After an at best turbulent season; filled with controversies, injuries, and a disappointing first round exit from the UCAA (now Liberty League) tournament, the Red Hawks’ familiar faces have merged with a new dedication for the game and each other.

And the field hockey team members’ commitment to each other didn’t wait until school began this fall. It began this summer, literally half a world away.

In June, Head Coach Bridget LaNoir was joined by 15 of her 16 veteran players in Germany for a 12-day trip where the team scrimmaged teams from Holland, Ireland, and Germany.

Most importantly, the trip brought the women together as unit.

“This is the start to get the team and the program into a new mindset,” LaNoir, now in her fourth season as manager of the Red Hawks, said. “It was another incentive to get them moving.

“It built more drive in them, got them going on summer training, and brought them closer together. And that’s good because hopefully they’ll want to put in more time because they don’t want to let their teammates down.”

And while having all sixteen players back from the small 2003 club has built a solid core for LaNoir, the influx of talent from several freshman has added depth and skill to the team.

LaNoir brought in nine freshmen highlighted by Michelle Clemente and Michelle Roy, both out of Columbia High School in Rensselaer.

Clemente scored two goals in the team’s opener against Oswego State.

“It’s very exciting for all the kids that are here and for the kids to come and join such a close knit group,” LaNoir said. “The depth was certainly an issue I wanted to address.”

The Red Hawks are certainly deep at the goaltender spot, where junior Amanda Lund and sophomores Jen O’Neil and Liz Szewczak are currently battling for the starting spot.

“Amanda brings good communication, which is important with such a young defense,” LaNoir said of Lund, who currently is the starter.

“It is good to have someone out there reminding them in game situations, but I’m hoping someone will distinguish themselves soon.”

Guiding the freshman through the transition from high school to college is something LaNoir expects from her upperclassmen, especially team captains Sondra Sherman and Laurie Young.

“The older players show them the expectations that are brought to practice every day,” LaNoir said. “Tempo, how much commitment they are going to be putting in both on and off the field, and by how much sleep they get, and the lack of social activity that they need to have in the fall.”

LaNoir has set high expectations for a team that finished just 6-11 last season, but emphasizes that it’s the players who will ultimately decide how the remander of the season will go.