Former Dedham High stars Katie Kelly and Sydney Stoll each left Whiting Avenue as the all-time leading scorers in their signature sports. But beyond their knack for producing goals, it was a relentless drive that made them stand apart in Marauder uniforms on the field hockey and soccer pitches.
UMass took notice, and while it may have manifested itself in different ways for the two, that fierce will to compete never wavered during their stays in Amherst. Both wrapped up their careers with the Minutewomen this fall, divergent journeys from same starting point.
Kelly earned plenty of personal accolades during her four years. A two-year captain for the Minutewomen, Kelly increased her point total every season, culminating in a senior season in which she led the team in goals for the second straight season, racking up 11 with nine assists. She finished with totals of 36 goals and 21 assists for 93 points, sixth-best in program history.
Her senior year she was named to the Longstreth/NFHCA All-Northeast Region First Team, the Atlantic-10 All-Conference First Team, the A-10 All-Championship Team and A-10 Academic All-Conference. She was also selected as one of 34 Division I Senior All-Stars by the NFCHA, buying her a trip to College Park, Md., to play in the Senior All-Star Game and scrimmage against the U.S. National Team.
But as much individual success as Kelly achieved, it’s the strides her squad made during her career she is most proud of. When Kelly was recruited the Minutewomen were coming off a 6-14 season in 2006. During her four years, UMass went 58-31, won three A-10 titles and earned three NCAA tournament berths.
“It went by really fast,” said Kelly. “I remember as a freshman thinking that getting to senior year was going to take forever but after freshman year it seemed to fly by. The fact that it over is still kind of sinking in.”
Her final season was particularly satisfying. UMass registered wins over both UConn and Syracuse, which Kelly compared to her high school days when Dedham emerged from the shadow of mighty Walpole to gain equal footing in the Bay State Conference.
The Minutewomen had the opportunity to lock up an automatic NCAA berth in play-in game against Stanford but were defeated 2-1. But UMass, which finished the regular season ranked No. 18 in the country, was awarded an at-large spot in the 16-team field, much to the delight of the Minutewomen team watching the selection show in their locker room.
Former Dedham High stars Katie Kelly and Sydney Stoll each left Whiting Avenue as the all-time leading scorers in their signature sports. But beyond their knack for producing goals, it was a relentless drive that made them stand apart in Marauder uniforms on the field hockey and soccer pitches.
UMass took notice, and while it may have manifested itself in different ways for the two, that fierce will to compete never wavered during their stays in Amherst. Both wrapped up their careers with the Minutewomen this fall, divergent journeys from same starting point.
Kelly earned plenty of personal accolades during her four years. A two-year captain for the Minutewomen, Kelly increased her point total every season, culminating in a senior season in which she led the team in goals for the second straight season, racking up 11 with nine assists. She finished with totals of 36 goals and 21 assists for 93 points, sixth-best in program history.
Her senior year she was named to the Longstreth/NFHCA All-Northeast Region First Team, the Atlantic-10 All-Conference First Team, the A-10 All-Championship Team and A-10 Academic All-Conference. She was also selected as one of 34 Division I Senior All-Stars by the NFCHA, buying her a trip to College Park, Md., to play in the Senior All-Star Game and scrimmage against the U.S. National Team.
But as much individual success as Kelly achieved, it’s the strides her squad made during her career she is most proud of. When Kelly was recruited the Minutewomen were coming off a 6-14 season in 2006. During her four years, UMass went 58-31, won three A-10 titles and earned three NCAA tournament berths.
“It went by really fast,” said Kelly. “I remember as a freshman thinking that getting to senior year was going to take forever but after freshman year it seemed to fly by. The fact that it over is still kind of sinking in.”
Her final season was particularly satisfying. UMass registered wins over both UConn and Syracuse, which Kelly compared to her high school days when Dedham emerged from the shadow of mighty Walpole to gain equal footing in the Bay State Conference.
The Minutewomen had the opportunity to lock up an automatic NCAA berth in play-in game against Stanford but were defeated 2-1. But UMass, which finished the regular season ranked No. 18 in the country, was awarded an at-large spot in the 16-team field, much to the delight of the Minutewomen team watching the selection show in their locker room.
UMass drew top-ranked Maryland in the first round and fell 4-2 to the eventual national champions.
“I couldn’t be happier, we accomplished all of the goals we had set, like beating Syracuse and UConn, two really big rivals, and making in it back to the NCAAs,” said Kelly, who is on schedule to receive a degree in communications. “I wish we could have gone further, but overall, it was still very successful.”
Stoll’s career did not end in the NCAA tournament like Kelly’s. The fact that it even ended on the field for the Minutewomen was remarkable in itself.
Stoll played in all 17 games as a freshman in 2006 but had her sophomore season cut short by injury after just 11 contests then tore the ACL in her left knee in a spring game, knocking her out for the entire 2008 season.
She returned as a redshirt junior in 2009, starting all 19 games, leading UMass in goals with five and garnering an All A-10 Tournament nod.
“It was hard (missing 2008) but I thought it was good experience to watch,” said Stoll. “A lot of people do that sitting out freshman year. It’s hard to watch but I learned a lot seeing the game like that.”
The injury bug bit again at the beginning of her senior season as a torn left hamstring forced her to miss eight games. In her third game back, Stoll scored twice in 3-0 win over Xavier, but two days later at Dayton she tore the left ACL for a second time.
Stoll refused to let the setback rob her of the chance to finish her career in the UMass lineup. She played the final six games despite the injury as UMass advanced to the A-10 tournament, where its season ended with a 2-0 loss to St. Bonaventure. Stoll leaves with 14 goals and five assists in 58 games with UMass.
“It didn’t really hurt the second time, I didn’t even know it until about a week later, but I said I might as well just get back out there,” said Stoll, who is set to graduate this month with a degree in psychology with an education minor. “It was definitely difficult, I didn’t have my speed or anything but that last game against St. Bonaventure I would gave hated not to be out there.”
(Tom Fargo is Sports Editor of the Dedham Transcript. He can be reached at (781) 433-8372 or tfargo@cnc.com)
