Kate Blaisdell is bringing some hardware with her as she heads off to Northeastern University field hockey this fall.
The Hanover High senior forward was named the NHIAA Division II offensive player of the year as part of the New Hampshire Field Hockey Coaches Association’s postseason awards last week. She joined Newport’s Eliza Bates and Stevens coach Patty Deschaine among the state’s major winners.
Blaisdell, who will join the Huskies this autumn, transferred to Hanover from Windham High in time for last season, and she posted back-to-back 15-goal campaigns for the Marauders. The 2020 season saw Blaisdell (15-3-18) score her 75th career goal and 100th career point, all while guiding Hanover to an 8-4-1 record and a spot in the D-II quarterfinals. The Marauders won a state championship during Blaisdell’s junior campaign; she finished with 30 goals and 11 assists in her two seasons with Hanover.
“She has been a great addition to the team and to our program,” Hanover coach Jean Essex said in a Monday email. “She is a fun, kind and supportive player who has really seemed to fit in well. Her athleticism is impressive, and she has a real nose for the goal. … An all-around great player and person who we are going to miss next year.”
Senior defender Natalie Chapman joined teammate Blaisdell on the NHFHCA D-II all-state first team along with Lebanon senior forward Sydney Gonyea and junior midfielder/defender Amalia Hickey. Gonyea (11-6-17), who finished a point behind Blaisdell in Upper Valley scoring this past season, notched her 55th career goal in the Raiders’ 2-1 loss to Hanover in the D-II tournament last month, tying a Lebanon High record set by Samantha Davis in 2009.
The Raiders’ Molly Smith joined the Marauders’ Mia Edmonds on the D-II second team.
The Tigers’ Bates landed a share of the D-III player of the year award with prolific Bishop Brady forward Ashlyn Toupin. A senior midfielder, Bates (7-8-15) shared Newport’s scoring lead with fellow senior Maddie Miller (10-5-15). Bates graduates from the Tigers having netted 31 goals with 30 assists over the last three seasons.
Newport coach Steve Christensen likes to put his best players in a position of control, which is why he moved Bates to the center of the field after her sophomore season. He called Bates one of the best players he’s ever coached, one who could be playing field hockey in college as well.
“As far as skills go, she just has it all,” Christensen said Monday. “The girl has sent me videos all through her high school career where she’s practicing against her two dogs in her back yard, trying to keep the ball away from them. This girl would play field hockey 24/7 if she could.”
Newport goaltender Kelsey Wheeler joined Bates on the first team, with Miller (10-5-15) making the second squad. Mascoma’s Paige Jette and Natalie Poitras also made the first team with Stevens’ Brianna Frisbee (7-3-10) and Julia Tursky, with the Royals’ Sophia Guzciewicz and the Cards’ Gabriella Savo landing on the second team.
Deschaine, in her 17th season at Stevens, was named D-III’s coach of the year. Deschaine guided the Cards to a 6-4-1 mark and a trip to the divisional quarterfinals.
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Links honors: Stevens High’s most successful golf season in nearly two decades resulted in multiple coach and player awards recently.
The Cardinals’ Ryan Seaver and Ian MacDonald were chosen as NHIAA Division III’s coaches of the year. Stevens finished with an overall 39-2 match record after taking second out of 19 schools at the D-III state team championship at Manchester’s Derryfield Park last month. That was the program’s best result since runner-up honors in Class I in 2001.
The Cards’ senior-laden roster also produced three all-state selections, with Finn Allen and Dylan Adamovich making the first team and Reeve Wilkinson the second. All three golfers qualified for the D-III individual championship, with Allen landing in fourth place, Adamovich fifth and Wilkinson in a share of 14th.
Fall Mountain’s Mitchell Cormier, who won the D-III title along with nearly every match in which he played this season, was chosen as the division’s player of the year.
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MVCS volleyball all-staters: The Mid Vermont Christian School volleyball program had multiple selections to the Vermont Youth Volleyball Association’s all-state roster last week.
Hitters Delaney Gross and Hayley Goodwin, setter Nykrisha Jenks and libero Sydney Goodwin were chosen for the returning all-stars list. They were joined on the new all-stars team by hitter Anna Loiselle and libero Gabriella Tsakiris.
Despite having to play outdoor matches as a coronavirus pandemic mitigation measure, the Eagles recorded a 5-2 regular-season record before winning their own invitational tournament last month to cap the year.
Greg Fennell can be reached at gfennell@vnews.com or 603-727-3226.