A lot of teams in a lot of sports would have been heartbroken if they weren’t allowed to play in the fall of 2020. And while the reasons would have been very understandable and accepted, it wouldn’t have eased the disappointment.
But here we are. Back on the field. And the Dexter field hockey team is given the chance to do what no other team can – defend its state championship.
The Dreadnaughts rolled to a state title with an impressive win over Pioneer in the Division 1 state finals at Chelsea last November. And they are certainly positioned for a real shot at a repeat.
The offense should certainly be a strength. Dexter returns its top five leading scorers off that state championship team: Abigail Tamer, Kylee Niswonger, Gracie Burns, Shannon Schoch and Annalisa Shehab. They are all seniors except for Burns, who is a junior.
Tamer, who tallied 36 goals and 14 assists in the regular season and had five goals and two assists in the playoffs, was the winner of the Michigan Player of the Year award. Tamer and Niswonger were both named to the MHSFHA All-State Dream Team.
Also back from last year’s team is senior defender Rachel Gesell and senior midfielder Faith Anderson.
Top newcomers include freshman defender Marissa Skinner and sophomore midfielder Ava Hauman.
“We have a veteran squad looking to defend our first Division 1 State Title and we need to work on rebuilding our defense,” says Dexter Coach Keely Tamer, now in her 11th year with the program. “We posted 11 shutouts in 2019 but graduated three of our four starters from the backfield, sending two to Division 1 collegiate play.”
Tamer, who takes over as the head coach this year, will have Amy Binder as an assistant. This will be her fourth year with the program.
The Dreadnaughts will host Marian at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16 at Al Ritt Stadium.
