Field Hockey Announces 2010 Recruiting Class

American University Field Hockey Head Coach Steve Jennings has announced the addition of seven student-athletes to the 2010 squad. Jaclyn Anspach, Keelin Bannon, Jaclyn Beasley, Stephanie Burry, Gina Hofmann, Shelly Montgomery and Costanza Palma will join the team as it looks for its eighth-consecutive Patriot League Championship.

Anspach comes to American from Severna Park, Md., where she captained her high school to the Varsity 4A State Championship in 2009 and capped off her senior season by scoring the game-winning goal to clinch the state title. Anspach, a forward, also won state championships with Severna Park in 2007 and 2008. She was an All-State Second Team selection in 2009 and was also named First Team All-County.

Bannon, a 2008 Junior Olympic selection from Hopkinton, Mass., will join the Eagles as a defender. The two-time Boston Herald All-Scholastic All-Star captained her team to the Massachusetts Div. II State Championship in 2008 and was selected as a 2009 Regional All-American following her senior season.

Beasley was also a member of the 2008 Junior Olympic team as a defender. The New Jersey native also helped her Eastern Regional High School squad to four consecutive state championships and was named a 2009 Regional All-American.

Burry, a goalkeeper from Louisville, Ky., lettered three years in field hockey for Assumption High School. The three-year captain helped her team to the state championship in her senior season and was named a 2009 Academic All-American and Second Team All-State.

Hofmann, a defender from Braunschweig, Germany, played the last four years for Eintracht Braunschweig, of Germany’s 1^st Division. In 2007, Eintracht Brausnchweig finished third at the National Championship. Additionally, she played on the U-16 and U-18 German national teams and in 2007 she was part of the German team that placed third in the U-18 Four Nations Tournament.

Montgomery, a midfield standout at W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax, Va., joins the team as a two-time Washington Post All-Met Selection. Montgomery led her high school team to a 20-4 record with 17 consecutive wins last season and was named the 2009 Northern Regional Player of the Year, earning the honor for a second consecutive season. She was also a Regional All-America selection and was named team captain.

Palma competed for the Chilean National Team at the 2009 Junior World Cup, helping Chile to a 12th-place finish. She was also a member of Universidad Catolica’s First Division Team in 2009 and helped the club to the national championship. In 2008 she earned the Promising Player Award from Universidad Catolica and was named the Best Player of Universidad Catolica’s U-16 Team.

“We are tremendously excited about this year’s incoming class,” Jennings commented. “These student-athletes bring a wealth of accomplishments and accolades to our program and we look forward to their contributions over the next four years. Individually and collectively, they bring a winning mentality and a commitment to team chemistry. We expect them to make an immediate impact on the field and know that they have what it takes to help our program reach its goals.”

This year’s recruiting class joins an Eagles team that has won seven-consecutive Patriot League titles and has reached the NCAA Tournament in six of the last seven years.  The 2010 field hockey season is set to begin on August 27^th.