Dan Sherman
Asst. SID
Juniata
814-641-3513
Huntingdon, Pa., Synapse Sports recently released it NCAA Division I and III post-season honors and Juniata College's field hockey team was among those recognized. Head coach Caroline Gillich, senior keeper Julianne Jones (Middleburg, PA / Midd-West), and freshman Katie Alexander (Mifflinburg, PA / Mifflinburg) each received honors for their performance this season.
One year after posting a 9-11 record, coach Gillich was named the Division III Coach of the Year, after leading her team to a 15-6 record, including two top-10 victories. Her Eagles won their first Landmark Conference Championship since 2010, and fifth overall, before advancing to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Tournament. The coach earned her 200th career victory when Juniata defeated Catholic to claim the Landmark title. The coach was incredibly proud of her team and even more ecstatic discussing them, describing her Eagles as the "most amazing team ever. So much resiliency, so much strength.
Jones was named Third-Team All-Amerian for her tremendous play in the cage for Juniata this year. The senior finished the regular season as the Landmark Conference leader with her .82 goals against average and .865 save percentage. She finished the season ranked eighth and fourth in all of NCAA Division III in those two categories. Jones' hard work in the offseason has paid off for herself and her team, as she and the Eagles defense carried Juniata throughout the 2014 season.
Alexander was named to the All-Rookie Team. The freshman scored six goals and had three assists in her rookie campaign. The forward had the third highest goal total on the team and was tied for fourth in assists. Playing like an upperclassmen all year, Alexander scored the biggest goal of the season for Juniata, finding the cage for the lone score in the Landmark Championship game. Her golden goal in double ovettime earned her championship game MVP honors.
The honors are well deserved for Gillich and her players. The team fought hard all season, never giving up in the face of adversity, and proving their grit time and again en route to the team's first conference title and tournament appearance in four years. The Eagles will lose a strong senior class, but return many key players, and will look to build off of this success in 2015.
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