Davidson Opens 2015 Season At Georgetown and Lehigh

Friday, August 28

Washington, DC

7:00 p.m.

Davidson College Athletics

Georgetown

Davidson Opens 2015 Season At Georgetown and Lehigh

8/27/2015 1:03:00 PM | Field Hockey

Teams	Davidson at Georgetown
Date	Friday, Aug. 28
Venue	Multi-Sport Field
Stream	GU Hoyas Video
Stats	Live Stats

Teams	Davidson at Lehigh
Date	Sunday, Aug. 30
Venue	Ulrich Sports Complex
Stream	--
Stats	Live Stats

DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Davidson field hockey team will open up the 2015 regular season with a two-game road swing. The Wildcats will head to Georgetown in the season opener Friday night at 7 p.m., before traveling to Lehigh for a noon matchup on Sunday.

About Davidson
The 2015 season marks Davidson's second year in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Co-captains Melissa Funsten and Anna Davis lead a talented roster that features 20 returners and six freshmen. Hannah Fisher, an All-Conference Preseason selection, returns for her sophomore season after being earning Atlantic 10 all-rookie accolades a season ago. Fisher started all 19 games in her first season en route to seven points on two goals and three assists.

Filling the Stat Sheet
The Wildcats return its top-four point scorers from a season ago. Second-team all-conference selection Melissa Funsten (3g, 3a) led all players with nine points last year, while junior Becca Jones (3g, 2a) tallied eight points, sophomore Hannah Fisher (2g, 3a) collected seven and junior Katherine English contributed six (2g, 2a).

Fresh Faces
Davidson's roster features six freshmen, representing four states (North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia). Courtney Byler is an addition at defense, Kristin Kisa, Emily Morgan, Leigha Nortier and Kate Singletary will transition between forward and midfield, while Bean Rodriguez comes aboard as a goalkeeper.

Between the Pipes
The Wildcats return goalkeeper Emily Leytham for the 2015 season. The senior logged 1352:34 minutes in goal a year ago, and ranked first in the A-10 with 7.63 saves per game and second among conference goalkeepers with a .771 save percentage.

Senior Connie Cape and freshman Bean Rodriguez will vie for playing time in net. Cape saw action in two games last year, while Rodriguez joins the Wildcats after a strong high school career at Saint Mary's Hall in San Antonio, Texas.

Season Openers
Davidson has won nine of the last 16 season openers to own a 20-18 record in the first game of the season. Under current head coach Ginny Turner the Wildcats are 4-4 on opening day.

On the Sidelines
Ginny Turner is entering her ninth season at the helm of the Davidson program. Turner ushered the Wildcats into a new era, as Davidson joined the A-10 last season. She has mentored two A-10 all-conference selections, six NorPac players of the year, 18 All-Norpac East honorees and three NFHCA All-Region Team recipients,

Turner is joined this season by second-year assistant Catherine Ostoich, while seniors Danielle King and Becky Johnson join the staff as student assistant coaches. Turner also added DCFH alumni Heather McKee '87 as a volunteer assistant.

Scouting Georgetown
A season ago, Georgetown recorded the most wins since 2010 with a 6-12 overall record. The Hoyas returns 15 student-athletes, while welcoming six newcomers to the 2015 roster. Georgetown returns their top-two scorers in junior Aliyah Graves-Brown and senior Sarah Butterfield. Last year, Graves-Brown collected 15 points (6g, 3a), while Butterfield contributed 12 points (5g, 2a).

Friday's game marks the fourth time Davidson opens the season against Georgetown with the Wildcats defeating the Hoyas in 2012 and 2013 before dropping the season opener in 2014. The Wildcats lead the all-time series, 11-5.

Scouting Lehigh
After posting a 4-14 overall record in 2014, Lehigh will open the season Friday at Rider. The Mountain Hawks return their top-six scorers, led by senior Lindsey Schott and junior Amanda Granger. Schott paced the offense with 11 points (4g, 3a), while Granger contributed eight points (3g, 2a). Goalkeeper Julia Wards will anchor Lehigh's defense, as the junior owns a career save percentage of 3.09.

Sunday's game marks just the third time the two programs have met, and the first time since 2004. The series is tied 1-1.

Up Next
Following this weekend's matches, the Wildcats will open its home portion of the schedule on Sept. 3 at 5:30 p.m. against Missouri State.