LOUISVILLE, Ky.—It would have been difficult for Bellarmine Field Hockey Coach Devanny Boisvert to find a more daunting challenge for her debut as a head coach than the one she faces this weekend.
 
The Knights open their 2019 season on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the home of the defending national runners-up, the East Stroudsburg (Pa.) Warriors. Then, less than 24 hours later, Bellarmine travels to Bloomsburg for a noon game against a Huskies team that garnered the No. 9 ranking in the NFHCA preseason poll.
 
East Stroudsburg, which lost to Shippensburg in the national championship finals in overtime, figures to be formidable again this year, especially on defense where they welcome back senior goalie Maddie Richie.  Last season, she led the nation with a goals-against average of just 0.83 while swatting away 73 percent of opponents' on-target shots. The Warriors, ranked No. 3 in the preseason poll, also welcome back defender Briana Sassaman, who notched two defensive saves last season.  On offense, ESU lost its top two scorers from a year ago with Karly Conway being the leading returning scorer after recording eight goals and four assists last season.
 
Bloomsburg will be making its 2019 debut on Sunday after going 11-7 last season, including a 5-0 triumph over the Knights.  Like ESU, the Huskies also welcome back a stingy defense.  Goalies Dana Sheply and Hannah Bernard both return after combining for a goals-against average of 1.24 and an 81.9 save percentage. Up front, Bloomsburg returns three of its top four scorers including Tesa Hoffman, who paced the Huskies with 15 points on five goals and five assists.
 
The good news for Boisvert is that the Knights return 95 percent of their scoring from a year ago as well as the only two goalies to patrol the cage in 2018.  Bellarmine also got a bit of a confidence boost after a solid exhibition performance in a 9-2 win over DePauw on Aug. 25.  Freshman Amber Hofenk Jerembo notched four goals in that contest while returning leading scorer Mandi Isom contributed a pair of goals and a pair of assists.  
 
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