Temple University Athletics
Field Hockey Makes Strides in Second Year Under Ciufo
5.21.21 | Field Hockey
PHILADELPHIA - In the second year under head coach Susan Ciufo, the Temple field hockey team continues to improve. The Owls (8-10, 4-8 BIG EAST) doubled their conference win total from the 2019 season and qualified for the BIG EAST Conference Tournament for the first time since 2016 on the way to laying more bricks in the program's foundation.
This historic season was one that dealt our team plenty of obstacles to overcome. Like every student-athlete, the challenges that COVID gave us was at times exhausting. Despite the adversity our team had to work through, there was an immense amount of development across the board. We continued our upward trajectory of success within our national schedule as well as BIG EAST schedule. I am so proud of our team for getting stronger, smarter, and closer as a team as they fought their way into the BIG EAST Tournament. We thank our seniors for paving the way and our leadership team for reminding us consistently why the hard work was worth it. With the next layer of our foundation being built, we are excited for what this team is capable of when they come back in August.head coach Susan Ciufo
By The Numbers
> The Cherry and White doubled its conference win total and added one more overall win from the 2019 season.
> Temple allowed five fewer penalty corners (117) in 2021.
> Four Owls earned postseason honors, three more than the 2019 season.
> The team finished with an RPI ranking of 40, 16 spots better than the previous season.
> The Owls earned a fourth-place finish in the conference standings, one spot higher than last season's finish and one spot higher than the team's projected finish.
Veteran Leadership
> The field hockey team returned seven starters from the 2019 campaign and saw six Owls recognized on senior day with the chance to return due to an NCAA eligibility waiver because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
> The senior class accounted for seven goals, 64 saves, eight assists, and 48 shots.
> The Owls' leadership team is made of five different pillars to guide the squad. Dani Batze, Veronika Novakova, and Nienke Oerlemans are the team’s On-Field Captains. Novakova also serves as the Work Ethic Captain, the only Owl on the leadership team to hold two positions. Junior Claire Thomas is the team’s Foundation Captain, while Grace Shanton is the Organizational Captain and Cristina Carotenuto serves as the Standards Captain.
Accolades
> Temple saw Veronika Novakova (1st), Nienke Oerlemans (2nd), Cristina Carotenuto (2nd), and Kaitlyn Cummins (2nd) earn spots on the All-Conference Team.
> Cummins was also named to the All-Tournament Team following her performance against UConn in the BIG East Tournament semifinals.
> Cummins and Myrthe Schuilenburg earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors during the regular season, while Novakova, Dani Batze, Carotenuto, Cassie Romanczuk, Oerlemans, and Taylor Alba earned spots on the Weekly Honor Roll.
New Kids on the Block
> Prior to the 2021 spring season, Temple field hockey welcomed nine newcomers to the squad in one transfer, one graduate student, and seven freshmen.
> The nine accounted for eight goals, eight assists, and 44 shots.
> Kaitlyn Cummins and Myrthe Schuilenburg were both named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week while Cassie Romanczuk and Veronika Novakova were both named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. Cummins and Novakova were also named to the BIG EAST All-Conference Team, and Cummins was named to the All-Tournament Team.
> The Owls are set to add seven freshmen to the roster for the 2021 fall season.
