Field Hockey Signs Eight Recruits for the 2013 Season

2013 Field Hockey Roster

PHILADELPHIA – Temple field hockey coach Amanda Janney has signed eight student-athletes for the 2013 season, an incoming class of true freshmen who represent Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. It is a group filled with strong leadership and strong academic backgrounds, as seven were high school team captains and five were honor roll students and/or members of the National Honor Society.

The eight recruits are Shawna Chopko (Newark, Del./Newark), Katie Foran (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin), Paige Gross (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty), Elle Hempt (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley), Taylor Janney (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East), Sarah Keer (Lehighton, Pa./Lehighton), Ali Meszaros (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville) and Michelle Walsh (Phoenixville, Pa./Archbishop Carroll).

“Our coaching staff is excited to welcome this strong group of student-athletes into our TUFH family,” said Janney. “In starting my ninth season at Temple, it was more important than ever to bring in a talented class who will contribute right away. We are moving to the BIG EAST Conference and this great class of athletes will help us succeed in our new league. These eight recruits will compete at every field position and they will provide the depth we need in our attack and defensive positions.

“We have two scorers who posted over 100 goals in high school, in Katie Foran and Sarah Keer. We have talented defenders Taylor Janney, Ali Meszaros, and Michelle Walsh who have great national experience from their highly ranked club teams. We have three dynamic midfielders, Paige Gross, Elle Hempt and Shawna Chopko, who will help strengthen our midfield, after losing senior Katie Briglia.

“We had a very successful season in 2012 and we are confident that these recruits will help our team continue to improve, and that they will be the spark that we need to win in the BIG EAST Conference.”

As a three-time all-conference selection out of Newark High School, Chopko was a four-year starter for the team and a two-time team captain. Her club team North Bay Crush, coached by Ned Davis, won its qualifier at the National Indoor Tournament (NIT) in 2012, and also played in the National Futures Championship (NFC) in Virginia Beach. Chopko earned academic all-conference and honor roll status each year of her career, and also lettered for three years in varsity lacrosse and track and field. Chopko plans to major in biology at Temple.

With 24 goals and 24 assists, Foran earned all-state first team honors and led her Central Dauphin team to the state quarterfinals as a senior in 2012. Playing for coach Janelle Berger, Foran was a second team all-state selection as a junior, a two-time Mid-Penn All-Star, and her team's offensive MVP as a senior. She is a former teammate of Temple's Amber Youtz, a rising junior. In her three years on varsity field hockey, the team's overall record was 53-18-3. For her career, she totaled 126 points by scoring 47 goals and adding 32 assists. Foran also played club field hockey for Key State and coach Jodi Angelini. A multi-sport athlete, Foran earned four varsity letters in softball for Central Dauphin. She comes from an athletic family, as her mother, Cathy, played softball and field hockey at Shippensburg, while her father, Dave, played ice hockey at Penn State. Foran plans to major in elementary education at Temple.

Gross was a four-year varsity starter for Liberty High School where she was a first team conference all-star and first team all-area for both the Easton Express Times and the Morning Call as a senior. Her club team True North, coached by Jeff Harding and Karen Nilson, took gold at the 2012 National Field Hockey Festival. Gross was named a 2012 Scholar Athlete, and is a member of the National Honor Society who plans to study business at Temple. She was a multi-sport athlete who started for three years on the varsity soccer team and also earned a letter in basketball.

Highlight Video for Paige Gross

Hempt was a three-year letterwinner at Cumberland Valley High School where she was a team captain in her senior year. She was named to the Mid-Penn All-Star First Team for a second straight year, and helped lead her team to a 12-2 division record. Hempt was also named to the Big 11 Team as both a junior and senior. She served as captain of her club team, East Coast Field Hockey, at the 2011 National Club Championship, the 2011 and 2012 Festival and the 2013 Indoor season. Hempt is a four-year honor roll student who plans to study speech, language and hearing science at Temple. Hempt's mother, Amy, played basketball at the University of Pittsburgh.

As a senior at Cherry Hill High School East, Janney was named the Offensive Player of the Year on her team. She led her team to the second round of the state tournament, after having gone to the first round the year prior. Janney was a three-year varsity letterwinner and earned second team all-conference honors as a senior. She played club field hockey for coach Kathi Liszewski of South Jersey Edge, and participated for four years in the USA Field Hockey Futures Program.

Highlight Video for Taylor Janney

Keer is a two-time Times News Field Hockey Player of the Year out of Lehighton Area High School who totaled 123 career points with 51 goals and 21 assists. She was a two-year team captain and earned second team all-conference honors as both a junior and senior. In her senior year, Keer also earned first team honors from the Morning Call. Keer's team won the state championship in her freshman year and was a state finalist a year later. From 2008-2011, Keer played club field hockey for First Class and coach Shawn Hindy. In 2012, she was a member of Pyramid Evolution for coach Lamar Long.

Also a four-year letterwinner in track and field, Keer is already a two-time conference champion in the javelin and was a state qualifier in the shot put as a junior. Keer is an honor roll student and comes from an athletic family, with her father, Tom, having played football at Lehigh and her brother, JT, currently playing football at Wilkes University.

Highlight Video for Sarah Keer

Meszaros spent her junior and senior years playing for Phoenixville Area High School where she was a second team all-area and all-conference honoree both seasons. As a team captain her senior year, she helped her team become a district qualifier for a second-straight year with a record of 13-6-1. Meszaros played for the WC Eagles club team, coached by Jun and Richard Kentwell, which won gold medals at both the Festival and NIT in 2011. As a member of her school's track and field team, Meszaros placed seventh in the state AA meet on the 4x100 meter relay team. She was a four-year honor roll student who plans to major in elementary education at Temple.

Coming from a hugely successful Archbishop Carroll High School team, Walsh was a four-year varsity starter and team captain as a senior. She helped the program go 69-13-2 in her time there, including a 38-2 league record. She also helped lead the team to four district championships and scored 26 career goals despite playing primarily midfield and back. Walsh played for the WC Eagles club team for Jun and Richard Kentwell, along with new Temple teammate Meszaros. Walsh was an Academic All-State selection, is a member of the National Honor Society and ranks in the top 15 percent of her class. She is interested in health professions and plans to major in kinesiology at Temple. Her sister, Rachel, graduated from Saint Joseph's in 2012 after playing field hockey for four years.

The eight signees will join their new Temple teammates for preseason in August, 2013. Temple field hockey will open the fall season with the annual Conference Cup at Geasey Field on Saturday, Aug. 31 and Sunday, Sept. 1. Temple will host #6 Maryland, #20 New Hampshire and Ohio State for the tournament. Together with Temple, the schools represent the four top conferences of the ACC, Big Ten, BIG EAST and America East, making for a great weekend of field hockey action.

Temple University Athletics

Field Hockey Signs Eight Recruits for the 2013 Season

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