Stonehill College

What began as Heather (Kenrick) Nadeau’s ’97 vision when she began her journey at Stonehill in 1994 has become one of the signature programs at the College over the past two-plus decades.

Kendrick formed the first club field hockey team during her freshman year of 1994, and before she graduated in 1997, her dream of seeing the Skyhawks compete at the NCAA level was realized through the foresight, help and guidance of another athletic pioneer, former longtime Director of Athletics and Stonehill icon Paula Sullivan.

In just eight short years, the Skyhawks went from their club program infancy to become a Division II power under former head coach and fellow Hall of Famer Pam Arpe. Stonehill captured the Northeast-10 tournament title in 2005 with a thrilling double-overtime victory at UMass Lowell and advanced to the NCAA national semifinals the following weekend at Shippensburg before falling to the eventual national champion River Hawks in another one-goal affair. In the last decade, the Skyhawks have taken Heather’s vision to greater heights with six more NCAA tournament appearances and a pair of conference crowns before making the historic transition to Division I status this fall.