TOWSON, Md. – The 47^th season of Towson University field hockey is set to open Friday evening, Aug. 26, at Appalachian State. Two days later, Sunday, Aug. 28, the Tigers travel 100 miles to take on Davidson before returning to Baltimore Friday, Sept. 2 for the home opener versus Longwood.

Sixth-year head coach E.A. Jackson returns 10 players from the 2021 rotation, including leading scorer Georgia Beachley, and welcomes back Samantha Aljets, who missed all last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Aljets was the top point producer on the 2019 and spring 2021 teams.

The C. Milton Wright High School products have been teammates since elementary school and have player together for more than a decade, including eight years with the H2O club program.

"Georgia and Sam have the knack for finding each other," Jackson said. "They trust each other and it is nice to have them on the field together."

Beachley, a Preseason Honorable Mention All-Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) selection, and Aljets are two of six seniors who have combined to start 163 games for Towson. Beachley and defender Hannah McKeon have each started 41 games while Aljets and Mackenzie Tillman have 25 career starts. Hannah King (16 starts) and Gianna Antone (15) have also seen significant playing time.

"This group of seniors is special," added Jackson. "The last normal year of field hockey was their first year (2019). The fact they can step into this space now after dealing with COVID, being on Zoom for more than a year and playing a competitive spring instead of fall as sophomores, they were under this relentless pressure to perform year-round. We had a traditional spring last school year and it really has showed in their understanding of our system of play and more importantly in their leadership and building team culture."

The 2022 team also features veterans Sarah Hatfield, Madisyn Howard, Annie Keele, Maddie Dalton and Lydia Miller as well as seven first-year students, including Hedwig Veldhuizen, who begins the season as a starter at defensive midfield.

ATTACK
The Towson attack will feature Aljets, Antone and Hatfield.

Aljets scored seven goals and had a team-high six assists as a freshman and led the team with two tallies in the shortened 2021 spring campaign. She missed the entire 2021 season with a knee injury and was not cleared for contact until summer workouts began earlier this month

"Sam showed up this summer with the mindset that she was going to be a difference maker this year," Jackson stated. "Since her freshman year, her nickname has been 'All Jets, No Brakes,' and she lives that nickname. She just goes full throttle and is a talented goal scorer."

Hatfield, who transferred to Towson from VCU before her sophomore season, scored a goal as the Tigers beat William & Mary a season ago.

"I coached Sarah in club at a young age and watched her develop," Jackson said. "Her Dad is a football coach in Virginia, so Sarah grew up on the sidelines of football games. She is the kind of athlete who loves the grind. I trust her completely."

Antone, who missed her freshman season due to a torn ACL and meniscus, became a full-time starter last fall. She had a goal and an assist against Rider.

"She is the unsung hero of the front line. No one works harder than Gianna. Defensively she takes her responsibility very seriously. I am excited to see the trio of Gianna, Sam and Sarah Hatfield up front. The three have great chemistry and trust, which translated to a number of goals in our exhibition games."

Jackson indicated freshman Tatum Dobbins will see significant playing time.

MIDFIELD
Two starters return on midfield, Beachley and Tillman.

A 2019 CAA All-Rookie pick and a 2021 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Scholar of Distinction winner, Beachley served as a team captain last season, leading the team in both goals (five) and assists (three), including two goals and one assist in a season ending win over Davidson. She led the Tigers with eight goals as a freshman.

"Georgia is the keeper of the culture and is the heart and soul of the midfield," Jackson added. "She has that unique street cred in the locker room because she can play. She is the quarterback of our team. The team also trusts her off the field."

Tillman has been a dependable two-way player during her career with three goals and two assists. Jackson credits the Notre Dame Prep graduate with improved play and leadership since last season.

"The spring is when she started connecting her physical abilities with a whole new level of hockey IQ," Jackson explained. "Mackenzie Tillman is leading on the field and teaching the freshman. The spring allowed her to grow in her understanding of the game to the extent that she is now able to teach them. She is really connecting all the dot's right now. It is fun to see."

Veldhuizen, one of two freshmen from the Netherlands, and sophomore Cate Cook, who was limited to two games last year because of injury, will be defensive midfielders.

"Hedwig stepped up and has played defensive center midfield with Cate Cook behind her," Jackson said. "Hedwig has been playing field hockey for a long time, so she has a confidence on the ball that only comes from playing a lot of hockey. She is a student of the game and a smart player."

Jackson said Keele and freshman Megan Popp have earned playing time with solid camps.

DEFENSE
A three-time member of the NFHCA National Academic Squad, McKeon anchors the Towson defense. Last season, she ranked second on the team with two goals and two assists and led the defensive penalty corner unit to success, stopping 150 attempts from the circle.

"Hannah's mental resilience and her physical ability to push herself helps her lead by example," Jackson said. "A couple summers ago, she spent a few weeks in Quantico to see if being a Marine was something she was interested in doing. She does a lot of the unsexy work on the field and doesn't have a lot of fancy stats, so she doesn't end up on all-conference teams, but she is holding things down in the back for us, but adding Hedwig is going to allow us to use Hannah in more creative ways on the attack, so we can take some of that energy on the offensive end."

McKeon will be joined on the back end by King and Howard with freshman Ava Mowrey in the rotation.

GOALKEEPERS
Sophomore Piper Sullivan and Tessa Scheenstra, a freshman from the Netherlands, are competing to replace two-time First Team All-CAA goalkeeper Lena Vandam, who played every second in the cage the last two seasons and recorded 225 saves with a .781 save percentage.

"Right now, it is up in the air," Jackson said. "If you would have asked me two months ago, I would be leaning towards Tessa, but Piper is playing with tremendous confidence. They both bring tremendous strengths to the table and have different styles. Tessa is taller and can stay on the line longer to shut down angles, while Piper is aggressive and will come out to meet the ball a little quicker. I could see a scenario where they are equally splitting minutes."