LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall field hockey kicks off the 2025 campaign by hosting non-conference opponents Susquehanna on Friday, August 29. The Diplomats look to build on the program's recent consistency that has produced three consecutive seasons with ten-plus wins and Centennial Conference Tournament Semifinal appearances. The Diplomats ultimately have sights set on returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019's runner-up performance. While Annie Malatesta, Abby D'Anjolell, Jessica Miller, and Alison McCarey depart, seven starters, including three All-Centennial Conference players, return from last year's team. They're joined by six first-year student-athletes to complete a 26-player opening night roster.
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2025 Diplomats
Four outright forwards return for the Diplomats in 2025 following the departure of Jessica Miller (six goals, two assists) and Grace Fass. Among those is last year's offensive leader, Caitlin Hoover. In a sophomore season where she earned a spot on the All-Centennial Conference First Team, she totaled a team-best 26 points via ten goals and six assists. Among Centennial Conference players, that put her tied for fifth in points, tied for sixth in assists, and eighth in goals. She scored game-winning goals against Haverford (4-1, Oct. 19) and McDaniel (4-0, Oct. 30). Other returning forwards include Caroline Krisko (two goals), Ava Lofgren (one goal), and Isabelle Allen (one goal).
Five Diplomats will offer versatility at forward or in the midfield including 2024 starters Keira Boensch and Hannah Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald contributed the second-most points on the team, totaling 19 via eight goals and three assists, including a game-winning goal in the 6-2 defeat of Dickinson (Oct. 2). Boensch contributed the fifth-most points on the team in her 19 starts, totaling three goals and three assists. Two of her goals were game winners in wins over Alvernia (4-0, Sept. 18) and Haverford in the first round of the Centennial Conference Tournament (2-0, Nov. 5). Brianna Coolican (ten appearances) and Molly Donadoni (four appearances) also return in this area of the field, while Sophia Sarbanes (Parkside High School) begins her collegiate field hockey career.
Four Diplomats are back in the midfield for the new season including 2024 All-Centennial Conference Honorable Mention player
Megan Dadio, while
Abby D'Anjolell (19 starts, 2024 captain) departed at midfield. Dadio impressed in her all-conference rookie season, starting every game while contributing three goals and one assist along the way.
Maya Rorick featured in all 19 games in her first season with one assist and a defensive save, while
Bella Konchar (one goal, seven appearances) and
Ally Walk (four appearances) complete the midfield depth.
Four players will provide the ability to play in defense or the midfield this year, while Alison McCarey (14 starts, two assists) is the lone graduating senior from this position. Returning players include captain Grace Fitzgerald (five appearances), Sonia Roberto (six appearances), and Aoife Nerz (two appearances), while Brynn Harrison joins the Diplomats from Parkland High School.
Seven Diplomats will play in defense in 2025 following the departure of All-Centennial Conference First Team player Annie Malatesta and 2024 captain Riley Klopp. Two defensive starters return including Sarah Weitzman and Kat Thistlewaite. The duo contributed towards the second-best defense in the Centennial Conference behind eventual champions Johns Hopkins, as F&M averaged 1.26 goals allowed per contest. Senior Thistlewaite has started in 55 of the 56 games she's competed in to date and brings a resume that includes Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year honors and a pair of spots on All-Centennial Conference Teams. Junior Weitzman secured a starting spot in 2024 following a rookie campaign where she frequented from the bench. She's logged 21 starts and 34 appearances to date. Other returners include sophomore Caroline Roschen (one goal, eight appearances) and Melissa Sessler (six appearances). Three Diplomats join the defensive ranks including Meghan Fly (New Kent High School), Ella Healey (New Canaan High School), and Maddie Takahashi (Manhasset High School).
Junior and two-year starter Meghan Dole is the lone returner in the cage for the Diplomats following a 2024 campaign that produced a spot on the All-Centennial Conference Honorable Mention Team, as Sydney Kuehn and Jorja Pastore graduated this spring. The former CC Rookie of the Year started in all 19 games last year, ranking near the top of most Centennial Conference goalkeeping stats. She tied for the most shutouts (6), ranked second in goals against average (1.239) and save percentage (.803), while she was fourth in saves per game (4.95). First-year Sara Davis from The Agnes Irwin School completes the Diplomats' goal-keeping unit for 2025.
The Road Ahead
Franklin & Marshall faces nine non-conference foes in the early stages of the 2025 season, including three teams that competed in last year's NCAA Tournament. The Diplomats face two of these teams to kick off the year, as F&M hosts Susquehanna to open the season on August 25 before traveling to tournament quarter finalists Messiah on September 3. Before wrapping up non-conference play by hosting NCAA Tournament qualifiers SUNY Cortland on October 4, F&M will also face Montclair State (Sept. 9), Elizabethtown (Sept. 10), Catholic (Sept. 13), Alvernia (Sept. 17), and Washington and Lee (Sept. 20).
F&M's ten-game Centennial Conference slate features three teams that earned a spot in the Centennial Conference Tournament, including conference champions Johns Hopkins at home (Oct. 11), Ursinus at Tylus Field (Oct. 22), and Bryn Mawr on the road (Oct. 28). Johns Hopkins earned a 1-0 win over F&M to conclude the regular season, while Ursinus earned a pair of one-goal wins over the Diplomats, including an overtime win in the Centennial Conference Tournament Semifinal. F&M earned a 1-0 win over No. 10 Bryn Mawr. Other conference opponents include Haverford (Sept. 27), McDaniel (Sept. 30), Gettysburg (Oct. 8), Muhlenberg (Oct 15), Washington College (Oct. 18), Dickinson (Oct. 25), and Swarthmore (Nov. 1).
The six-team Centennial Conference Tournament begins with the first round on November 4, while the semifinal and championship games are slated for November 6 and November 8, respectively. The NCAA Tournament opens with first round action on November 12 ahead of the second round on November 15 and quarterfinals on November 16. Championship weekend, featuring the semifinal round and national championship game, will be hosted at Robin Sheppard Field in Hartford, Conn. between November 21 and November 23.
In the Polls
With 71 points in the Centennial Conference Field Hockey Preseason Poll and a fourth-place finish in the 2024 regular season standings, Franklin & Marshall ranks fourth in the 2025 preseason ranking. Defending Centennial Conference champions Johns Hopkins, Swarthmore, and Ursinus are ahead of the Diplomats, while Bryn Mawr and Gettysburg complete the playoff spots in the preseason poll. You can view the complete Centennial Conference Preseason Poll here.
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Record Book Watch (active players in career top 20 in school history)
Keira Boensch
Meghan Dole
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Most wins: t-8th (21)
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Save percent: 11th (.808)
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Saves: 12th (189)
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Saves per game: 12th (5.11)
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Goals against avg: 12th (1.24)
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Goalie Games played: 12th (37)
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Goalie Games started: 12th (37)
Caitlin Hoover
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SOG per game: 9th (1.58)
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Penalty strokes made: t-10th (1)
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Shots per game: 11th (2.50)
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Points per game: 14th (1.21)
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Goals per game: 15th (0.50)
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Penalty stroke attempts: t-18th (1)
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Shots on goal: 19th (60)
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Assists per game: 20th (0.21)
Bella Konchar
Caroline Roschen
Kat Thistlewaite
