Bryant field hockey returns to campus, set to begin 27th season

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The 27^th season of Bryant field hockey gets underway unofficially with the first preseason practice on Saturday, August 9.

#Team27 will be a mix of veteran returners and youthful newcomers that will be led by first-year head coach Kellie Joyce. Named the sixth head coach in program history in March, Joyce will embark on her first preseason this August.

Who’s Back

• Bryant returns 15 student-athletes this fall, including 10 that saw time in 10+ games a season ago.
• Leading that group is the senior trio of Natalie Griffin, Zoe Bates and Lauren Rothwell.
• Add in Bryant’s eight-member junior class and Joyce’s first team will have 11 upperclassmen this fall.
• A strength for the Black and Gold will be in goal as the duo of Sara DeSousa and Maud van Lierop returns. The two combined to post a .712 save percentage a season ago.
• van Lierop leads a group of sophomores that looks to take an important step in year two at Bryant.

Who’s New

• Bryant will welcome six freshmen and one transfer this fall.
• Elsa Bishop (Exeter, N.H.), Emerson Johnson (Paxton, Mass.), Maddy DeFilippo (Pequannock Township, N.J.), Ellie Picard (East Greenwich, R.I.), Elyse Bouchard (Uxbridge, Mass.) and Ella Murphy (Buffalo, N.Y.) make up this year’s freshmen class.
• India Hayes joins the Black and Gold as a sophomore transfer from Saint Louis.

The Staff

• Joyce begins her first season as a collegiate head coach after putting together a strong resume as an assistant coach. She spent three seasons as an assistant at Cornell, helping the Big Red lead the country in scoring in 2023 while ranking in the top 25 in the NFHCA poll in both 2022 and 2023.
• Liz Ryan will serve as Joyce’s assistant and brings a wealth of experience from both playing and coaching overseas. She was a member of the 2019-20 U.S. U-21 National Team.
• Asia Porter will serve as the graduate assistant after wrapping up a strong career at Providence College. She was a five-year starter for the Friars, appearing in 74 games.

Miscellaneous

• Bryant will play double-digit home games for the second consecutive season and will host Dartmouth and Cornell at Cowen Field for the first time.
• The Bulldogs have technically already qualified for the America East Field Hockey Championships as all six teams will make it this year. The six-team tournament begins with quarterfinal matches on November 2. The top two seeds will receive byes to the semifinals on November 4. All games will be played at the higher seed.