Teams: Field Hockey: Press Releases

Monday, November 5, 2007

CASELLAS-KATZ SETS TWO SINGLE-SEASON SCORING RECORDS

MEDFORD -- The 2007 Tufts University field hockey team has scored more goals (46) than any other Jumbo team this year, and now senior co-captain Ileana Casellas-Katz (Denmark, ME) has scored more goals and points in a season than any player in the program's 34-year history.

By scoring the critical third goal against Middlebury College on Saturday in the semi-final round of the NESCAC Tournament, tying Tufts at 3-3 with just 4:15 remaining in the second half, Casellas-Katz reached 15 goals and 34 points for the season. Tufts went on to lose in overtime, 4-3. The goals surpass the previous mark of 14 set first by Aryn Landau in 1989 and again by Kate Mathey in 1996. With 34 points total, including four assists, Casellas-Katz moved in front of current graduate assistant coach Dana Panzer, who scored 33 points on 12 goals and nine assists in 2004.

She came out of the gates blazing this fall, scoring six goals in the first four games. She put two apiece in the cage against Colby, Middlebury and Babson. The team's 3-1 victory over Middlebury was its first in 22 seasons. She would later score twice in games against UMass Dartmouth and at Connecticut College, as well. With remarkable consistency, she never went more than one game without scoring a goal.

Casellas-Katz and the rest of the Jumbos will get a chance to score more goals, as they received an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time under Coach Tina McDavitt. Tufts will host its first-ever NCAA field hockey contest on Wednesday when it welcomes New England College for a 4:00 match. Tufts is 12-4 overall after finishing second in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) standings with a 7-2 mark.

A second team All-NESCAC pick last season, Casellas-Katz is third in the conference scoring race with her 34 points, and tied for third with the 15 goals. She's also currently tied for third on the Tufts career scoring list. Her 28 goals and 16 assists for 72 points are equal to the mark of 72 points on 22 goals and 28 assists accumulated by Kate Donovan from 1980-83. Not bad for a player who walked on to the team as a freshman in 2004.

#