Miami Gears Up For West Coast Trip
8/30/2000 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Sept. 2, at Pacific, 1 p.m. PDT
Sept. 3, at Cal-Berkeley, 1 p.m. PDT
Sept. 5, at Stanford, Noon PDT
WHAT'S ON TAP: Miami (0-1, 0-0 MAC) heads to the West Coast for a Labor Day three-game stint, playing traditional powerhouses Pacific, Cal-Berkeley and Stanford.
Miami takes on Pacific (0-1) on Saturday, Sept. 2 in the first match of the RedHawks' west coast swing. The Tigers dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to NorPac Conference-foe Cal-Berkeley last Saturday. Sophomore Nicolette Wiegand, the Tigers' top returning scorer from last year's 5-12 squad, led Pacific with two unassisted goals in the defeat.
On Sunday, Sept. 3, the RedHawks travel down the road to Berkeley to battle the Golden Bears (1-0). The defending NorPac Conference champions were led by sophomore Lisa DAnjou's two goals in the season-opening overtime victory versus Pacific. Junior Erin Robinson put away the game-winner for the Bears with 3:32 remaining in overtime. Cal-Berkeley finished the 1999 campaign with a 12-5 record, falling to Massachusetts 3-0 in an NCAA tournament play-in game.
Miami concludes its jaunt through the Golden State by battling Stanford on Tues., Sept. 5. The Cardinal opened the 2000 campaign last Sunday with a 2-0 defeat of NorPac-rival Davidson. Junior goalkeeper Rebecca Shapiro recorded the shutout for the Cardinal. Stanford returns 13 letterwinners from last year's 9-9 squad that fell in the NorPac Conference final to Cal-Berkeley.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS: Miami opened its 2000 campaign at Ohio State, falling 2-1 at Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Aug. 26. The RedHawks fell behind 2-0 early in the second half and could not recover.
Miami surrendered a goal at the 2:46 mark of the first half from Buckeye freshman, Vanessa Immordino. Early in the second half, the Red and White allowed a second goal off the stick of freshman Mariana Solorzano, stretching the lead to 2-0.
With 6:10 remaining in the contest, Cheryl Iozzi (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) notched her first career goal off an assist from Meghan Phalen (Encinitas, Calif./Torrey Pines), cutting the deficit to 2-1. However, the Buckeye defense stiffened the remainder of the game to secure the victory.
"I was pleased with our overall effort," said head coach Lil Fesperman. "Granted, we need to work on parts of our game, but we played well against a good Ohio State team."
Defensively for Miami, Marie Vaughn (Davis, Calif./Davis) stopped four Buckeye shots while Lisa Rodelo (Escondido, Calif./San Pasqual) also blocked one. Karen Preikszas (Medfield, Mass./Medfield) registered her first defensive save of the year.
RISING TO THE TOP: Junior goalkeeper Marie Vaughn (Davis, Calif./Davis) moved into the top-10 for career shutouts. She is now in sole possession of eighth place with 7.5 career shutouts.
RETURNING ALL-MAC: Junior Beth Young (Toledo, Ohio/Maumee Valley C.D.) is the only returning all-MAC selection as she earned second-team plaudits in 1999. Starting all 19 games last year, Young led Miami and tied for eighth in the MAC in goals (9) and tied for the team lead with two game-winning goals.
COACH LIL FESPERMAN: Fesperman is in her 24th year as the head coach of the RedHawks. Through the years, she has compiled a 217-196-17 record.
Fesperman has produced 16 regional all-Americans and 60 all-Mid-American Conference selections. She guided Miami to the first MAC Championship in 1981 and was selected MAC Coach of the Year the same year.
Fesperman graduated cum laude from Appalachian State University with a bachelor's degree in health and physical education. She was a three-year member of the ASU field hockey team and was voted Most Valuable Player her senior year.
CATLIN STAYS ON BOARD: The RedHawks had a new face on the sidelines last year as Sarah Catlin was been brought on board as Miami's first full-time assistant coach for field hockey. Catlin came to Miami bringing a solid background of coaching and playing experience.
Catlin was a four-year varsity letterwinner at Bucknell University, serving as captain her senior year. She received second-team all-conference honors her junior and senior seasons and earned Patriot League Defender of the Week accolades in 1995.
Catlin was named assistant field hockey coach at Columbia University while she was still at Bucknell. She also served as the assistant lacrosse coach at Susquehanna University for two years as well.
Catlin earned her bachelor's degree in English and political science from Bucknell in 1998.
FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA: Miami's field hockey team features athletes from all over the country, spanning from Massachusettes to California. Currently, the RedHawks hail from nine different states three countries.
THIRD YEAR IS THE CHARM: Juniors Marie Vaughn (Davis, Calif./Davis) and Lisa Rodelo (Escondido, Calif./San Pasqual) are both coming off productive sophomore campaigns sharing the time in goal, with Vaughn getting all nineteen starts of the year.
Vaughn finished the 1999 year ranking second in the MAC with 4.5 shutouts and third with 156 saves.
Rodelo amassed 67 minutes, five saves and one-half shutout for the season.
NEW FACES: Seven RedHawks on this year's squad are in their first campaign of varsity field hockey, many of whom will be seeing significant playing time.
The freshmen include Amy Butterworth (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton), Kate Carmody (St. Louis, Mo./Villa Duchesne), Shallen McClain (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron), Lauren Plapp (Overland Park, Kan./The Barstow School), Emma Sanford (Essex, England/Colchester 6th Form School), Lauren Slattery (St. Louis, Mo./Cor Jesu Academy) and Angela Snedden (Ontario, Can./St. Christophers Secondary).
