Goodman-Bacon, Bannon to Lead Crimson in 2009

BOSTON—Kristin Bannon and Elizabeth Goodman-Bacon will captain the Harvard field hockey team in 2009, head coach Sue Caples announced at the team’s 2008 end-of-season banquet Sunday at the Harvard Club of Boston.

Senior Kylie Stone was named the Crimson’s Most Valuable Player at the banquet, while sophomore K.J. Warren earned selection as the team’s Most Improved Player. The captains and award-winners were elected by their teammates.

Bannon and Goodman-Bacon, both of whom will be seniors next season, have been starters in the Crimson midfield for the past two seasons. Goodman-Bacon has started 37 games since her arrival in Cambridge, including all eight in 2008 before she suffered a season-ending injury.

Bannon has started each of Harvard’s last 34 games and has registered five goals and five assists for 15 career points. In addition to her midfield duties, she has played a key role inserting the ball on offensive penalty corners.

Stone started every game in goal for the Crimson this season and has started all but one since the start of the 2007 campaign. She held seven opponents to one goal or fewer and registered shutouts of Holy Cross, Yale and Brown, while contributing to a team shutout of Saint Louis. In league play, Stone tied for second in the Ivy League with 43 saves. She also ranked second with two league shutouts and third with an Ivy goals-against average of 1.71 and league save percentage of .782.

Warren emerged as a key player this season. She played in 16 of the team’s 17 contests, seeing significant time off the bench early in the season before starting the last five games of the year. Warren played 35 or more minutes in seven of the games in which she did not start. She recorded a defensive save to preserve Harvard’s shutout of Saint Louis.