WASHINGTON - The Georgetown field hockey team, led by first year head coach Shannon Soares, enters the 2014 season with 16 players returning from last season's squad and five freshmen. Joining Soares on the sidelines this season are assistant coaches Shelly Montgomery and Mary Beth Barham, both entering their first years as coaches.

The Hoyas, who posted a record of 2-16 in 2013, were picked to finish sixth in the BIG EAST Conference this season. The team is less focused on the ranking and more dialed in on the opportunity that lies ahead.

"The young women that make up this program have a raw desire to represent Georgetown in a positive manner, whether that is as competitors, students or as citizens in the community" said Soares. "This group is special; they've showed up every day with a genuine motivation to improve. Shaping a new identity is a process, it takes hard work, it takes leaning on each other and most of all it takes belief in that process."

The 2014 season will see the team face conference foes UConn, the 2013 NCAA Field Hockey Champion, and Old Dominion. Both teams are ranked in the top ten of the Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Preseason Poll.

"We tell the freshmen coming in and the rest of the team to be excited because they have a chance to come in to a program with a great new staff and the opportunity to take our program to a new level," sophomore midfielder Maria McDonald (Center Valley, Pa./Southern Lehigh) said.

The team took part in two preseason exhibition games this year and those games, coupled with the fighter mentality that is part of the program this season, have played a big role in the excitement the program has going into the 2014 season.

"We've really emphasized the fighter mentality this season," said junior midfielder Emily Weinberg (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Hathaway Brown). "We're going to practice and we're working hard and getting goals in and we're determined to win games."

FORWARDS: The team of 21 features five forwards including junior Sarah Butterfield (Bridgewater, N.J./Oak Knoll), who was last season's top goal scorer with six, and senior Molly Denzel (Sunnyvale, Calif./St. Francis) who scored one. Joining Butterfield and Denzel on the attack are sophomores Aliyah Graves-Brown (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg Academy) and freshmen Megan Parsons (Chester Springs, Pa./Villa Maria) and Grace Hanrahan (West Roxbury, Ma./Winsor School).

MIDFIELDERS: Weinberg, who scored two goals during the 2013 season, is joined by classmate Louise Chakejian (Chester Springs, Pa./The Episcopal Academy) in the midfield. The duo played in all 18 of the Hoyas' games last season. McDonald, junior Callie Hiner (Westport, Conn./Staples) along with freshmen Mackenzie Schneider (Norfolk, Va./Maury) and Joanna Hawkins (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) round out the midfield corps.

BACKS: A trio of sophomores will cover the back in Devin Holmes (Fleetville, Pa./Wyoming Seminary), Molly Thompson (Ann Arbor, Mich./Ann Arbor Pioneer) and Hailey Vann (Yorktown, Va./Tabb). Junior Taylor Craig (New Canaan, Conn./Choate Rosemary Hall) and freshman Bridget Denzel (Sunnyvale, Calif./St. Francis) complete the backfield along with seniors Brooke Simone (Radnor, Pa./Baldwin School), Elizabeth Mueller (St. Louis, Mo./MICDS) and Tori Hideshima (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty).

GOALKEEPERS: Sophomore goalkeepers Rosalie Nolen (West Chester, Pa./Reed Henderson) and Rachel Skonecki (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Red Land) both return to the field this season. Nolen played in all 18 games in goal for Georgetown last season, logging a total of 151 saves. Skonecki saw action over four games and recorded five saves.

"We're very excited and focused on the future and the opportunity we have to change the identity of this program," said Soares. "Our kids have been coming in ready work to every day; they're dialed in, with a real focus and desire to get better and as a staff, that's been exciting to see."

Soares will look to give the program a new identity, while building the foundation in year one. The 2014 season also marks the first year the program will train and compete on Multi-Sport Field at Georgetown University.

The squad travels to Boone, N.C. to take on Appalachian State this Friday, Aug. 29 at 3:00 p.m. to start the 2014 season. Georgetown opened the season against the Mountaineers in 2012 and emerged victorious with a 3-2 come-from-behind win. Following the game against Appalachian State, the Hoyas will travel to Davidson, N.C. to take on the Davidson Wildcats on Saturday, Aug. 30 at 2:00 p.m.

"The group that we have this year is a special group," said Chakejian. "We are truly dedicated and willing to be disciplined for the season that we have ahead."