{"id":57153,"date":"2024-07-18T11:49:05","date_gmt":"2024-07-18T15:49:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=57153"},"modified":"2024-07-18T11:50:00","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T15:50:00","slug":"tales-from-the-turf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2024\/tales-from-the-turf\/","title":{"rendered":"Tales from the turf"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

EMU\u2019s field hockey coaches, players share stories and successes through the years<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Eastern Mennonite University built a turf field in 1989, it became the first school in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) to do so. EMU\u2019s field hockey athletes, who began playing on the field that fall, welcomed the switch from grass to artificial turf. The new surface complemented the speedy and skilled set of players; they could move the ball up the pitch faster and with more control and pass and shoot with more accuracy and power. The other schools in the ODAC were less than thrilled with the change, recounts Sandy Brownscombe<\/strong>, coach of the EMU team from 1978-93.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverybody was upset,\u201d she said. \u201cThey thought we had an unfair advantage. There was even discussion that we shouldn\u2019t be allowed to host the conference tournament if we were the No. 1 seed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, for EMU and for the future of field hockey, those discussions soon ground to a halt. Eventually, the other ODAC schools, as well as countless high schools and colleges across the country, installed turf fields for their own field hockey programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the way the game was meant to be played,\u201d Brownscombe said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A sport with success<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

EMU\u2019s turf field, along Park Road north of Suter Science Center, has witnessed the school\u2019s leading scorers and legendary goalkeepers play on its pitch. Field hockey has more athletes inducted in EMU\u2019s Hall of Honor (18 players) and more teams in the hall (two: the 1980 and 1995 squads) than any other sport at the school. By comparison, men\u2019s soccer, which has the second-most inductees, has 12 players and one team in the hall. Two coaches who led the field hockey program, Brownscombe and Miriam \u201cMim\u201d Mumaw \u201861<\/strong>, are also in the hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EMU field hockey teams have won 11 ODAC titles and appeared at 11 national tournaments (two Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women [AIAW] and nine National Collegiate Athletic Association [NCAA] tournaments). The 1995 team, which advanced further than any other in school history, competed in the final four of the NCAA Division III field hockey tournament and placed third in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 1979 to 2003, Royals field hockey celebrated an unparalleled streak of success with teams advancing every year during those 25-seasons to the final four of their conference\u2014the Virginia Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (VAIAW) from 1979-81 and the ODAC from 1982-2003. For six straight seasons, from 1995 to 2000, EMU field hockey went undefeated in ODAC play. (The 1987 and 2007 teams were also undefeated in the ODAC.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EMU Athletics Hall of Honor <\/strong>

Field Hockey Players<\/strong> (year graduated)
Melanie Gehret Baker<\/a>  (1983)
Cheryl Bergey Derstine<\/a>  (1985)
Linda Burkhart Myers<\/a>  (1986)
Ann Wenger Whipple<\/a>  (1988)
Tina Book<\/a>  (1991)
Radella Todd Vrolijk<\/a>  (1992)
<\/a>Jean\u00e9 Horning Hershey<\/a>  (1994)
Jen Kooker Peifer<\/a>  (1996)
Candance Sauder King<\/a>  (1996)
Krista Ebersole Sensenig<\/a>  (1997)
Kirsten (Brubaker) Fuhr<\/a>  (1998)
Sherri Allebach Vass<\/a>  (1999)
Laura Hess<\/a>  (2000)
Sara Nissley<\/a>  (2000)
Kristin Moyer Vasey<\/a>  (2003)
Jonalyn Denlinger<\/a>  (2005)
Kristina Landis Yoder<\/a>  (2008)
Alyssa Derstine Landis<\/a>  (2010)

Coaches<\/strong> (years inducted)
Miriam Mumaw<\/a> (2002)
Sandra Brownscombe<\/a> (2004)

Teams<\/strong> (years inducted)
1980 Field Hockey Team<\/a> (2012)
1995 Field Hockey Team<\/a> (2008)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

An era begins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Field hockey\u2019s start in America is credited to Constance Applebee who played the sport in England and introduced it while on a tour of northeastern U.S. women\u2019s colleges in 1901. She served as athletic director of Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania from 1904-28 and co-founded the American Field Hockey Association.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Miriam “Mim” Mumaw<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

