By Bob York
It’s probably safe to say that Deerfield has become a bit spoiled by those who have played in the Big Green’s goal crease for the majority of this century. Molly Schaus ’06, who matriculated to Boston College and played on the 2010 United States Olympic Hockey Team, began this string of stinginess back in 2002. Next came Amanda Rothschild ’07, who also moved on to Boston College as well, while Kayla Lessard ’09 has continued her goaltending career at Bowdoin.
Shenae Lundberg ’11 was the next torchbearer for the Big Green and she didn’t disappoint, either. The Union College bound net minder who spent Christmas break in Sweden, helping Team USA’s Under 18 Team win a gold medal, finished her senior season with a 1.47 goals against average and a .932 save percentage. And those figures fit in quite nicely with her previous seasonal averages. From her freshman-through-junior years, Lundberg’s goals against averages were 2.32, 1.87 and 1.68 respectively. Her save percentages over that same span were 89, 91 and 93 percent respectively.
“Shenae kept us in a lot of games this season,” said rookie head coach Genevieve Triganne of her goaltender, who allowed two goals or less in 14 of Deerfield’s 18 games. And Triganne had little trouble pointing out Lundberg’s highlight game. “It was against Westminster (25-1) which ended up winning the Division I New England championship this winter,” said the Big Green mentor. “We lost 1-0, as Shenae finished the game with 28 saves.”
Unfortunately, that was one of six games in which the Big Green was kept off the scoreboard this winter, as it posted a record of 6-10-2. “The problem,” said Triganne, “was we had trouble consistently putting the puck in the opponent’s net.”
And Triganne knows of what she speaks. Deerfield netted just 39 goals in 18 games, for a 2.16 goals per game clip. The result saw the Big Green drop six games by a one-goal margin, including a pair of overtime losses and a pair of 1-0 setbacks.
Jamie Haddad ’12 and Kayla O’Connor ’14 were Deerfield’s leading scorers this winter, as both finished with 17 points. Haddad collected that total on 11 goals and six assists, while O’Connor produced seven goals and 10 assists. Despite playing back on the blue line, Jackie Tavella ’11, who shared this year’s MVP Award with Lundberg, was third on the scoring charts with five goals and four assists for nine points. Other point producers were Alexa Napolitan ’11, with seven points on three goals and four assists, and defenseman Julia Wardwell ’12, who collected seven assists.
Shelbi Kilcollins ’12 was the winner of the Seventh Player Award, while Wardwell and Victoria Serra ’12 have been elected co-captains of next year’s team.