WC Eagles National Indoor Champions
WC Eagles had an incredibly successful weekend at the National Indoor Tournament in Virginia Beach with the U19 White team repeating as U19 National Champions, winning the coveted "A" Pool title for a third time in the last four years, the U19 Gold team winning the "B" Pool and the U16 Diamonds and U16 Blue teams winning the top two U16 divisions as WC Eagles came home with 8 National Indoor Tournament Pool Champions.
View full results for all of our WC Eagles teams:
U14, U16 Diamonds, U16 Blue, U16 Swoop, U16 Ruby, U16 Gold, U16 Fly
U19 White, U19 Gold, U19 Fly, U19 Diamonds, U19 Blue, U19 Swoop, U19 Black
"Qualifying 14 teams for the NIT is very pleasing", commented WC Eagles Director of Coaching Jun Kentwell prior to leaving for Virginia Beach "It reinforces the depth and quality of our players and is a testament to the hard work and dedication which the players have put into their training and skill development. I am very pleased that so many of our players will have the opportunity to experience playing at the top national indoor hockey event, it is a very rewarding way to round out the season and our indoor training program". WC Eagles finished with four U16 and four U19 NIT Pool Champions with a combined record of 51 wins, 1 loss, and 4 draws and out scoring their opponents 239 to 46 in 56 games.
For the second year in a row W C Eagles won the "A" Pool with a 7 - 0 record led by USA Women's National Indoor Team player Kelsey Byrne in midfield who found holes in the opposition defenses with pinpoint passing. In defense Paula Heimbach and Stef Pirri were solid throughout with strong tackles, timely interceptions, and accurate distribution from the back, while goalkeeper Margaret Ruth, stepping in for the injured Rachel Yacovett, made some outstanding saves. USA Under 17 forward Katie Gerzabek led the team in scoring and was assisted by the fast and skillful play of Kristen Focht, Lindsay McArdle, and Kerry Newby.
W C Eagles U19 Gold won the "B" Pool behind the outstanding goalkeeping of Rachel Leskowicz who conceded only 3 goals in seven matches and the deft and creative play of Kelsey Le Blanc. This team of talented juniors, with four players already committed to Division 1 field hockey programs, also came home with a 7 - 0 record.
The top Under 16 division was won by young and talented W C Eagles U16 Diamonds also with a 7 - 0 record, the core of which won their U14 Pool the two previous years. With Katie O'Donnell and Moira Putsch just 14, and the Emily Faught, Becca Zamojcin, Annabeth Donovan, Kate and Megan Kelly, and Maddie Joyce turning 15, this very fast and skillful team will be back to defend their U16 title next year.
Heather Morris led the NIT in scoring with 25 goals in 7 games and her WC Eagles U16 Blue team to their National Pool title and topped all teams as the highest scoring team in the NIT with 45 goals. The WC Eagles U19 Blue team was the highest scoring team in the U19 division as they won their National Pool Championship led by the prolific goalscoring of Kasey Prettyman, solid goalkeeping of Sammy Carlino, and outstanding defending of Lindsay Prettyman.
WC Eagles U19 Black, U16 Ruby and U16 Gold all won their respective Pool Championships each with 6 wins and one tie. Rachel Tannenbaum made a number of excellent saves and Emily Paolino worked tirelessly to keep the U19 Black team in winning form, the ever improving U16 Gold team held off the competition from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina to clinch their title with some very creative and skillful play, and the hardworking and determined Sara Mulhern and the agile goalkeeping from Rebecca Brosious lead a tremendous team effort by the U16 Ruby.
The WC Eagles U14 team tied for first place in the top U14 Pool with 6 wins and 1 draw but lost the Championship title on goal difference. This young team learned a lot from their first NIT experience and will have 8 of its players returning to the U14 next year.
"We were very pleased to have 14 teams qualify for the NIT but to come home with a record 8 National Pool Champions was way beyond our expectations" said Jun Kentwell "Our aim is to develop field hockey players and prepare them to play in college, it was so exciting to see our young players playing with skill and poise and a real understanding of how to play modern hockey with excellent ball speed . They still have a lot to learn but I know they will continue to work hard and grow with passion for playing the game”.