Midfielder Jenna Patrone was named New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Field Hockey Rookie of the Week on October 11, 2016, after helping the Cougars score wins over Ramapo College and SUNY Oneonta.
In her first semester here at Kean University, Patrone has contributed to the success of her team's 14-game undefeated streak this season, which was snapped on October 19, 2016, in a match-up with Montclair State University.
As of October 25, 2016, Patrone is ranked 10th in the NJAC for shots with 45 and 9th for assists with 5. She has also scored four goals so far this season.
Patrone, freshman psychology and psychiatric rehabilitation major, is from Washington Township, N.J. For a future career, Patrone is considering the idea of working in a school and focusing on drug and alcohol abuse, as well as family counseling.
Growing up she played soccer, softball and gymnastics, but she has been playing field hockey since she was around four years old.
"My whole family plays," Patrone said. " I have four brothers and sisters and even my brother plays field hockey."
Her older sister went to Rutgers New Brunswick to play, and her older brother was on the men's Olympic field hockey team. Her little sister also plays.
Being a part of a big family, she enjoys going home, when she gets the chance, to spend time with them. Patrone's biggest inspiration is one of her family members, and that is her mom.
"My mom still plays, even today, and she has her own field hockey business. She just does it because she loves it, and I think it's awesome," Patrone shared.
The freshman compared her experience playing field hockey at the high school level to the college level.
"My high school team was really good so it was pretty serious, but it wasn't like you need to get it right here or else," Patrone explained. "In college it's just much more of a serious game, but I still love it. And it's still really fun, but it's definitely more time consuming."
With that being said, Patrone shared that the team has already received their schedule for the spring. The players need to be free within certain time periods each day, as well as be prepared to wake up at 5 a.m. for morning sessions.
Patrone's personal goals for the season are to reach double digits in both goals and assists while maintaining her starting position, which she has earned for each game thus far.
After looking at several Division I schools like UC Davis in California, her decision ultimately came down between LIU Brooklyn and Kean University.
"I was talking to my dad one day and he was asking me where I'd rather go if I wasn't playing field hockey, and it was here because I loved the campus and everything," Patrone said.
When asked about the team's success so far this season, Patrone had a very inspiring answer.
"We all expect so much of each other because we all know what everyone is capable of. So if we ever have an instance in the game where we're down or we let up a bad corner or anything like that, we all know we're so much better than that and that we need to work that much harder so I think it helps," Patrone said.
When it came to her team's chemistry, she had a positive response.
"We all get along really, really well and we know that we're playing for each other, which is the good part," Patrone explained.
With the regular season coming to a close on October 29, 2016, keep an eye out for Jenna Patrone and the women's field hockey team as they make advances toward competing in the NJAC Tournament and, quite possibly, the NCAA Tournament.
