderson missed six games last season due to injury.
"[All three] have been in the trenches and know what is needed and expected from them," Kampersal said. "They are all dynamic offensive players and will do an excellent job picking up for 'Killer' [Kilbourne] and Nikola [Holmes]."
Becky Stewart is the only junior forward and will be asked to carry a larger load this season. Sophomores Heather Jackson, Sarah Butsch, and Tarah Clark all saw extensive playing time as freshmen and should have no problems making a contribution. Sarah Shea and Sarah Greer are the other sophomore forwards.
Hoping to balance out what will be the loss of five graduated forwards in two years, Kampersal has recruited four freshmen forwards — Liz Keady, Kim Pearce, Alison Ralph, and Laura Watt — to wean into the system.
Defense
Nikola Holmes' sister, Annamarie, also graduated and leaves the defensive unit without its star player and the team without its fourth-leading scorer from a year ago.
The only senior on the 2003-04 defense will be Angela Gooldy, the other starter from last year.
"Angela Gooldy will lead the defense this season," Kampersal said. "She was our fifth leading scorer, but was also someone we could look to to set a physical tone in a game."
Juniors Katharine Maglione and April Brown will be the other headliners.
Sophomores Chrissie Norwich and Laura Stroessner saw limited time last season but will play increasingly important roles.
Kampersal has brought in two freshmen — Dina McCumber and Kate Hession — who he hopes will have an immediate impact on the defensive side.
Perhaps the anchor of last year's team was goalie Megan Van Beusekom. A senior now, Van Beusekom was one of the top goalies in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) last season and is back in net for another run.
Sarah Ahlquist '03 appeared in eight games last season but has now graduated, leaving the main backup duties to sophomore Roxanne Gaudiel, who was 3-0-0 in her freshman campaign.
"Goaltending is probably our strongest position," Kampersal said. "Both Megan and Roxy are considered among the best in college hockey. They are both competitive and push each other to better things everyday in practice."
No new freshmen goalies are on the team.
Duplicating success
The associated media chose the Tigers to finish fourth in the ECAC in the preseason polls after finishing tied for third with St. Lawrence a year ago. With traditional powerhouses Harvard and Dartmouth both back at the top of their games, the competition is once again tough.
But Kampersal has reason to be optimistic. Last year, every skater appeared in all 31 games except three who missed time due to injury. While the team may have difficulty rebounding from the loss of a strong senior class, the experience that Kampersal's players gain ensures that the future of the team is well in hand.
With the core of experienced players that Princeton has, a repeat of last season's success is not out of the question.
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