Radford field hockey begins the 2011 season this weekend in Farmville, Va. with a pair on contests against Towson and Lock Haven. The Highlanders face the Tigers at 1 p.m. on Friday and conclude with the Eagles on Saturday at 2 p.m.

The Highlanders, who start the season with eight straight away from home, return six starters and 11 letterwinners for Jeff Woods' 2011 squad. Woods enters his 26th season at the helm of the red and white and added nine newcomers to compliment his veteran group of returnees.

Radford returns a senior class of seven bolstered by two-time first-team all-conference selection Madonna Wadolowski (Norwalk, Conn./Brien McMahan). The midfielder has led Radford in assists the past two seasons with a total of 19 and is just three shy of breaking the school mark of 22 held by Sue Neal (1983-86).

Also returning on the offensive side of the ball is forward Melissa Register (Culpeper, Va./Culpeper) and midfielders Courtney Poole (Gloucester, Va./Gloucester), Niamh Connolly (Fredericksburg, Va./Chancellor) and Marlee Schramm (Mantua, N.J./West Deptford). Register and Poole both missed parts of the season with injuries and combined for eight goals, while Schramm was second on the squad with five helpers and Connolly tallied two goals.

Rounding out the senior class is a pair of backs in Lynsey Daughtrey (Suffolk, Va./Lakeland) and Ellie Staples (Newport News, Va./Menchville). Daughtrey has started every match since making her debut as a freshman, recording five defensive saves over that time and has contributed offensively on penalty corners with five goals and 14 assists. Staples started the first 12 contests of 2010 and registered two defensive saves before missing the remainder of the campaign with an injury.

Also returning after seeing time off the bench in 2010 are juniors Allison McNaught (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory) and Caroline Hollerbach (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) and sophomore Alayna Versage (Virginia Beach, Va./Cox).

The Highlanders will return to action next Saturday when they head to Lynchburg, Va. for a contest against Liberty at 12:00 p.m.