PHILADELPHIA – National letters of intent have been signed by a group of eight talented student-athletes who will join the Temple field hockey program in the fall of 2019. Interim head coach Ross Gilham-Jones announced the group, which includes five from Pennsylvania, two from Maryland and one from Kentucky.
The 2019 signees are Caitlyn Amsden (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge), Sydney Beck (Bel Air, Md./Patterson Mill), Sydney Borneman (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge), McKenna Burkhardt (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty), Molly Frey (Eagleville, Pa./Methacton), Francesca Lucchesi (Lansdale, Pa./Methacton), Mackenzie Masyada (Louisville, Ky./Ballard) and Emma Nesbitt (Baltimore, Md./Garrison Forest).
"We are very excited for our 2019 class to become Owls and play at Temple," said Gilham-Jones. "With a dynamic, skilled and hardworking group coming into the program, it will be very exciting to see the progress in the forthcoming year."
Caitlyn Amsden
Amsden is a four-year varsity starter and letterwinner for Pennridge High School, leading her team to district playoffs twice. She earned all-league honors all four years and All-Intel honors for two years. Amsden led her team each year in scoring and for the last two years in points, adding 15 assists to 13 goals as senior and finishing her career with 48 goals and 32 assists for 128 career points. She earned Attacker of the Week and Top 10 in assists from Phila Field Hockey as a senior. Amsden is also a four-year varsity letterwinner in lacrosse, earning all-league honors anchoring the defensive unit. Her club team, the FSC Falcons under head coach Michelle Finegan, is a three-time National Indoor Pool champion and Junior Premiere Indoor League (JPIL) champion, also earning a second place JPIL finish in 2018. They competed in the 2017 Regional Club and National Club Championships and earned a second place finish at the USA National Hockey Festival.
Academically, Amsden is an honor roll student and member of the Key Club. Her mother, JoLynn, played field hockey at Juniata College and also led Central Bucks East High School to a state title. Sydney Beck
Beck is a four-year varsity letterwinner for Patterson Mill High School and was named second team all-state as a junior along with earning first team all-county and all-conference honors. Her team made it to the state semifinals in both her freshman and sophomore years, and she earned honorable mention all-state honors as a sophomore along with being named first team all-county. Her nationally ranked H20 club team placed at the National Indoor Tournament and won a regional title. Beck is also a three-year letterwinner in lacrosse, with her team earning state and regional titles.
Off the field, Beck, who plans to major in speech, language and hearing science, was named to the honor roll each year. She is the President of the Future Educators of America, the Vice President of the Spirit Club, secretary of the German National Honor Society and earned a Minds in Motion Award. She comes from an athletic family as her dad, David, played soccer at Roanoke College and her older brother, Rudy, is a sophomore lacrosse player at Monmouth.
Sydney Borneman
Borneman is a four-year varsity starter and team captain as a senior at Pennridge High School where she reached 100 career points. She was an all-league first team selection as a senior and earned second team honors as both a sophomore and junior. Borneman scored 11 goals with 11 assists as a senior after recording seven goals and 12 assists in her junior year. Her FSC Falcons Club Team was NIT Pool Champions in 2016 and she was selected to the National Futures Championship in 2015. Locally, Borneman was selected as a Phila Field Hockey Senior All-Star. Off the field, she's a distinguished honor roll student enrolled in all honors and AP classes, is a member of the Link Crew Club, and plans to major in chemistry or computer science at Temple. McKenna Burkhardt
Burkhardt was a team captain as a senior at Liberty High School, helping lead the team to a 15-4-2 record, a number three ranking throughout the season, and a league semifinals appearance. She was a varsity starter all four years, with the 2017 team finishing 19-4 and making it to the league finals. Her WC Eagles club team, who won numerous tournaments over the last three years, tied for first and finished second by tiebreaker at the National Invitation Tournament in 2018. She is also a four-year starter in lacrosse and participates in other sports including soccer, softball, basketball, indoor track and archery.
Off the field, Burkhardt is a member of the National Honors Society and takes all honors and AP classes, maintaining high honor roll status. She's the secretary of Health Occupations Students of America and plans to major in biology at Temple.
Molly Frey
Frey is a three-year varsity letterwinner and goalkeeper for Methacton where she was a teammate of fellow recruit Francesca Lucchesi. As a senior, Frey is a team tri-captain, and she was named to the all-conference first team as both a junior and senior as well as earning honorable mention all-state honors as a junior. Frey helped lead the team to its first win in the state tournament since 1996 and was named the conference player of the week in October. Her overall save average is 87 percent, and she received the Thomas Pullman Memorial Award for her athletic achievements in field hockey. She also participates in the futures program and indoor hockey with the Souderton Strikers who have made an appearance at nationals each year.
Off the field, Frey is an honor roll student who is a four-year member of the Student Council and Student Ambassador programs. Her sister, Addie, is a goalie for nearby Ursinus College. Francesca Lucchesi
Lucchesi is a three-year varsity starter for Methacton High School where she was a teammate of fellow recruit Molly Frey. Lucchesi was named first team all-conference as a senior and second team as a junior. She is also a four-year varsity starter in lacrosse, earning the 2018 Unsung Hero Award, and lettered in basketball as well. Lucchesi is an honor roll student who serves as vice president of her class, was named to the 2017 NFHCA High School National Academic Team and is a student ambassador along with a three-time winner of a Warrior Award.
Mackenzie Masyada
Masyada is a first team all-state honoree and senior all-star for Ballard High School in Louisville where she's a four-year letterwinner and three-year varsity starter. She helped lead her team to the state quarterfinals in both 2017 and 2018 with a 14-6-1 record her senior year, and was a KHSAA Defensive Player of the Year nominee. As a junior, Masyada was her school's Field Hockey Player of the Year and a second team all-state selection.
Academically, Masyada is a three-time KHSAA Academic All-State Team honoree, was named to the 2017 NFHCA National Academic Squad and is a three-year member of the National Honor Society. She has been named to the honor roll all four years, is the president of the Spanish Club and treasurer of the Beta Club.
Emma Nesbitt
Nesbitt was team captain as a senior at the Garrison Forest School and helped lead her team to runner-up finishes in the conference the last two years. With her Freedom Hky club team, Nesbitt played in the National Club Championships the last three years. She was the MVP of the Junior Premiere Outdoor League Championship in 2017 which her team won, and they were in the top four at the National Club Championships that same year. Off the field, Nesbitt is the head of her school's One Love Club, involved in student government and is the Garrison Forest Spirit Captain. She's a multi-sport athlete who has also earned four varsity letters in track and three in badminton, helping her team to a 2017 conference championship in the latter. Nesbitt is also a member of Model UN and is an academic mentor.
