The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Field Hockey team returns to the field for the 2022 season ready to take the next steps and build off of its postseason runs in both 2019 and 2021. The Spartans were selected to finish 8th in the annual NE10 preseason coaches poll released on Tuesday.

A second consecutive trip to the Northeast-10 Field Hockey Tournament back last November, capped an strong campaign which saw the Spartans go 8-11 (7-7 NE10) in their return to the field following the COVID-19 pandemic.

An off-season of roster retooling by Head Coach Genesis Pacheco brings seven new faces to the Spartans for the 2022 season, including; Floortje Beune (Fr./Weesep, Netherlands), Katelyn Cerrato (So./Mohegan Lake, NY/Fairleigh Dickinson), Kelly Johnson (Fr./Kenwyn-Cape Town, South Africa), Kayla Martini (Fr./Pompton Plains, NJ), Rachael Paraskos (Fr./Ossipee, NH) Gianna Sacco (Fr./Patchogue, NY) and Jasmin van Drunen (Fr./Bilthoven, Netherlands).

14 members of last season's squad return to Sparkill for the new season, as Adriana Alfisi, Erin Bacalles, Olivia Calcaterra, Olivia Cerbo, Sofia Corominas Cuen, Kendra Evans, Hailey Galison, Jessie Hohenstein, Brittany Lionarons, Isabella O'Hara, Madeline Schaefer, Sam Van Der Valk, Nicola van Vuurren and Madelyn Verstraten comprise the veteran core of players that will mentor the incoming talent and look to make another push to the playoffs. 

Head Coach Genesis Pacheco returns to the sideline for her fifth season leading STAC, with Assistant Coach Brianna Jones also returning. A familiar face in the Spartan Field Hockey family will round out the staff, as Lauren Cooper joins the coaching ranks, following her excellent four-year on-field career.

The Spartans will open their 2022 season on the road at East Stroudsburg University on Thursday, September 1, with the opening face-off scheduled for 4pm in Pennsylvania.

2022 NE10 Women's Field Hockey Preseason Poll

( ) - first place votes