TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University field hockey team will host Hofstra in its CAA conference play opener this Friday, Oct. 7 at 3 p.m.
E.A. Jackson's squad will also face Villanova on Sunday (Oct. 9) at 1 p.m. at the TU Field Hockey complex.
Both games will be streamed on FloSports. Live stats for both games will be available on TowsonTigers.com.
The Tigers (4-6) are set to play games two and three of a five-game homestand this weekend. Beyond hosting two additional CAA home games next week against Delaware (Oct. 14) and Drexel (Oct. 16), the Tigers will hit the road for their final four contests of the regular season.
Hofstra is 5-6 thus far this season. The Pride has faced one common opponent of Towson's, losing to Wagner in Staten Island 2-1. Hofstra has won four of their last six games played coming into this contest.
Villanova has seven wins in 11 games played this season. The Wildcats have wins over Hofstra (3-2), Penn (2-1) and Temple (3-2). Villanova will host Liberty on Friday (Oct. 7) before coming to Towson.
GETTING IGGY WITH IT
Freshman midfielder/defender Hedwig "Iggy" Veldhuizen was named the CAA Rookie of the Week on Oct. 3 after recording one goal and one assist in the Tigers' 3-1 victory against Saint Louis last Sunday. It marks her second consecutive game recording three points, and she now ranks fourth on the team with seven.
VETERAN LEADERSHIP
The 2022 team features six seniors who have been fixtures in the lineup since arriving on campus in September 2019. After ten games this season, the six have combined to start 219 games.
Georgia Beachley and
Hannah McKeon have each started 51 games,
Mackenzie Tillman has started 35 games and
Samantha Aljets has started 33 contests.
Gianna Antone (25 starts) and
Hannah King (24 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. Beachley and 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 player 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 Towson's seven freshmen are from the Netherlands: midfielder
Hedwig Veldhuizen and goalkeeper
Tessa Scheenstra, bringing the total over international players to three. Sophomore
Cate Cook is a native of South Africa.
The 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.
