GORHAM, Maine – Seniors Julianna Kiklis (York, Maine), Mary Keef (Westbrook, Maine) and junior Sage Drinkwater (Steep Falls, Maine/Bonny Eagle) have been named captains of the 2023 University of Southern Maine Huskies' field hockey team.  
 
Picked to finish second in the 2023 Little East Conference preseason coaches' poll, Southern Maine opens up its season at home against Thomas College on Friday, September 1 (7:00 pm).  Southern Maine finished the 2022 campaign as the conference's regular season champion with a record of 15-0 and a conference-best record of 10-2. 
 
A Finance major, Keef is a repeat winner of the Athletic Department's William B. Wise Scholar Athlete Award, and is a three-time National Field Hockey Coaches' Association (NFHCA) Division III National Academic Squad selection.  Keef was one of five Huskies to earn NFHCA Scholar of Distinction honors for 2022 – a program that recognizes student-athletes who have achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.9 or higher during their competitive season.  A midfielder for the Huskies, Keef has played in 46 career games with 45 starts. Keef matched her career high with five assists in 2022, and scored her lone goal of the season in the Huskies' 3-2 semifinal win over Keene State in the conference tournament.
 
Drinkwater, a two-time NFHCA All-Region and two-time first team All-LEC forward, was the Huskies' leading scorer in 2022 with 15 goals and five assists for 35 points.  Drinkwater had four game-winning goals during the season, and finished the season ranked fifth in goals, ninth in points and eighth in game-winning goals in the Little East Conference. In two seasons, Drinkwater, a Linguistics major, has 26 goals and 10 assists for 62 points.  She is a NFHCA Academic Squad selection, and was a College Sports Communicators Academic All-District pick.
 
Kiklis, a two-time All-LEC selection, at goalkeeper finished the 2022 season with a 10-6 record, including a 6-1 against LEC opponents in the regular season.  Kiklis had a .735 save percentage and a 2.09 goals against average and against the LEC she was fourth in goals against average.  Kiklis, a Business Management major, is a four-time NFHCA National Academic Squad award recipient.  Kiklis served as one of the Huskies' co-captains during the 2022 season. Kiklis' career 2.30 goals against average is among the program's top-15.