The Salisbury field hockey team has endured a rough decade record-wise. But last season ended up being one of the Lady Falcons’ best in recent memory.

The Lady Falcons finished 10-10 in 2018 (including an 8-8 record in the Colonial League), and qualified for the District 11 Class 2A tournament. A tough 2-0 setback against Southern Lehigh kept Salisbury from reaching the championship game.

After posting a 1-14-1 Colonial League record back in 2016, Salisbury has posted back-to-back eight-win seasons in league play. Head coach Jane Brennan hopes Salisbury can return to the postseason this fall, but the Lady Falcons will have to do so without nine players that graduated.

“I think our team has benefited from the familiarity of both team and individual goals,” Brennan said. “We had pockets of success last year, but if we continue to trust in each other, work hard every day in practice and be flexible in positions, we should hopefully find even more success as a group. The work and commitment in the offseason was valuable to springboard us into preseason.”

Bella Martinez (13 goals), Kaitlyn Keller (11 goals, 7 assists) and Madison Jewell (5 goals, 13 assists) are all gone, and Brennan will need a group of Lady Falcons to step up and replace that scoring production. Keller and Jewell were Colonial League First-Team all-stars a season ago.

“This year will come with the challenge of replacing both midfielders,” Brennan said. “Communication in the middle is an area that we have been focusing on daily. We are constantly working on moving the ball cleanly.”

Riley Stauffer, a junior from Central Catholic, returns after scoring 13 goals and adding five assists for the Lady Falcons last season. Junior Rory Warson is also back looking to play a bigger role.

On the defensive end of the field, Peyton Stauffer, Riley Peters and Melinda Rivera have all graduated and leave voids to be filed.

“If we come out of the gate using our speed and communication, we will have the potential to really build confidence for our team,” Brennan said.

Salisbury opens its season at Freedom on Saturday. Game time is set for 10 a.m. The Lady Falcons’ home opener will be next Wednesday against Saucon Valley at 4 p.m.