It began as a club sport at EMU in 1970 under Mumaw, a trailblazing athletic director who coached the women\u2019s basketball (1966-75) and women\u2019s volleyball (1968-79) teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before that, students interested in field hockey like Fannie Bomberger Miller \u201871<\/strong> played on area club teams composed of coaches from nearby schools and colleges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I would tell kids from Virginia that I played hockey, they were like, \u2018What\u2019s that?\u2019\u201d said Miller, who came to EMU from Manheim, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She played on the Shenandoah Valley club team from 1967-68. By the time EMU fielded its own team, Miller said, she was too busy with her nursing coursework to join.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A group of students from the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, area had played field hockey in high school and wanted to start a team at EMU, Mumaw said. So, she volunteered to get them started, serving as inaugural coach for that first season. Field hockey became a varsity sport at EMU in 1971, with coach Dianne Gates <\/strong>taking the helm for four years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was more of a faculty adviser than a coach,\u201d Mumaw said. \u201cDianne\u2019s the one who developed the program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Title IX Act of 1972 mandated equal funding for women\u2019s sports. \u201cA lot of the expansion in women\u2019s athletics came from that,\u201d Mumaw said. \u201cWe were fortunate to have Madison College (now JMU) and Bridgewater College close by because we could play them in almost any sport.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In those days, EMU\u2019s women athletes competed in the AIAW. EMU became one of the founding members of the ODAC in 1976, beginning with men\u2019s sports. ODAC added women\u2019s sports in 1982.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Mumaw left EMU in 1979 for a sabbatical-turned-permanent residency in Washington, D.C, she rented out her basement to Brownscombe for a year. Brownscombe, who also coached the women\u2019s basketball (1978-89) and men\u2019s volleyball (1991-98) teams, led the field hockey program for 16 seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
Sandy Brownscombe coaches from the sidelines.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The 1980 team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For as long as EMU has fielded a team\u2014and even longer, Pennsylvania and the Lancaster region has been a hotbed of field hockey talent. As a coach, Brownscombe ran a field hockey camp at Camp Hebron (Pennsylvania) during the summers that helped to recruit players to EMU. In fact, a majority of the players throughout EMU\u2019s history began playing the sport in high schools around Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe rest of the hockey world had not figured out, until we started getting really good, how great these Lancaster County girls were,\u201d Brownscombe said. \u201cThen they began to realize, \u2018Oh, these kids are great players, they\u2019re great people, and they\u2019re great students.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For an example of their integrity, look no further than the 1980 AIAW regional tournament match between EMU and Mary Washington. That game ended in a 0-0 tie, and both teams headed to a separate practice field for penalty strokes. When a Mary Washington player took her first penalty stroke, the ball slipped past EMU goalkeeper Shirley Yoder Faust <\/strong>and through a hole in the net. The umpire, unaware of the hole, signaled a missed shot. It was then, Brownscombe said, that Faust approached the umpire and pointed out the hole.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Joanne Brenneman Speigle, a player on the 1980 Royals field hockey team, moves the ball past a defender.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThey came up to me, and the umpire asked, \u2018Why would your goalie tell me it was a goal when I said it wasn\u2019t?\u2019\u201d Brownscombe said. \u201cShirley looked at me and said, \u2018Because it\u2019s the truth,\u2019 and the official just shook her head.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That 1980 team, which went on to win those penalty strokes, finished third at the state tournament and second at the regional tournament. That year marked the first time Royals field hockey, or any sports team at the school, would qualify for a national tournament. It finished 13th and was inducted in the Hall of Honor in 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe players on that team saw the transition of field hockey at EMU from just another team to one that had to be reckoned with,\u201d Brownscombe said.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
The 1980 Royals field hockey team<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Many of EMU\u2019s field hockey athletes through the years have continued serving the school long after they graduated and played their final games. Former players like Anne Kaufman Weaver \u201888 <\/strong>and Evon Bergey \u201879<\/strong> served as members of the EMU Board of Trustees. Bergey, mother of Music Professor Benjamin Bergey <\/strong>and chair of the EMU Presidential Search Committee in 2016, only played field hockey for one season in 1978, but plays a role in one of coach Sandy Brownscombe\u2019s cherished memories.

