The Women’s Field Hockey team is off to a fresh start this year. In addition to nearly half the team being made up of first-years, they’re starting off the season with new head coach Chrissy Needham. Needham a Connecticut native, is also a former field hockey player from UCONN. Senior Mallory Kosow shares that Needham’s “experience as a former player at such a successful program is especially beneficial, as it gives her the ability to demonstrate to us what she’s coaching along with the understanding of the intensity it takes to be a competitive team.” With this knowledge, Needham comes to Conn athletics ready to work and start anew after a rough last season.
Coming most recently from coaching at American International College and previously at Kenyon College, Needham has a wealth of coaching experience. During her time as a player, Needham played in two NCAA Division I Final Fours, further adding to and enriching her coaching expertise. Drawn to NESCAC schools because of their unique combination of athletics and academics, it was a huge surprise when the head coaching position at Conn opened up. Coaching within the NESCAC and in her home state of Connecticut was ideal, and her career goals at the time fit in perfectly with what Conn was seeking. She’s looking forward to turning things around and providing the program with the new energy it needs to really take advantage of their fresh start.
After sitting down with Needham, it is clear that she is what the program may need. Needham hopes to “treat every game as its own challenge” and that their opponents recognize their “hard work rate and competitive spirit.” Although she hopes to take the season one game at a time, the overarching goal is to qualify for the NESCAC tournament, a goal she feels is “definitely within reach.” Additionally, the team will encounter five non-conference teams this season and Needham, along with assistant coach Anika Goodhuge, aims to have an undefeated non-conference record.
With a young team made up of a majority of first-years and sophomores, now is the optimal time to “build up and compete for the future,.” explains Needham.“They have high confidence and we can work out the kinks.” First-year Berklee Vaillancourt explains that Coach Needham “is always focused and dedicated to making us the best we can be” giving the program a promising future in the years to come.
The Women’s team started off the season playing Amherst, a fierce competitor, who entered the NESCAC season ranked tenth. After winning last year’s NESCAC championship, the Camels knew that this first game would not be easy and most certainly a mental challenge. Facing the very experienced Amherst team, Conn reached the goals they set for the game, despite coming out at a 7-0 loss. The first half ended with Amherst up one goal, showing how strongly the Camels played and how both mentally and physically they did phenomenal work holding off such a strong team. By the middle of the second half, they were mentally fatigued. Although after 50 minutes of hard play they began to lose it, the team took away a lot from the game.
Despite the tough game against Amherst, the Camels defeated Babson this past Saturday 2-1, moving them one stop closer to their goal of an undefeated non-conference record. Taking an early lead in the game, they held their ground and Coach Needham claimed her first victory as head coach.
There is much hope ahead for the Women’s Field Hockey program. With many young players and an impressive start to the season, Coach Needham has come at the perfect time to develop the program to its fullest potential. •
