Optimism is abound for Bethlehem Catholic’s field hockey program with a full offseason at their disposal.

After last year’s 1-9 season, head coach Sarah Lumi thinks there’s potential for the team to make strides with an experienced group coming back into the fold.

“We return a lot of experienced players from last year who are motivated to take advantage of the full season this year,” said Lumi. “They have great team chemistry and we hope that leads to a solid season. They are all working hard to be ready to get some more wins this season and reach their potential as a team.”

Returning players apart of that nucleus are Maya Bond (Defense, Junior); Hannah DiLello (Offense, Senior); Lauren Gould (Defense, Senior); Emilia Lieb (Midfield, Senior); Cassie Marenski (Defense, Senior); Abby McIntyre (Midfield, Senior); Rebecca Scheidel (Forward, Senior); Brooke Sodl (Midfield, Senior); Kara Vazquez (Goal Keeper, Senior) and Mia Willard (Forward, Sophomore).

Newcomers are Riley Horstman (Offense, Junior); Natalie Zanders (Midfield, Junior) and Joline Bozzi (Defense, Junior).

“Brooke Sodl was dominant on the forward line last year and we look to her to lead the team with even more experience this year,” Lumi said. “Emilia Lieb made a big difference in the midfield for us last year with a major impact on both offense and defense. Kara Vazquez is ready to take on her fourth season with us as goal keeper with confidence and lots of experience.”

With all that said, Becahi is hoping that optimism turns into wins.

“We had a great summer as a team and our goal is to continue to come together as a team to hit our stride once games start,” said Lumi. “We strive for improvements every day. After preseason, our goal is for all of the improvements to add up and lead to a successful season.”