Haley Lowell Named Miss Maine Field Hockey
Messalonskee senior Haley Lowell didn’t achieve dazzling offensive numbers in her final field hockey season. But then Lowell’s game has never been about numbers; instead, she dazzles with her leadership, her playmaking prowess, and her uncanny ability to take control of the game – and that’s why Lowell is the 2017 Miss Maine Field Hockey winner.
The title, awarded by the Maine Field Hockey Coaches Association, honors the player deemed Maine’s top senior field hockey player.
Lowell is the second Messalonskee student to earn the award – Kristy Bernatchez is the first, winning in 2012.
Reached via e-mail, Lowell responded to several questions regarding her career, and made clear she is delighted, though not surprised, that the field hockey association evaluated more than offensive statistics when selecting Miss Maine Field Hockey.
“Goals are a very important aspect of field hockey,” she wrote, “and I am not trying to take away from that. That being said, I do believe that they are not an appropriate way to gauge a player’s skill. Setting up goals and being a playmaker is what has the greatest impact on a game’s outcome, and a player that has mastered these two aspects of field hockey can control a game. This is something that I think the coaches recognize and consider while voting.”
Messalonskee Field Hockey coach Katie McLaughlin said she viewed Haley as her point guard offensively and key to the team’s transition from offense to defense. “She really was a huge player for us in regard to our transition up and down the field,” McLaughlin said. “It is nice as a coach to have that sort of trust in a player, but then she had the trust of everybody on the team.”
Lowell, a starter since her freshman season, has many memorable moments during her four years as a Messalonskee field hockey player. But what she treasures most are the deep relationships she developed with teammates. “I love the girls that I play with – many of whom I play with year-round – because we have all played together for so long and know each other so well. They truly have become family,” she wrote.
While her high school field hockey career is over, Lowell is not about to put away her stick and kneepads. She will continue to play the sport she loves next fall, having earned a scholarship to play Division 1 field hockey at Boston University.
“I see this challenge as a growth opportunity for many different reasons,” she wrote. “Gong in, I am not quite sure where I will be playing, but will look for the opportunity to play in whatever position they need me to play in. I know that I will have to prove myself during preseason and in terms of my goals I hope to see a decent amount of playing time my freshman year, but I am not expecting anything.”
McLaughlin has watched Lowell’s mastery of transition on the playing field for four years. She is confident Lowell will be just as smooth in her transition to Division I. “I think she is ready,” McLaughlin said. “I’ve had a lot of D-1 players, but she is one of the most complete players I’ve coached from her freshman to senior year…She has got all the skills needed and more.”
Lowell finished her standout career with 34 goals, 23 assists and three defensive saves.