As the team geared up for a game during the season, Brownscombe said, Bergey approached her and told her she was going to a wedding on Saturday.

\u201cI asked her, \u2018Who\u2019s going to score? We need you. You\u2019re our offense,\u201d said the coach.

The game was early Saturday morning and the wedding was that night in Souderton, Pennsylvania. Bergey was in the wedding party and was expected to be there on Friday night. She flew in for the game on Saturday and then flew right back to Pennsylvania after it ended.

\u201cShe scored the only goal that game,\u201d Brownscombe said. \u201cWe won 1-0.\u201d<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018hay\u2019 days of hockey<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before the turf field arrived on campus, the field hockey players practiced and played on a grass field that ran from the top of the tennis courts to the physical plant, through what is now the softball field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brownscombe recalled regularly painting lines on the field with the soccer coach, whose field was next to them, where the new track complex is. One year, she said, her players arrived at the field and found the grass so long it looked like hay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFortunately, one of the captains had worked at the physical plant all summer and was allowed to drive a truck, so the other players could throw the grass in it,\u201d she said. \u201cSure, it was frustrating, but that\u2019s what we did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Field hockey and soccer players often had to stop practices for cross-country meets, which ran right across the 50-yard line of our grass fields. When they did get to play, it was in front of a passionate group of fans: the boys in the three-story Oakwood dormitory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey were rowdy,\u201d Brownscombe said. \u201cThey would be watching out their windows and be shouting at the players.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Linda Burkhart Myers \u201886<\/strong>, the 1985 ODAC Player of the Year and a member of the 1985 team that won the conference, played for the Royals after transferring from Goshen College in 1983. 

\u201cHockey was my first love, and the team was like a second family,\u201d she said. \u201cThe other players were fun to goof around with but also were serious about working hard to play better hockey.\u201d<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
Jean\u00e9 Horning Hershey prepares to take a shot. \u201cTo this day, whenever I hear the thump of a ball hitting the back of a goal, it takes me right back to the EMU turf,\u201d Hershey said.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\"\"
\u201cSome of my friends showed up and spray-painted a sheet \u2018Go EMC!\u2019 It was fun to have their support,\u201d Jean\u00e9 Horning Hershey said. (EMU was known as Eastern Mennonite College at the time). <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The \u201990s teams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tina Book \u201891 <\/strong>played on the field hockey team for four seasons in the late 1980s and returned to coach the team in 1994 after Brownscombe left. She remembered playing on the turf field the first year it was installed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt made the game faster, and it also allowed us to score more,\u201d the 1989 ODAC Player of the Year said. \u201cI feel like we were so adaptive to the turf.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, all of the top scorers in the EMU record books\u2014players like Jean\u00e9 Horning Hershey \u201894<\/strong>\u2014made their mark on the turf. Hershey, once the career record leader in goals and points scored, now ranks sixth in career goals and eighth in career points at EMU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1992 and 1993, the Royals defeated rival and perennial ODAC powerhouse Lynchburg College in back-to-back conference finals matches to advance to the first round of the national tournament. It was the start of seven national tournament appearances that decade. <\/em>(The Royals returned to the national tournament in 2000 and 2003.)<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
<\/strong>A program from the first round of the 1993 NCAA Division III field hockey tournament where the Royals lost 3-0 to Messiah<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cWe had a good camaraderie, and I don\u2019t remember any drama,\u201d Hershey said. \u201cI just remember working hard and doing the best we could.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former goalkeeper Jen Kooker Peifer \u201996<\/strong>, who played on the team from 1992-95, held the career saves record for 23 years before it was broken in 2018 by Kelsey Troyer<\/strong>. Peifer\u2019s career save percentage record (89.8 percent) remains intact. She was inducted in the Hall of Honor as an athlete and as a member of the 1995 team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That \u201895 squad posted a remarkable 21-2 overall record, an 8-0 conference record and a historic run to the final four at nationals. \u201cI think that\u2019s one of the best teams that EMU has ever had in any sport,\u201d Peifer said.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
<\/strong>The 1995 Royals field hockey team (Jen Kooker Peifer, back row, left)<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u2018<\/strong>Small but mighty\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
Kristina Landis Yoder ’09<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

