PAT LONGOBARDI — Sports Writer
As a senior, SCSU field hockey’s Aleida Mapes has really shown her skills after getting more work in the Owls lineup the past two years.
Mapes, a midfielder/defender for the Owls, has played in all 18 games this season and recorded four points with one goal and two assists. She has played in 51 career games in her four years at SCSU.
“I came for a tryout,” said Mapes. “The school interested me because it was different. I had heard about Southern Connecticut. It was close enough to still visit [my family].”
Mapes was recently rewarded for her play and was selected to the NFHCA North-South Senior All-Star Game that took place on Nov. 12.
Southern field hockey’s head coach, Kelley Frassinelli, said Mapes has worked hard during her collegiate career.
“This was her best season,” she said. “She played stronger and with more confidence which was big for her transition. It took until her senior year to make those connections [on the field]. She was more involved and brought the team together this year.”
Frassinelli said she has moved Mapes around in her college career.
“[Mapes] came in as a halfback type of position,” she said. “This season, she went to midfield. She had the ability to manipulate the ball for us, defend the strong side and attack the weak side.”
The Owls finished the year with a 5-13 record and 2-8 in the Northeast-10 Conference. Mapes has made three Northeast-10 Conference
tournament appearances and one NCAA tournament appearance.
“[Mapes] showed her true potential as a field hockey player in a number of games this season,” assistant coach Lauren Tamborino said. “She has worked steadily throughout her years here until she was able to achieve what she did in her final season. She is usually a quiet person. She likes to work hard out of the spotlight.”
Mapes is from Springvale, Maine and went to Sanford High School where she participated in three sports—field hockey, swimming and lacrosse. She helped her field hockey team reach the Western Maine finals on three different occasions with one championship.
“I was kind of a motivator and I was pretty positive,” Mapes said. “The team was excited when I was chosen (for the All-Star Game).”
Mapes said since she was from a traditional town, she has played with the same players since around the sixth grade, and she was so close with them that their chemistry was amazing.
“It was a transition [playing at SCSU],” she said. “I was a new player and it was not the same chemistry. I struggled getting better. This was my personal best, but not the team’s best. I’m sad it’s over.”
When she was told that she made the All-Star Game, Mapes said she was so excited.
“It was a great opportunity,” she said. “I did not know if other seniors on the team were going or if my parents could come. It was literally all stars. It was more of a family trip that I celebrated with my family who was always there to support me.”
Mapes is a political science major with a minor in anthropology, and she said she is still deciding what her future holds in her career.
“I am on track to graduate in May,” she said. “I have had internships to give me experience. Hopefully, there are more internships and if not then maybe grad school. I don’t know yet.”
Mapes’ advice to the team: “Keep your passion and know your talent and put it on the field. I hope to support them wherever I am.”
