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<p>Anna Dessoye has helped the University of Maryland field hockey team get back in the thick of things.</p><p>The Crestwood graduate, who was named Big Ten Conference Offensive Player of the Week, leads the 5-3 Terps in scoring with 16 points. She has five goals and six assists.</p><p>Maryland was ranked third in the country prior to the start of the season but lost three straight. The Terps have righted the ship with three straight victories and are 1-0 in the Big Ten Conference.</p><p>&#8220;This has been a tough season so far and we&#8217;ve had to dig deep early in September,&#8221; Dessoye said. &#8220;I think we&#8217;re in a really good place now.&#8221;</p><p>Dessoye has started all eight games this season and has played in 79 games with 74 starts in her career. She has 35 goals and is eighth on the school&#8217;s all-time assist list with 44.</p><p>&#8220;Anna is a dominant leader mentally, physically technically and tactically,&#8221; veteran coach Missy Meharg said. &#8220;She is evolving daily into one of the most dynamic and versatile high performance players in Maryland history.&#8221;</p><p>The coach feels that Dessoye has a passion for fitness.</p><p>&#8220;That makes her ability to play long minutes in a variety of positional roles a reality to the success of the team,&#8221; Meharg said.</p><p><strong>Adamshick&#8217;s moving up</strong></p><p>Senior Selena Adamshick became the second player in St. Francis field hockey history to score more than 100 points in a career.</p><p>The Lake-Lehman graduate has eight goals and two assists this season to give her 104 points on 39 goals and 26 assists. She trails just former teammate Autumn Pellman who has 135. Her goals are second to Pellman and she&#8217;s the all-time assist leader.</p><p>Adamshick was named Atlantic-10 Offensive Player of the Week after scoring three straight goals and picking up an assist in a 5-0 victory over Siena. She was an A-10 first team and a National Field Hockey Coaches Association Regional second team choice as a junior.</p><p>&#8220;Selena has picked up right where she left off last season,&#8221; coach Stacey Bean said. &#8220;She is one of the best pure passers that I have seen my coaching career, but this season she has taken on a lot of the goal-scoring load. She continues to get stronger each game, leading by example every step of the way.&#8221;</p><p>Senior Michelle Lipski and junior Carly Gromel, both former Lake-Lehman athletes, and junior Ericka Stepanides (Wyoming Valley West) also start for the 4-3 Red Flash while sophomore Kyra Castano (Coughlin) and freshman Brea Seabrook (GAR) come off the bench.</p><p><strong>Honor for Despirito</strong></p><p>Ursinus senior goalkeeper Danielle DeSpirito was named Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after shutout victories over Elizabethtown (4-0) and Gettysburg (5-0).</p><p>The Crestwood grad had to make just one save against Elizabethtown and two against Gettysburg. On the season, she&#8217;s 4-1 and has given up seven goals with 12 saves.</p><p>&#8220;Danielle has been steady in the goal,&#8221; coach Janelle Benner said. &#8220;As one of our team captains, she has really stepped up as a leader in the defensive zone which has allowed our defense to work nicely together and allow teams very few opportunities in the circle.&#8221;</p><p>The fact that DeSpirito has made 51 starts for the Bears her first three seasons is huge according to the coach.</p><p>&#8220;Danielle&#8217;s teammate have confidence in her ability to not only save tough shots on goal, but to also communicate and organize before the opposing team even enters the circle,&#8221; Benner said.</p><p><strong>Dosiak having fun</strong></p><p>Senior Steve Dosiak has played in all eight games coming off the bench for the Delaware Valley men&#8217;s soccer team this fall. The 5-foot-8, 135-pound Wyoming Valley West graduate, who is also a member of the DelVal men&#8217;s golf team, played in 14 games last season as a junior.</p><p>&#8220;Steve plays hard and enjoys himself every minute of every day,&#8221; coach Thomas Drummond said. &#8220;He has a great sense of humor but also a great work ethic. He&#8217;s an accountable student-athlete who is always fun to be around, but is always kind and compassionate to his peers.&#8221;</p><p>Delaware Valley is 3-4-1 and has two more non-league games this week before opening Freedom Conference play Saturday, Oct. 3 against Misericordia in Dallas.</p><p><strong>Carpenter doing the job</strong></p><p>Freshman Bethany Carpenter of Mountain Top (Wyoming Seminary) has started all seven games for the young Pitt-Bradford women&#8217;s soccer team, which is 2-5 but has just three seniors on the roster.</p><p>&#8220;Bethany is adapting nicely to the demands of the college game,&#8221; coach Mike Idland said. &#8220;For the most part, she is keeping it very simple right now, which is a mature way to approach the game in general. She has been playing as a central defender and, because she makes very few mistakes, continues to get the call in that position.&#8221;</p><p>The coach knew he was getting a good player in Carpenter.</p><p>&#8220;After watching her play with her club team during the recruiting process, I knew Bethany was a level headed player who could manage situations in the center of the field,&#8221; Idland said.</p><p><strong>Trio with Villanova</strong></p><p>Three former Wyoming Seminary grads are members of the Villanova field hockey team &#8211; senior Ann Romanowski, junior Kristen Mericle and sophomore Molly Turner.</p><p>Romanowski (West Pittston) has started all seven games for the Wildcats and has an assist.</p><p>&#8220;Ann has been an incredible leader for our team,&#8221; coach Michelle Ruel said. &#8220;She&#8217;s a captain, but more than that, she&#8217;s a true leader. The team really respects her and I love working with her.&#8221;</p><p>Mericle (Shavertown) has four goals and an assist and had two goals including the game-winner in a 6-1 victory over Ball State. It&#8217;s the team&#8217;s only victory in seven games, but four of the losses were by a goal.</p><p>&#8220;Kristen has been creating many scoring opportunities for her teammates and herself,&#8221; Ruel said. &#8220;She is a very strong player and has an incredible work ethic.&#8221;</p><p>Turner (Dallas) has played in five games off the bench and is a standout passer according to Ruel.</p><p>&#8220;We absolutely love having these Wyoming Seminary girls,&#8221; the coach said. &#8220;They are consistently our hardest workers, have great attitudes and are incredibly competitive.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Vanhoekelen a motivator</strong></p><p>Senior Alex van Hoekelen has started all seven games for the Wells men&#8217;s soccer team, the Express 3-4 overall and 1-1 in North Eastern Athletic Conference play. Van Hoekelen, from Hazleton (MMI Prep), is a defender and a team captain on a squad that has given up 10 goals and has two shutouts.</p><p>&#8220;Alex is the soul of the team,&#8221; coach Dan Kane said. &#8220;He has the ability to motivate a teammate to run faster and longer than he ever thought he could and he can bring the entire team to laughter. In many ways, he is the perfect Wells soccer play and we are very fortunate to have him as our captain.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Dessoye081115-01.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dessoye Submitted photos </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Dessoye081115-01.jpg</photo0><caption0>Dessoye Submitted photos </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Dessoye-091315fh25.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Crestwood graduate and University of Maryland field hockey player Anna Dessoye competes against American. Submitted photos </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Dessoye-091315fh25.jpg</photo1><caption1>Crestwood graduate and University of Maryland field hockey player Anna Dessoye competes against American. Submitted photos </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill Arsenault</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @tlsports</p></shirttailMeta></div>

College Corner: University of Maryland’s Anna Dessoye receives Player of the Week honors