Posted: Oct 15, 2012

AMCAT Field Hockey Featured in TelegramTowns

By Jay Gearan CORRESPONDENT

PAXTON — Among the many fall varsity sports teams at Anna Maria College, the field hockey squad has been attracting attention with five victories and fiercely competitive action even in its losses.

The season opener was a good one for the AmCats, who defeated Colby-Sawyer, 3-1, in early September.

In mid-September, the AmCats completed an undefeated week of games with three straight victories on the road: 5-2 at Rivier, 2-1 at Worcester State and 2-0 at Wells.

The AmCats raised their record to 5-4 a few weeks ago by defeating the Elms College Blazers, 1-0, as freshman Kayla Lapierre alertly converted a pass from senior defender Shannon Looney and scored the game's only goal. It was the AmCats fourth victory in five games.

For Amcats' goalie Mary Kate Breen, the Elms win was her second shutout of the season.

In a close game last week, the AmCats lost to Bridgewater State University, 4-2, despite Anna Maria taking a 1-0 lead after freshman midfielder Kylie Dalbec scored off a scramble in the seventh minute of play. Later in the game, senior forward Marybeth McClune of Worcester netted another goal for the AmCats. McClune leads the team in goals with seven.

Breen made 15 saves against Bridgewater, a season high.

Recently Looney, from Leicester, was named the New England Collegiate Conference Field Hockey Player of the Week, while teammate Lapierre, from Worcester, received the NECC Rookie of the Week Award. McClune and Breen received those awards earlier in the season.

Anna Maria is coached by Sharon Zenevitch, who is currently in her 11th season. Away from coaching the team for eight years, Zenevitch returned to Anna Maria a year ago and her team posted eight wins, besting the previous season by six wins. Her team also earned a berth in the NECC finals.

Zenevitch's 2011 team was recognized by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association as one of the top academic teams in Division 3. As one of 106 colleges to be recognized, Anna Maria received team recognition for achieving a team grade-point average of 3.0 and above during the first semester of the 2011-12 academic year.

Coach Zenevitch, who has an overall coaching career record of 194 wins, spanning four decades and several sports at Anna Maria, was named NECC Coach of the Year last season.