By Tim Whelan Jr.
Daily News Correspondent
MetroWest Daily News Article

Perhaps knowing of the rich family history in field hockey, Westborough's Michaila Parent tried out the sport as a seventh grader in 2009.

"I played a couple of games, but I didn't really like it," the Worcester State University junior said last week.

Parent eventually came around on the sport, and the Worcester State field hockey program is now reaping the benefits.

Recently, Parent and Tewksbury's Hayley Sutherland became the first Worcester State players ever to earn All-American honors. Parent, a junior forward for the Lancers, was named to both the Longstreth/NFHCA and the Synapse Sports All-American teams. She earned a spot on the Longstreth/NFCHA Third Team in addition to a spot on the Synapse Sports Second Team.

"It's incredible, and I couldn't have done it without my team, the support of my family, all of the coaches," said Parent. "Obviously, I've gotten a lot of help along the way. It's a tribute to everyone around me. Just very exciting."

"We are so excited to see Michaila honored by the NFHCA as an All-American selection," Worcester State coach Alexa Carlson said in a release. "She worked very hard in the off-season to take her game to the next level and it really showed. ... She is the fastest player in our league and she really learned to utilize her skill and speed cohesively this season."

Parent's mother, Annette (née Brow), is in the Bentley University Athletic Hall of Fame for her field hockey and softball accomplishments. Her daughter is putting together a collegiate hall of fame career of her own.

This fall, Parent was ranked third nationally in assists per game (0.79), seventh nationally in points per game (3), and 18th nationally in goals per game (1.11). In total, she collected program-record totals of 21 goals and 15 assists for 57 points. Prior to being named an All-American, Parent earned numerous accolades, including being named Little East Conference Offensive Player of the Year.

Thanks in large part to Parent, Worcester State earned its first-ever LEC regular season title, finishing 15-4 (10-1 in conference play). This also marked second consecutive season that the Blue and Gold earned at least a share of the MASCAC regular season championship.

"We found our groove, and I think a part of it was because we all knew each other better," said Parent. "Even the freshmen seemed like they fit in really well on and off the field. It was easier to pass up and down the field, knowing basically where everyone was going to be."

Parent was a three-sport athlete at Westborough High, shining in basketball and lacrosse as well. On the field hockey pitch, she set the Rangers' single-season and career field hockey scoring records and was Mid-Wach C MVP.

She did that all while being home schooled through Seton Home Study School, a Catholic curriculum. In sports, she was the only one of her teammates who didn't actually attend Westborough High, but that didn't shake Parent's love for how she and her family went about her schooling.

"It was great being home schooled," Parent said. "At home, I wasn't with my team for seven hours or whatever, so I was able to do my own thing for school. But I had this network of friends close to home, so I felt pretty involved. Westborough schools [were] great about letting me be involved, and I felt as much a part of teams as anyone.

"We call it 'Westbubble,' and part of that comes from sometimes playing with the same girls in a lot of different sports," Parent added. "There was a lot of crossover where the girls on the field hockey team were also on the lacrosse team. It made it feel even better as a home-schooled student."

Parent's love for field hockey is rooted in her mother Annette being a prolific college player. While at Bentley, Annette once scored seven goals and had an assist against Bridgeport University in a 1983 game, which still stand as NCAA Division II field hockey records for goals and points in a game.

Parent carried on the family athletic tradition as a standout in basketball and lacrosse in high school.

It was field hockey that stuck, though.

"I loved it when I was in high school, just the team atmosphere," said Parent. "I liked basketball and liked lacrosse, too, but there was something different about field hockey that has stayed with me."

After going to St. Joseph's College in Standish, Maine, for her freshman year, Parent transferred to Worcester State in 2016.

"I didn't really like St. Joseph's for a number of reasons, one being my dietary restrictions," Parent said. "I have a lot of food allergies, and I couldn't eat as well as I do closer to home. When I knew I could commute and eat food I made for myself at home, without cross contamination, that was a factor. Also, I'm such a homebody. It was too far for me."

Parent is a chemistry major at Worcester State, with eyes on eventually becoming a physician's assistant.

"It's really busy, I'll tell you that much," said Parent. "But I'd much rather be busy than bored. It makes it easier to stay organized, to be certain of all the things I have to do. If I have something to do, I have to do it now, because I'll have practice and work. It makes me stay on task."

Parent also sings at masses at Southborough's St. Anne Church with her older sister, Desiree (who graduated from St. Joseph's in May) as well as their father, Douglas.

Additionally, Parent works at Westborough's Sky Zone, an indoor trampoline park. This summer, she also worked as an assistant to Dr. John Shufflebarger, an orthopedic surgeon at Worcester's St. Vincent's Hospital. For that, Parent received patient-care hours, which are a prerequisite for graduate school. The opportunity actually came together through an athletic connection of her younger brother's.

"My brother, Devin, plays baseball with the son of the doctor I interned for," Parent said. "My mom was talking to his wife at a baseball game — he's actually a hand doctor who had fixed my hand in the past, so I knew him already. His wife talked to him, and I was asked if I wanted to intern. It all kind of fell together."

Sounds kind of like this season for Parent, who was also was named to the NFHCA New England West All-Region First Team.

"Michaila is a student of the game and never settles for less than her best," said Carlson, in her second year at the helm. "She has an incredible knowledge of the game and always knows what she needs to do to help the team be successful. She is very deserving of this honor and I am confident her senior season will be another impressive campaign for our program."

Parent came around on field hockey, fully embracing the sport. And now she's one of the best around.

Tim Whelan Jr. can be reached at whelan.timothy@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @thattimwhelan.