6 Syracuse field hockey players named to All-Region teams
Six Syracuse players, including star defender Bo van Kempen, made the All-Region teams Wednesday, with four making the first team. Zoe Xixis | Staff Photographer
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The National Field Hockey Coaches Association named six Syracuse players to the Mideast Region All-Region First and Second Teams Wednesday. Bo van Kempen, Jessie Eiselin, Aiden Drabick and Lieke Leeggangers made the First Team, while Hattie Madden and Aubrey Turner received Second Team honors. The six were part of over 30 Atlantic Coast Conference players selected to All-Region teams across the country.
Throughout SU’s run to the NCAA quarterfinals — where it fell 2-1 to Princeton — van Kempen anchored the Orange in both the attacking and defensive third of the pitch. The Dutch defender led the team in nearly all major statistics, posting a tied-for-ACC-high 23 goals, while also being responsible for 30% of SU’s shots on target. Defensively, she tallied four of SU’s nine defensive saves, the most of any Syracuse player.
When the occasional shot slipped past SU’s defense, goalkeeper Eiselin was the last woman standing. While she initially operated in a timeshare with Tane King, Eiselin was given the sole duty of protecting the net come tournament time. She logged a season-high nine saves in SU’s 3-1 ACC quarterfinal win against Wake Forest, and her brightest moment came against Liberty in the NCAA Second Round when her penalty stroke save turned the momentum to the Orange.
On a team with 17 newcomers, Leeggangers brought a much-needed veteran presence. A senior, she was a constant in the midfield. She played in all 20 of Syracuse’s games and notching three goals.
Paired with Leegangers in the midfield, Drabick rounded out Syracuse’s First Team selections. Like Leegangers, Drabick provided a seasoned perspective to SU’s squad. She logged a total of 942 minutes and three assists on the year.
On the Second Team, Madden earned the first All-Region honors of her SU career. The English forward was Syracuse’s most prolific attacker, notching a career-high nine goals, three of which came against top-10 opponents — then-No. 2 North Carolina, then-No. 6 Wake Forest and then-No. 6 Liberty.
Making a name for herself with two goals in Syracuse’s 3-1 ACC quarterfinal against Wake Forest, Turner rounded out SU’s Second Team selections as its only All-Region freshman. Turner finished the season with seven goals, placing her third on the team in scoring, behind only van Kempen and Madden.
