July 7, 2009

PHILADELPHIA - In 2008 the Saint Joseph's field hockey team reached the Atlantic 10 Championship semifinals for the eighth consecutive season, and the squad's 11 victories marked the fifth straight year the SJU reached double digits in the win column.

Midfielder Kellie Walter had a breakout season in her junior year. She paced the Hawks with career highs in goals (10), assists (seven), and points (27). Walter also ranked in a tie for fourth in the conference in points and tied for third in assists. For her efforts, Walter was named to the NFHCA All-Region Second Team and the Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team. She also excelled in the classroom and had A-10 All-Academic honors bestowed upon her as well.

Senior forwards Krista Bordogna and Marisa Pizzi also turned in outstanding seasons for Saint Joseph's. Bordogna notched career highs in all of the major offensive categories, tallying seven goals and a pair of assists for 16 points. She pulled in Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors on October 6 after scoring three goals in a Hawk win over Saint Francis. Bordogna was also named to the All-Academic Team for the second straight season and was honored as an All-Area academic selection as well.

Pizzi tied her career high with eight goals and added three assists to place second on the team with 19 points. Of those eight tallies, six were of the game-winning variety, a mark that led the Atlantic 10 Conference. She earned Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors for the second straight year. Pizzi finishes her career on Hawk Hill with 22 goals, putting her in a tie for 10th all-time in program history. Of those 22 career goals, 12 were game-winners.

Sophomore defender Casey Fry joined Pizzi on the All-Conference Second Team. An All-Rookie honoree as a freshman, Fry played all but seven minutes for the Hawks this season as the anchor of the SJU defense. She made a pair of defensive saves to go along with her strong play on the backline.

Despite playing in only eight games due to injury, junior midfielder Anne Schreuders racked up 14 points on five goals and four assists. She scored the game-winner in SJU's 1-0 win over Delaware and garnered All-Academic honors alongside Bordogna and Walter.

A trio of Hawk rookies made their presence felt on the pitch this season as redshirt freshman Kelly Swanick and true freshmen Ellen Rowe and Theresa Testa were selected for the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team. Swanick started all 20 games for the Hawks this season, recording a 1.82 goals against average and a .712 save percentage. She also recorded four shutouts and combined for a fifth. She was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week twice in September and was tabbed for the All-Tournament Team after making a career-high 10 saves in the semifinal loss to Massachusetts.

Rowe earned back-to-back Rookie of the Week awards in early October. She scored in consecutive games, including the one-goal loss to nationally ranked Rutgers. Testa started every contest as a freshman, contributing four assists to the scoring ledger.

The Hawks showed a mix of youth and experience in 2008, and as the former gains the latter, Saint Joseph's will look to remain in the upper echelon of the Atlantic 10 and contend once again for the conference title.