Two southern tier women part of national field hockey championship team

For seasoned field hockey players, 2014 Owego Free Academy (OFA) graduate Rebecca “Becca” Bouyea and 2014 Vestal High School graduate Emily Barnard, both juniors at Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pa., winning the 2016 NCAA Division II Field Hockey National Championship along with their Raiders teammates and coaches was both exhilarating and bittersweet.

The Ship Raiders won the national championship on Nov. 20 at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass. by defeating LIU Post (Long Island University) with a 2-1 score.

Shippensburg first beat East Stroudsburg in the quarterfinals and then chalked up another victory over Millersville in the semifinals. The championship also marks the second time in school history that Shippensburg won the NCAA Division II title, the first being in 2013.

Bouyea shared, “It was one of the best experiences I’ve had so far, just unbelievable.”

Barnard suffered an ACL injury during the fifth game of the season and sat out for a month, yet played with a brace for the remainder of the season and scored the first goal at the championship game, a diving tip-in just seven minutes into the game. 

“Not playing was a huge impact on my teammates, but I persevered and was ‘super-determined’ to play. I wanted to help inspire the team,” Barnard said.   

The national win could not have been a more perfect ending for the team who had dedicated the season in honor of their late coach, Amanda Strous, a homicide victim who lost her life just prior to the beginning of the field hockey season. Strous coached Bouyea and Barnard during their freshman year, and for Bouyea, Strous was an inspiration.

“She left a legacy at Shippensburg, and we wanted to do the same for her,” Bouyea said.

Barnard added, “Before our games, instead of saying ‘1-2-3 Ship,” we instead cheered, ‘Live, Laugh, Love,” which Barnard and Bouyea explained was a philosophy that Strous lived by.

Bouyea played midfield and forward in her debut season with Shippensburg, and then transitioned into defense. At OFA, Bouyea finished as her team’s leading scorer in her junior and senior year, and was a three-time Section IV First Team All-Star as well as selected as a First All-Star player.

For Bouyea, the desire to play with friends in seventh grade first intrigued her to play field hockey, and as she continued, the sport grew more into a passion. Bouyea also played for the club team, Southern Tier Storm, where she met Barnard.

OFA coach, Emily Crawford, who coached varsity field hockey for nine seasons, explained that Bouyea was a talented player who moved up to varsity as a freshman during the second half of the season.

Crawford commented, “After watching a Shippensburg versus Mansfield game, Becca fits well with the intensity of the Shippensburg team. She has the mentality and drive, and it really fits her personality.”  

Bouyea explained that when she first visited the Shippensburg campus, she had immediate strong feelings that it was the right choice, and commented, “The small town atmosphere reminds me of Owego, too.”

Bouyea is studying psychology and plans a career as a school psychologist or counselor, with thoughts, too, about pursuing a field hockey coach position. Bouyea is the daughter of Bill and Jodi Bouyea.

For Emily Barnard, Christmas 2016 will bring a new ACL via surgery, and she will be mending and attending physical therapy sessions upwards of six months. Disappointed that she will not be able to play with the Storm Club team, Barnard is thrilled that she was able to continue the regular Ship Raiders season and be part of the national victory. 

Field hockey is a spirited passion for Barnard, who started playing on the Vestal Recreation league in first grade. Barnard ranked second in points during her 2014 debut season at Shippensburg, and as a sophomore gained the team-high points and shots on goal. Among many credits, Barnard was named to the All-American second team and ALL-PSAC. At Vestal, Barnard finished as a three-time First Team All-Star. Barnard is majoring in economics and mathematics at Shippensburg, and is the daughter of Jeff and Nicole Barnard.

Bouyea and Barnard participated in various field hockey clinics and coached young people, as well as paid it forward and hosted free clinics in the Shippensburg community.  

Bouyea and Barnard both plan to use their energies and promote the sport of field hockey, a sport they both feel does not always get the attention it deserves, and in hopes to capture the interest of young people.