SECTION IV FIELD HOCKEY: YOUTHFUL NEWARK VALLEY CONTINUES TO GAIN VALUABLE EXPERIENCE (2025-08-27)

By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
NEWARK VALLEY — The youthful Newark Valley field hockey team continues to gain valuable experience with several players returning to its roster.

The Cardinals bring back two of their three Section IV Division III all-stars in senior defender Ryan Schweckendieck, who made 14 defensive saves last fall. Also back is Gabi James, a sophomore forward.

Also back on the 13 player roster are senior defender Megan Brooks, junior defender Dakota Callahan, junior midfielders Malloy Chapman and Cecelia Whitney, sophomore forward Kendall Mathewson and sophomore Maddie Mele, who could see time at midfielder, forward and defender.

Newcomers who could help NV improve on a 2-14 record is Ashleen Callahan, a freshman - goalie; Tyla Rundell, an 8th-grader who could be used at forward, midfielder and defender, and sophomore forward Billeigh Dawson.

The Cardinals ended up losing three players, including divisional all-star Kayden Rockwell to graduation. Also gone are defender/midfielder Bree Noble, who moved away, and junior goalie Grace Guiles, who is out due to health issues.

“We're optimistic about our 2025 season,” said coach Jessica Doehring, who is entering her 11th season as the head coach. “We have a few newcomers that are showing a lot of promise and adding some depth to our roster. We are finally building up some upperclassmen and experience to be more competitive.”

Even though Section IV is split into three divisions, each team plays every team in the section.

“We will compete against all the top teams since in Section IV all the field hockey teams play each other,” Doehring said. “So, we'll see Whitney Point, Vestal, Windsor who all won the section last year and saw various levels of success in the state tournament.”

That also means NV will play the other Tioga County teams — Owego, Spencer-VanEtten/Candor and Tioga.

The Cardinals will get tested right out of the gate as they host Vestal on Sept. 5 and Windsor on Sept. 9.

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IN PHOTO 1: Ryan Schweckendieck (front) and Kayden Rockwell were Section IV all-stars last season. Schweckendieck is back, Rockwell graduated. IN TOP PHOTO: Coach Jessica Doehring is optimistic about the upcoming season. IN PHOTO 3: Gabi James is a returning all-star.

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