Q & A with UMW goal scoring record-holder Jenna Steele

By AMANDA CALLENDAR

Q & A with Field Hockey Goal Breaker Jenna Steele

Jenna Steele, a star senior player on the University of Mary Washington’s field hockey team, now ranks sixth on the Capital Athletic Conference’s all-time list for career goals. Steele broke the UMW record of career goals this weekend during the game against York, scoring a total of four goals with one assist. This tallied her to 60 goals beating the previous record of 59 goals set by Jessica Morris in 1998-2001. The field hockey team is off to a great season since they are ranked 15th and are currently 7-3.

Q: Where are you from?

A: Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

Q: Why did you choose the University of Mary Washington?

A: I actually didn’t know about UMW until I was being recruited by Coach Elliott for field hockey, so I initially chose here to have the opportunity to play but it didn’t take long to fall in love with the small campus environment and the town of Fredericksburg.

Q: How long have you been playing field hockey?

A: I’ve playing field hockey since I was in second grade so about 13-14 years.

Q: Did you know how close you were to breaking the record?

A: Clint, the sports information director, often mentioned in the beginning of the season that I was close, and after that my parents kept track so I knew that it was coming up.

Q: What was the feeling after breaking the record?

A: It was a bittersweet moment because my roommate and best friend, Carlee Budd, assisted me on breaking the record. So I was just happy to be able to share that with her.

Q: What does the record mean to you?

A: I can’t really put it into words but I guess it’s just very humbling to know that I’m leaving something behind in such a special program, and it will be exciting to see the next player that comes along and breaks my record. While this is a pretty cool reflection of my career in field hockey, winning a national championship title with my best friends would mean a lot more.

Q: What are your goals moving forward on the season?

A: Being that this is our last chance as seniors, our goal is to get back to the NCAA Final Four, but there’s a lot that needs to happen to make it there. Right now we are focusing on winning our conference games and winning the CAC championship and following that then we can focus on the ultimate goal and hopefully bring back a title to UMW.

Q: What were some of your favorite games and goals?

A: I’m not the kind of person to look back and remember the goals that I have scored, but instead remember the wins we obtained as a team. My ultimate favorite game has to be when we played Lynchburg at home my freshman year in the Elite 8 round of NCAA’s. It was a close game and we ended up coming out on top and with that, we advanced to the final four. Another favorite game would have to be when we played Salisbury (one of the top ranked teams in the nation) last season and were losing 3-0, we ended up coming back and taking them into overtime. Despite the loss in overtime, it was an awesome feeling to know that we came back from a three-goal deficit and never gave up.

Q: What is your favorite thing about field Hockey?

A: My favorite thing that has come from this sport is the friendships that I have made in the past 14 years. Over the years, my teammates have always been my best friends and I owe everything to this sport for creating these friendships.