TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University field hockey team begins a five-game homestand this weekend. E.A. Jackson's squad will host Saint Louis on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 1 p.m. at the TU Field Hockey complex.
The game will be streamed on FloSports. Live stats will be available on TowsonTigers.com.
The Tigers are set to play their next five games at the TU Field Hockey complex, including a matchup against Hofstra on Oct. 7 (3 p.m.) to open CAA conference play. Towson will also face Villanova (Oct. 9), Delaware (Oct. 14) and Drexel (Oct. 16) during the five-game stretch.
Saint Louis has secured one win against Stonehill (2-1) in ten games played this season. The Billikens have faced two top-25 programs at the time of their matchups this season.
VETERAN LEADERSHIP
The 2022 team features six seniors who have been fixtures in the lineup since arriving on campus in September 2019. After nine games, the six have combined to start 213 games.
Midfielder Georgia Beachley and defender Hannah McKeon have each started 50 games, Mackenzie Tillman has started 34 games while Samantha Aljets has 32 career starts. Gianna Antone (24 starts) and Hannah King (23 starts) have also seen significant playing time.
C. MILTON WRIGHT CONNECTION
Three of Towson's top players hail from nearby C. Milton Wright High School in Bel Air, Md. Seniors Georgia Beachley and Samantha Aljets as well as junior Annie Keele played for the Mustangs. In 2017 and 2018, C.M. Wright went 38-3 capturing the 2018 Maryland 3A State Championship and were runners-up in 2017. In Keele's senior season (2019), the team advanced to the regional championship.
Former Towson field hockey player Katie Mattingly coaches C. Milton Wright.
Beachley, last year's leading scorer, and Aljets, the top point producer on the 2019 and spring 2021 teams have been teammates since elementary school and have played together for more than a decade, including eight years with the H2O club program.
SMALL WORLD
Greg Hatfield, the father of forward Sarah Hatfield, coached Towson University football player D'Ago Hunter at Eastern View High School in Culpepper, Virginia. Under Hatfield's tutelage, Hunter was a two-time All-State kick returner. Hatfield went 109-36 in 13 years at Eastern View before moving to Battlefield High School, where he is now in his third season as head coach.
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
Two of the seven freshmen head coach E.A. Jackson brought in this year are from the Netherlands: defensive midfielder Hedwig Veldhuizen and goalkeeper Tessa Scheenstra, bringing the total over international players to three. Sophomore Cate Cook is a native of South Africa.
Towson's 23-person roster features players from six states: Maryland (10), Pennsylvania (3), Virginia (3), Delaware (2), New Jersey (1) and Kentucky (1).
THE MILLER SISTERS…NOT
Although Lydia Miller and Paige Miller are both from Mount Joy, Pennsylvania and attended Donegal High School, the two are not related. Lydia Miller's grandfather, Bob Robertson played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball. In 1971, he hit 26 home runs and helped the Pittsburgh Pirates win the World Series. One of Donegal's most accomplished field hockey alums is Longwood assistant coach Rachel Robinson-Petersheim, a three-time All-American defender at Virginia who played on the United States National team in 2020.
