By: Connor Blake, Staff Writer
Lindsay Pych, the sophomore goalkeeper on the Women’s Field Hockey and Ice Hockey team majoring in environmental policy & planning from West Milford, New Jersey is shutting out the competition with her stellar goalkeeping ability.
Through 15 games this year, Pych leads the conference with a save percentage of 81% with 5 of the games being shutouts. Her efforts in the net brought her first Little East Conference (LEC) Goalkeeper of the Week Award for the week of October 7th, 2019. During that week Pych lead the Huskies to a pair of LEC wins with a 2-0 victory at home against Salem State and a 4-1 road win against Bridgewater State.
Pych has always been involved in many sports, being a three-sport athlete at Morristown-Beard High School in Morristown, New Jersey. While there, she was a member of the field hockey, ice hockey, and lacrosse teams. She was a four-year member of the varsity ice hockey team and earned first-team all honors in ice hockey as a senior. During the same senior year, she also earned all-county and all-conference honorable mention honors in field hockey.
Pych started playing ice hockey growing up and discovered field hockey during her freshman year of high school. During her junior season, they needed a goalie for both teams and has played both sports ever since, “I love both the sports because they each have their own vibe. Ice hockey is more intense and Field Hockey is more cool and collected, so it is nice to have the different vibes,” said Pych.
Deciding to be a two-sport athlete at any school is not an easy decision to make, that being said, the welcoming environment of the athletic department is what sealed the deal for Pych to want to continue athletics in college. “The vibe of the athletic department, and how welcoming everyone is really made me want to play here,” said Pych.
Being a two-sport college athlete can be very demanding in various ways such as time commitment, and the level of play. A typical day for Pych starts in the morning around 7 a.m where she finds herself at Costello Ice Arena for practice. After a quick shower and breakfast, she is off to one or two classes. After class she comes back for field hockey practice around 3-5 p.m. Lastly, she heads off to dinner and then finishes the night with homework.
Regardless of the challenges of time, Pych still finds time for herself in other ways through babysitting, working for the Costello Sports Center and coaching USA Youth Ice Hockey, “If I could give one piece of advice to someone, it would be to always use your free time wisely to get ahead in schoolwork,” said Pych.
While Pych spends a lot of time practicing, she also spends the majority of her time in the classroom as well. Her hard work has paid off, being honored with the William B. Wise Scholar-Athlete award, “Having great coaches have helped me come out of my shell, and both coaches have been great at time management to allow me to succeed in both sports as well as academically,” said Pych.
Only a sophomore, Pych has an eye for her future. Fueled by climate change and the effects it has on the world, she wants to go to law school and eventually become an environmental lawyer, “I’m unhappy with the way the government is handling climate change and I want to help change that,” said Pych.
As the semester moves on, so does the sports seasons, and with Women’s Ice Hockey around the corner, Pych is looking forward to the new season. Last year she was the backup goalkeeper for the Women’s Ice Hockey team and is looking to improve this season and do everything she can to help the team succeed, “Last year I didn’t play much but, I’m always looking to improve and help the team,” said Pych.
The Women’s Ice Hockey team is looking to improve from last year which they finished with a 9-11-6 record. The season will open on Friday, November 1st at Home at 4:00 pm against the University of New England.