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BLOOMSBURG—Two weeks after winning their fourth straight NCAA Division II Field Hockey championship, several members of the Bloomsburg University Huskies team were named AstroTurf/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-Americans for the 1999 season.

Named first team All-Americans were Jess Kircher (Fleetwood/Oley Valley HS) and Bridgett Heckman (Ephrata/Ephrata). Selected as second team All-Americans were Leah Conte (Ambler/Upper Dublin HS), Krista Engle (Liverpool/Greenwood HS) and Trish Leitzel (Richfield/Middleburg HS).

Kircher, a midfielder, was named first team All-American for the second straight season after earning second team honors in 1997. She was also named the PSAC Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year in addition to being a two-time All-PSAC first team selection and a second team All-PSAC member as a sophomore.

For her career, Kircher finished with 20 goals and 26 assists, getting an assist in the Huskies' 2-0 win over Bentley College in the national championship game. She was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team for the second straight year.

Heckman, a forward, led the Huskies in scoring this season with 18 goals while netting three assists. She scored the game-winning goal in the NCAA championship game against Bentley. She was also named to the NCAA All-Tournament team for the second straight year.

A two-time All-PSAC first team member, Heckman was also chosen for the NFHCA All-Academic team in both 1997 and 1998. She finished her career with 39 goals and five assists.

Conte, a defender, was a standout for the Huskies all season long. In the NCAA title game, Conte was the leader of the defense that held the Eagles without a shot during the game, several times clearing balls deep in Bloomsburg territory. She was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team for her play along with earning All-PSAC first team honors.

Engle, a junior forward, finished third on the team in goals scored with 10 while adding four assists this season. She scored the game-winning goal for the Huskies in the 1998 NCAA championship title contest against Lock Haven. For her career, Engle has scored 22 goals and made nine assists in three seasons. She was named to the NFHCA All-Academic team in 1998.

Leitzel, a freshman goalie, came in and started for the Huskies from game one, and did a spectacular job. In 19 games, she allowed just seven goals for a goals against average of 0.39 while making 66 saves and posting 16 shutouts. She saved her best work for the end of the season when she allowed just two goals in the final eight games of the season, including four straight shutouts to end the year.

Bloomsburg finished the year 19-0 winning its ninth NCAA championship under coach Jan Hutchinson. The Huskies became the first team at any NCAA level for field hockey to win four straight national titles.

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