Dec. 26, 2009

Seniors Molly Clay (Rockport, MA), Jaci Moulton (Baldwinville, MA), Ashley Smith (Killingworth, CT) and Laura Sullivan (Norwood, MA) finished their careers in UMass Lowell uniforms when they participated in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association 2009 Division II North/South Senior All-Star Game, held on Saturday, Nov. 21 at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC.

All five members of the senior class, including Kayla LeSage (Amesbury, MA) and head coach Shannon Hlebichuk headed down south to the 2009 season’s culminating event and were able to experience the best of Division II field hockey in the game, which resulted in a 3-3 tie between the teams.

“It didn’t really hit me until I got back from the trip that it was the last time I would put on my UMass Lowell uniform,” Sullivan said. “Playing in the game was an amazing experience and it was an honor to be named an all-star.”

While in North Carolina, the Division II participants also got to watch the Division I NCAA Tournament and a showcase between the DI All-Stars and the USA National Team, before eventually battling to a tie against the southern all-stars.

“The entire experience, which included watching 12 goals being scored in the first Division I Semi-final game to watching the USA National Team compete against the Division I All-Stars,” Hlebichuk said, “and finishing with our seniors competing in an amazing field hockey facility at Wake Forest University, was awesome.”

“The trip was a great way to finalize our four years at UMass Lowell,” Sullivan said of her classmates. “It was a great opportunity to play with other people that we would normally be playing against.”

The North squad included 18 student-athletes from seven NE-10 schools. UMass Lowell and Bentley each had four representatives in the contest, the most of any northern school, while Bloomsburg and Shippensburg each sent five student-athletes to play on the South team.

“Although sitting in the stands and not being able to ‘coach’ them proved difficult,” laughed Hlebichuk, “it was fun to watch them compete with opponents they had battled with all season long.”

The other five schools represented on the North team included Merrimack, Saint Michael’s, Southern Connecticut State, Stonehill and Assumption, which all have two student-athletes participating.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better trip. Having all five of us [seniors] and Shannon there, it is an experience I will never forget,” Sullivan said. “We have been together for four years and it was a great way to end my career.”