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LEHIGH VALLEY WEATHER

Field hockey seeks another PIAA repeat

You can’t really have a better season than Emmaus field hockey did in 2015. The team went 27-0 and won its 11th state championship. Head coach Sue Butz-Stavin set the national mark for wins by a high school field hockey coach, which is now at 865 and counting. The Hornets star player, Meredith Sholder, not only broke the school’s all-time goals record – 159 and counting – but scored the winning goal against Palmyra in the state championship.

So, what’s on the agenda in 2016?

Butz-Stavin will get closer to the 900-win mark, Sholder will surpass the 200-goal mark and Emmaus will have a slightly larger target on its back than it usually has as a dynasty in the world of field hockey.

One thing that will be interesting is the team’s quest for back-to-back state titles. Emmaus accomplished that feat three times in the past and looks for its fourth repeat state championship this season.

“We always talk about it and how it would be such an amazing feeling,” said Sholder. “Especially since it’s mine and my friends’ senior year. But we do have that target on our back, so every game that we go into, the other team will try as hard as it can to take that away from us. We just need to stay humble. Our seniors last year taught us to never give up and that’s why we were so successful last year.”

Butz-Stavin always maintains an even keel when it comes to things like championships and, at least openly, never lets herself think about repeats or extending her streak of 27 straight District 11 championships. Instead, she takes the same approach against a winless team in a regular season game as she does in a state championship, knowing that anything can happen.

“We always have a target on our back,” she said. “We just have to prepare for each game and be on top of our game and if we’re not, then somebody is bound to knock us off.

“You have to guard against those things. When it’s game day, you have to be prepared. With the players we have on the bench, if somebody is off, somebody’s going to be out there filling shoes, so that’s a good thing.”

This year’s group of seven seniors has a certain swagger and spark that Butz-Stavin likes. She believes is good for the team chemistry. She also knows that reloading is a constant process that keeps the program strong and she’s looking forward to watching her new players grow and develop.

“It’s a nice, solid group,” said Butz-Stavin, who enters her 41st season. “There are nine of them and two happen to be keepers. It’s an eye-opener for some of them.

“I think that our physical ability is right on schedule. We just have to fine tune our fundamental skills and some of our tactical moves, but we’re making really nice progress and we have lots of individuals that are capable of stepping onto the field and playing. We may platoon kids in and out for a certain amount of time and see which kids work best together.”

Emmaus will go with sophomore goalkeeper Claire Nielsen this season. Surprisingly, Nielsen’s job may be made a little easier by Sholder, who wants to add another dimension to her game in her senior season, as she prepares to play college hockey for the University of North Carolina next year.

“I want to be more involved with the defense,” said Sholder. “I’m such an offensive player and people are always looking for the through-ball to me, but I also really want to help back on defense more, running back and back-tackling. I’ve been trying to do that more recently.”

As for college at UNC, who come into this season as the preseason favorite in the college ranks, Sholder knows there’s a lot to do between now and then.

“It’s exciting,” said Sholder. “Finish this first, but after that, I really have to prepare myself for UNC, because their preseason is really hard and the heat down there is tough. The girls that are there now, I know almost every one of them and they seem to love it, so I can’t wait.”

PRESS PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDY MOXEYThe Emmaus field hockey team has repeated as state champion three times in the history of the program. The Lady Hornets have a chance to make it four with another PIAA title this season.