COLONIA, NJ – Junior Mary Catherine Maloney led the Roberts Wesleyan University Field Hockey team to a record-setting seven-win season last year and has been selected as the East Coast Conference (ECC) preseason Player of the Year according to a vote of the conference head coaches.

Maloney shared the Player of the Year award with Charlotte Sabert from Mercy University.

Maloney was the defensive leader for the Redhawks allowed just 1.27 goals per game and finished with a 7-8 overall record.

The first season of field hockey in the ECC starts this fall and the first preseason poll has Roberts in second place after a close vote by the head coaches in the conference.

The Redhawks and Mercy each earned three first-place votes in the voting and Mercy ended up just a few points ahead of Roberts with 33 total points. The Redhawks were second with 29 points followed by D'Youville University (20 points), St. Thomas Aquinas College (18), Molloy University (15) and affiliate conference member Dominican University rounding out the poll with 11 points.

In 2025, Roberts played four of the five conference schools and finished with a 4-1 record in those game with a 1-1 record against D'Youville. The Redhawks defeated Mercy, Molloy and St. Thomas Aquinas and held a 6-2 scoring advantage in those five games.

Roberts finished wit an overall record on 7-8 in 2025 while Mercy was 5-12 and St. Thomas Aquinas was 4-13.

The 2026 season starts September 5 with a home game against Maryville University from St. Loius, MO and continues with four consecutive home games against Elmira, Pace, Bloomsburg and Slippery Rock between September 9-22.