Leaving the cozy confines of the River Rivals and the CAL at Amesbury proved to be no problem for last year’s Daily News Player of the Year in field hockey, Katie Enaire.

The freshman at UMass-Lowell earned ECAC and North East 10 rookie of the year honors — the first such River Hawk to ever win either such award — as a part of the Div. 2 national runner-up team.

Part of what coach Shannon Hlebichuk called the best freshmen class ever to walk through the doors at UMass-Lowell, Enaire was one of three River Hawks who could have won the honors. But, the former Indian’s point tally — 12 goals and one assist for 25 points — is what helped her stand out among the rest, despite some early season struggles.

“All along everyone knew that UMass had three freshmen, one of which would win the award,” Hlebichuk said of the freshman class that has the chance to be forceful for the next three years. “I couldn’t decide, so I let the league decide, and I think Katie’s goal tallies were too big to pass up. She (Enaire) is in pretty great company; with all her classmates’ accolades, this is easily the best freshman class UMass has seen.

“It’s pretty special that she won the award. I knew she would be an impact player, but I wasn’t sure if it would be right off the bat,” said Hlebichuk, a former Amesbury product, like Enaire, of Gail Kelleher. “In my last six years as the head coach, I have yet to see a freshman score 12 goals. She climbed steadily throughout the year, despite some early season struggles. We just made sure she did not get frustrated because we knew once she put her first goal in, they would start to fall fairly routinely.”

What made Enaire’s rookie campaign even more remarkable was the fact she posted most of her impressive statistics while coming off the bench as a super sub.

“Katie started some, but more often than not she was a spark off the bench because we had a lot of depth on the team,” Hlebichuk explained. “She would watch and study the opposing team’s defense, and exploit them when coming onto the field. Four games this season she scored within two minutes of getting onto the field.”

Making the transition from a mostly grass game in high school to a strictly turf game in college where the level of play was both dramatically faster and better were the two biggest adjustments Enaire said she had to face this year. But, after a season rich with spectacular memories, one game was particularly memorable for the rookie of the year.

“Bentley was one of our toughest opponents as a league rival all year,” said Enaire of the team they beat four times, including the 5-1 victory in the NE-10 tournament finals and the 2-1 overtime win in the national semifinal game. “The second time we played them I scored two goals and we won 3-0, it was just a big moment for me.”

As for when Hlebichuk first realized Enaire had the potential for greatness, that moment occurred several years back at camp.

“I first saw Katie play when she came to my camp at Governor’s Academy as a sophomore,” Hlebichuk said. “She stuck out right away because of her athleticism, and I knew right away I would be watching and waiting for her to get older.

“I also knew she was well coached and well disciplined because we both played for Gail (Kelleher) at Amesbury,” Hlebichuk noted. “When she was in high school she was a three-sport athlete, so I didn’t know which way she was leaning, but I’m glad she picked field hockey.”

With two other Amesbury girls making big contributions on the River Hawks — sophomore defender Kayla LeSage and junior forward Jill Tierney (8 goals, 8 assists, 24 points this season) — as well as a bevy of other outstanding former CAL players, Hlebichuk said coaching so close to the league she formerly played in has been quite rewarding come recruitment time.

“Both of our former Indians were excellent for me in their respective positions,” said Hlebichuk, who has now coached in two of the last three national title games having won the championship in 2005. “I think it really speaks to the competitiveness of the CAL and what they are producing by providing a huge portion of my team that went all the way to the national title game. I have been lucky enough to pick these girls up and we are shooting to get back here next year.”

And with only one senior graduating off this past season’s team, the future looks quite bright for the likes of Enaire, LeSage, Tierney, Hlebichuk and the rest of the River Hawks at UMass-Lowell.