International Flavor of UVa Field Hockey Changes
Aug. 17, 2010
8:21 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — For UVa’s field hockey team, the 2009 season ended with a 3-2 loss to eventual champion North Carolina in the NCAA semifinals.
Had every player who had eligibility left returned to Michele Madison’s program this year, the Cavaliers might well be favored to win their first NCAA title.
Alas, Madison has for various reasons lost three starters with eligibility remaining, all from outside the United States: backs Charlotte van den Broek and Floor Vogels and midfielder Inga Stöckel. Vogels and van den Broek are from Netherlands; Stöckel, from Germany.
“Charlotte’s father was diagnosed with cancer, so she left in February to be with him,” Madison said.
Van den Broek was a freshman for the Cavaliers last season. Vogels spent two years at UVa, probably one more than she’d originally planned, before heading home, though her teammates and coaches wanted her to stay. Stöckel, who also was a sophomore last season, left for personal reasons.
With international players, Madison said, usually “if you get them to stay two years, they’ll stay [for all four]. I think Charlotte would have stayed [had her father not been stricken with cancer]. But then if one leaves, all of the sudden there’s a chain reaction. It kind of becomes an option.”
Madison hopes that the addition of two talented recruits from Australia, freshmen Elly Buckley and Chloe Pendlebury, will help minimize the impact of the departures.
Bucky, who recently competed in the under-21 junior national championships in Australia, is “an attacking player,” Madison said, “and Chloe will fill the void left by Floor at sweeper.”