October 10, 2014

By Jay Gearan, Sports Correspondent

Worcester, MA --- For Worcester State University field hockey head coach Chris Pothier, his love for the game began back in high school on Cape Cod.

Pothier, 10 years ago, was one of only two male players on the Sandwich High field hockey team.

"My parents were super supportive, and so were all my coaches, said Pothier, whose early experiences with the game became the foundation for his successful coaching career.

"The girls on our Sandwich team were very welcoming and didn't see me as taking a spot from a female player. They just saw me as someone who wanted to play field hockey," he said.

After high school Pothier continued to play field hockey, winning a spot on the U.S. Men's National team.

Later he trained with the women's national team, is on the U.S. Indoor National Squad and also serves as a performance analyst for the national teams.

Pothier owns the Cape Ann Coalition, a premier field hockey club.

On the sidelines at WSU, Pothier brings his knowledge of high-performance field hockey into the Division III college level. Excellent passing and position skills are evident to anyone watching Pothier's Lancers, which entered this week of competition with a 7-4 overall record and a 3-2 mark in the Little East Conference.

It's been a steady climb upward for the field hockey team at Worcester State University since Pothier arrived on the scene in 2012, from three wins in his first season to 12 last year.

"There's a lot thought and reasoning behind the play of our girls," Pothier said. "We've had players with us for three straight years now, and it's allowed for us to take the next step in our process of improvement. It's really exciting. Our goal is to finish within the top four teams in our conference."

Leading the way for the Lancers are co-captains Kelli McPherson (Mansfield, MA) and Megan Ripke (Feeding Hills, MA), along with leading scorer Julie O'Rourke (Worcester, MA/St. Peter-Marian), who had 23 points entering this week of competition.

O'Rourke, a junior, who starred at St. Peter-Marian in high school, netted the game-winning goal on a penalty corner with no time left in the Lancers 2-1 win over UMass-Dartmouth last week. That victory was the Lancers' fifth straight.

"Julie is certainly our workhorse," Pothier said. "She can track down the ball anywhere and finish with a goal. She has an opportunity to really leave her mark here."

In a game last week against Bridgewater State, O'Rourke moved into a tie with former player Sarah Cozzens for 10th on the Lancers' all-time scoring list with 62 points.

Pothier also praised the play and leadership of captains McPherson and Ripke, along with solid contributions from the three other seniors on the team: Jourdan Childs, Katelyn Abber and Molly Kilday.

"We have a very strong junior class, led by Julie (O'Rourke) and Erika Lepkowski (Baldwinville, MA)," Pothier said.

Freshman goalkeeper Kathryn Salemme (Boxboro, MA) has been outstanding between the pipes and has notched four shutout victories.

Last year, under Pothier's direction, the Lancers went 12-9 overall and captured its first-ever ECAC Division 3 Tournament win, a 2-1 overtime victory over Smith.

The 2013 team broke school records for goals, assists and points.

Telegram & Gazette Story