TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University field hockey team begins a two-game road trip this weekend.
E.A. Jackson's squad will matchup against Wagner on Friday, Sept. 23 (3:30 p.m.) and Quinnipiac on Sunday, Sept. 25 (12 p.m.).
Friday's game will be streamed on NEC Front Row, while Sunday's game will be streamed on ESPN3. Live stats for both games will be available on TowsonTigers.com.
The Tigers (2-5) are set to play their next five games at the TU Field Hockey complex following this weekend's road trip, including a matchup with Saint Louis (Oct. 2) and their CAA conference play opener versus Hofstra (Oct. 7).
Wagner has won three of six games this season. The Seahawks have secured victories over Yale (2-1) and Lehigh (4-3), as well as a shootout win over Hofstra 3-2 (1-1).
Quinnipiac has won four of seven games this season. The Bobcats have wins over Maine (1-0), Dartmouth (4-1), Lafayette (1-0) and California-Davis (3-2).
VETERAN LEADERSHIP
The 2022 team features six seniors who have been fixtures in the lineup since arriving on campus in September 2019. After seven games, the six have combined to start 205 games.
Midfielder
Georgia Beachley and defender
Hannah McKeon have each started 48 games while
Samantha Aljets and
Mackenzie Tillman have 32 career starts.
Hannah King (23 starts) and
Gianna Antone (22) 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 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 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.