When Kristina Landis Yoder \u201909<\/strong> joined the field hockey team in 2006, she had heard all about its history of success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was definitely a sense of honor in carrying on those traditions,\u201d she said. \u201cWe always had pride in being a small but mighty team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yoder recounted starting each morning of preseason practice with a three-mile run, followed by three practices held throughout the day. During her playing career, from 2006-08, the team led by coach Brenda Bechler<\/strong> made it to the ODAC finals every year only to be defeated by Lynchburg each time. Their first meeting, in 2006, ended in a tie and went into a second overtime before Lynchburg prevailed in penalty strokes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there was any other game in my career that all of us played so hard and ran so hard,\u201d she said. \u201cThat year, they didn\u2019t expect us to make it that far, and we did. It was exhilarating and fun and by far the most memorable game I\u2019ve ever played.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A bright future<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
Chardonnay “Char” Hope<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In February 2024, Chardonnay \u201cChar\u201d Hope<\/strong> took the reins as the new field hockey coach. She succeeds Ashley \u201cStick\u201d Kishorn<\/strong>, who had coached the team since 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to coming to EMU, Hope was the head field hockey coach at ODAC school Ferrum College. She said she had researched the Royals\u2019 success, and it was what drew her to taking the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA championship history and a winning mindset is embedded in the roots of this program,\u201d Hope said. \u201cThere are many athletes and coaches who have paved the way for our current team and me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Turf as old as time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The EMU turf field has a rich history. Its playing surface, which was last replaced in 2006, is now used by the men\u2019s and women\u2019s soccer teams and women\u2019s lacrosse team, in addition to the field hockey team. But, after 18 years of dutiful service, it\u2019s showing its age. The turf no longer has the same bounce or cushion it once had. Sections of the surface are peeling away, presenting a safety hazard to the athletes who use it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReplacing the turf field is absolutely necessary to avoid injuries and attract the level of players that will build a winning team,\u201d Hershey said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peifer agreed with her former teammate: \u201cIf you want athletes to come to EMU, having top-tier athletic facilities is paramount. When they\u2019re touring schools, the facilities that impress them play a big part in where they want to go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The turf field, one of the oldest in the ODAC, has lived nearly two industry-standard lives. The school is set to install new carpet and a top-of-the-line pad this summer. EMU Athletics Director Carrie Bert<\/strong> said the new and improved field will be \u201cvisually appealing and, more importantly, provide more consistent ball play and a significantly safer experience for athletes and officials.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Support our student-athletes and a new turf field through an immediate gift or multi-year commitment. Give today at emu.edu\/turf-field<\/a><\/strong>, or contact kirk.shisler@emu.edu for more details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EMU Field Hockey<\/strong>

All-time record<\/strong>
513-376-19
All-time ODAC record<\/strong>
269-117-4
ODAC Tournament record<\/strong>
54-20 (.730)
NCAA Division III bids<\/strong>
9 (1992-93-95-96-97-98-99-2000-03)
NCAA Tournament record<\/strong>
4-8 (.333)
ODAC Championships<\/strong>
11 (1985-87-92-93-95-96-97-98-99-2000-03)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EMU\u2019s field hockey coaches, players share stories and successes through the years When Eastern Mennonite University built a turf field in 1989, it became the first school in the Old ... read more about Tales from the turf<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":302,"featured_media":57362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,4516,5583,14715,17562,5175],"tags":[17463,12491,5663,18132,18133,11672,7565,9592],"feature":[17427,17426,17241,17422],"class_list":["post-57153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-athletics","category-campus-community","category-campus-life","category-digest","category-field-hockey","tag-athletics-2","tag-field-hockey","tag-hall-of-honor","tag-jeane-horning-hershey","tag-jen-kooker-peifer","tag-odac","tag-sandy-brownscombe","tag-turf-field","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-myemu-feature","feature-news-feature","feature-news-landing-page-main-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nTales from the turf - 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