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Salem Field Hockey Preview

2006 record: 15-2, won Class L title

Returning starters (9): Katie Bettencourt, Sr., forward; Carolyn Malloy, Sr., forward; Ashley Mulkey, Sr., midfield; Tatum Dyer, Sr., midfield; Michaela Galvin, Sr., midfield; Taylor Dyer, Sr., defense; Chelsea Morrison, Sr., defense; Kyleigh Keating, Jr., forward; Erica DePinto, Jr., defense

Returning lettermen: Sara Halbich, Sr., forward; Adrena Ghazarian, Sr., goalie; Aly Higgins, Sr., midfield; Lauren Meisner, Jr., defense; Chelsie Muldowney, Soph., midfield

Newcomers: Nicole Rozumek, Jr., forward; Ashlynn Moerloos, Jr., forward; Leeann Vadala, Jr., defense; Katie Foyle, Jr., defense; Carly Federico, Soph., midfield

Candidates in all grades: 60

Captains: Ashley Mulkey, Carolyn Malloy, Taylor Dyer

Returning leaders: Carolyn Malloy (21 goals, 8 assists)

Returning honorees: Tatum Dyer (All-Class L) Carolyn Malloy (Eagle-Tribune All-Star), Ashley Mulkey (Class L second team)

Assistants: JV Kelly Hall, Frosh. Becky Ford

Opener: Wednesday, Aug. 29 at Goffstown, 4 p.m.

Odds and ends: Salem looks to build on last year's Class L championship, which was the team's second straight and fourth in five years. ... Carolyn Malloy has already committed to Northeastern and Tatum Dyer has committed to American University. ... Ashley Mulkey is also being recruited by Division 1 schools. ... The Blue Devil JVs went 16-0-2 and won the state title as well. ... Former Salem great Becky Ford is the Devils' freshman coach.

Coach Carol Merchant (5th year, 61-5-2): "This team's been building for four years. The senior class is big. Several kids train year-round. They've really done a lot of work in the offseason. The potential is high. And we've tried to set the right goals to lead us where we want to go. But we're not perfect. (Carolyn) Malloy's probably going to draw the attention of other teams. Players like (Katie) Bettencourt and (Kyleigh) Keating are going to dictate a lot of our success. The play of my midfielders is going to be really critical. We're hoping to get a lot of points for them."