Emmaus’ Zellner leading the way for Iowa field hockey
The unbeaten University of Iowa field hockey team is ranked No. 1 in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll and senior Leah Zellner is a key performer for the Hawkeyes.
Zellner, from Emmaus and an Emmaus High graduate, has started all 16 games and has four goals and three assists with a game-winner. She really came on at the end of the regular season against three of the top teams in the country. She had the first goal in a 2-0 victory over No. 5 Louisville on Sept. 19, scored the first goal in a 2-1 triumph over No. 7 Maryland on Oct. 7 and assisted on the only goal in a 1-0 win over No. 6 Penn State on Sept. 24.
Two other area players are seeing action for Iowa, and both are freshmen. Forward Annika Herbine (Emmaus) has come off the bench in all 16 games and has two goals and three assists for seven points. Jacey Wittel (Pocono Mountain East) has played in eight games off the bench and has helped the defense limit foes to just seven goals with 11 shutouts.
The Hawkeyes are 16-0 overall and 7-0 in the Big Ten Conference after a 3-0 victory over Ohio State on Oct. 17. They close out the league season against Northwestern on Saturday in Iowa City. The league tournament begins Nov. 4, the NCAA Tournament starts on Nov. 12.
Here’s a look at other former Lehigh Valley student-athletes and how they are performing at the next level.
Taylor Fasnacht — Harvard women’s soccer (Parkland)
The sophomore is the third leading scorer on the team. The Crimson is 10-2-1 overall and 3-2 in the Ivy League after dropping a 1-0 decision to No. 23-ranked Princeton in a league home game last Saturday in Cambridge, Mass. Fasnacht played 76 minutes in the match. She has three goals and three assists for nine points and had her best game in a 3-0 non-league victory over
Central Connecticut on Oct. 1 when she scored the second goal and assisted on the third goal.
Darian Street — Towson football (Liberty)
The redshirt senior is the second leading receiver with the Maryland-based Tigers who are 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound wide receiver has 18 receptions for 247 yards and two touchdowns. His first score of the season came when he had a 73-yard catch-run in a 31-0 victory over Morgan State on Sept. 4. He had his best game in a 21-14 victory over Stony Brook on Oct. 9 with five catches for 41 yards with a 7-yard touchdown reception.
Sarah Supplee — West Chester women’s cross country (Northwestern Lehigh)
The sophomore earned All-PSAC honors after she finished fifth out of 180
runners at the league’s championship meet last Friday in Kutztown. Supplee covered the 6,000-meter course in 22:47.2. She was the only Golden Ram to finish in the top 50, the team 13th out of 17 teams. Supplee prepped for the league meet by posting a personal best 6K time of 22:16.0 when she finished first at the Bloomsburg Invitational on Oct. 9.
De’Vante Cross — Virginia football (Parkland)
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound senior is starting at free safety for the Cavaliers who have won four straight Atlantic Coast Conference games and are 6-2 overall and 4-2 in league play after a 48-40 victory over Georgia Tech last Saturday in Charlottesville, Va. Cross had five tackles in the game. On the season, he has 17 tackles, including 10 unassisted, with an interception and five pass breakups. Cross started all 26 games his previous two seasons with the team.
Hannah Tepper — Assumption field hockey (Stroudsburg)
The Massachusetts-based Greyhounds are 15-1 overall and 12-0 in the Northeast-10 Conference and the senior is one of the keys on the team’s defense. Tepper has started all 16 games and has picked up a defensive save, the first of her career. Assumption, who has won 14 straight after a season-opening 2-1 setback, has given up just 11 goals with eight shutouts. Tepper has played in 37 games with 27 starts in her career and has a goal and an assist.
Alex Wilsterman — Bloomsburg men’s soccer (Parkland)
The senior midfielder is leading the Huskies in scoring with 13 points on five goals and three assists. The scores came on just eight shots on goal. He has had two game-winners to help the team post a 9-6 overall record and a 5-5 mark in PSAC East play after a 3-1 league loss to Lock Haven last Saturday in Bloomsburg. Grad student Kacper Grycel (Emmaus) has chipped in with two goals and an assist and senior Bryce Evans (Parkland) has a goal.
Karissa Hough — Hofstra field hockey (Lehighton)
The 5-foot-7 sophomore midfielder has helped the New York-based Pride at both ends of the field. She has recorded five assists and has a defensive save, the team 7-10 overall and 1-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association after a 6-1 loss to Yale of the Ivy League last Sunday in New Haven, Ct. Hough assisted on both goals in a 2-0 triumph over Sacred Heart on Sept. 17. As a freshman, she started 12 games and collected a pair of assists as the Pride went 4-8 overall and 1-3 in league play.
David Lynn — Saint Vincent men’s tennis (Liberty)
The sophomore led the Bearcats to a 4-0 record during the fall season. He was 4-0 at No. 1 singles and 3-0 along with senior teammate Mauricio Sanchez of Venezuela in No. 1 doubles. Lynn lost just eight sets in singles and eight in doubles during the season. His best singles effort came against Penn State Altoona when he won 6-0, 6-0 as Saint Vincent posted a 5-0 victory. Lynn and Sanchez earned Presidents’ Athletic Conference first team after going 7-1 his freshman season. He was 6-2 in doubles.
Aziz Atiyeh — King’s men’s soccer (Whitehall)
The senior has two goals with a game-winner and four assists for the Monarchs who are 7-5-1 overall and 4-2 in MAC Freedom play. Atiyeh picked up his game-winner when he scored both of his goals in a 4-1 league victory over DeSales on Oct. 13. King’s is also getting solid play from freshmen Bryce Nunes (Liberty) and Dylan Domchek and Nate Horn, both Northampton Area graduates. Domchek has two assists while Horn and Nunes have helped the defense post two shutouts.
Maddie Angelo — Youngstown State (OH) women’s soccer (Pennridge)
The 5-foot-8 freshman defender has started all 17 games for the Penguins, who are 2-10-5 overall and 2-4-4 in the Horizon League after a 1-0 league loss to Indiana-Purdue last Saturday. It was the team’s fourth 1-0 setback this season. Angelo collected her first collegiate point when she had an assist on the team’s only goal in a 2-1 non-league loss to Duquesne on Sept. 5. Angelo has helped the team post four shutouts.
Taylor Caridi — Buffalo women’s soccer (Pocono Mountain East)
The 5-foot-8 senior forward has scored two goals this season and both were game-winners to help the Bulls who are 11-3-3 overall record and a 5-2-3 mark in the Mid-Atlantic Conference after a 0-0 double-overtime tie with Toledo in a league game last Sunday in Buffalo, N.Y. Caridi had the final goal in a 2-1 league victory over Ball State on Sept. 30 and scored in the 88th minute to give her team a 2-1 league victory over Eastern Michigan on Oct. 7.