Stoehr had to juggle field hockey and nursing all four years

By Anthony Lawrence Caruso, III
The Sports Capital Staff Writer

Leah Stoehr had to juggle a very tough major and athletics all four years. She was even able to make one practice per week and still be a valuable contribute to the Sacred Heart field hockey team. She has played in almost every single game over her college field hockey career.

Stoehr started her field hockey career, playing for Lower Dauphin High School, in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania. She was a three-year letter winner and helped her team to the 2003 PIAA District III Championship. The team also won the Mid-Penn Championship for their undefeated season.

The field hockey team was the 2003 PIAA State Finalist runner-up, while also winning the District III Championship, in 2002. She was also named a Mid-Penn All-Star Honorable Mention during her senior year.

“My coach was Linda Kreiser and she was one of the best coaches that I ever had,’ Stoehr said. “So, it was very nice to be taught to play field hockey under her leadership. We did pretty well. My senior year, we lost in the State Championship (Game), so we did pretty well while I was there. The team was great, and a lot of people went on to play D-I field hockey.”

She also competed in softball and lacrosse while in high school. She was a member of the softball team during her freshman, sophomore, and senior years. She was a member of the lacrosse team during her junior year. She was named to the Mid-Penn All-Star team in lacrosse and was a Mid-Penn All-Star Honorable Mention in softball.

“Field hockey was my main sport, and those were just to keep me in shape,” Stoehr said. “I just love every sport and love to play on different sports in the different seasons.”

She received only three offers out of high school. She had little interest in Quinnipiac and Michigan during the recruiting process. But she knew all along that she was going to attend Sacred Heart University.

“It was really on my official visit, when I drove onto the campus, and meeting all the girls,” Stoehr said. “It felt like the right place to be. And I didn't have any negative feelings about it. It was a small school and I didn't want to go to a big school. And I wanted to be in smaller classes to get help if I needed to do so. So, pretty much, the school and the players on the team attracted me to Sacred Heart.”

As a freshman, she started all 20 games on the season for the Pioneers. She started all 20 games as a defender, while taking one shot on the year.

“I would have to contribute that to my coaching in high school,” Stoehr said. “She (Linda Kreiser) taught me everything she knew. She taught us to be good students and play as hard as we can by giving a 110% every time you step out onto the field. I had no idea I would have played that much, as a freshman. And it was really an honor to play in every game.”

“Leah was always a offensive player,” Sacred Heart field hockey coach Chris Blais said. “And she grew up playing ice hockey and then, moving over to field hockey, she hadn't played a lot of field hockey through her younger years. We really needed a defender, and it wasn't like if you were a defender, it was going to be, she's a defender no questions asked. And she filled that role really well.”

As a sophomore, she played in all 21 game, including starting 18 games. She had one goal and assisted on two other goals for three points on the year. She scored her first college goal, a game-winner, against Monmouth.

“I don't remember that really,” Stoehr said. “Sorry.”

Last year, she played in 20 games, including started 19 games on the year. She scored four goals and assisted on eight goals for a total of 16 points. She was selected to the NFHCA All-Academic team, as well.

“It was a great honor to be on the All-Academic team, because that shows that I'm playing a sport, as well as excelling in school,” Stoehr said. “So, I'm a nursing student, and it's one of the hardest majors here at Sacred Heart. It was a struggle to keep up with school and excelling on the field. It was a really great honor for me.”

“Ever year that she's been here,” Coach Blais said. “She kept a very high GPA and she's a very smart girl. She's been a nursing major, and from what I could tell, it's a very demanding major, even with athletics, because there are so many time demands placed on you.”

This year, she has appeared in 18 games, including 17 starts on the year. She had zero goals on the year, yet she did assist on two goals for a total of two points. She took 10 shots, with only one of those shots coming on goal.

“Personally, I've always loved field hockey — playing in games and going to practices,” Stoehr said. “I couldn't make practice as much as I would have liked, because of my nursing schedule. I really think that this seas was a great way to end my four years here. I played my hardest and we played the best we could in getting to the tournament.”

She is currently majoring in nursing at Sacred Heart University. She said she really liked helping people and she is compassionate person. She also said that there’s not been any other profession that has interested her besides nursing and the medical field and that it wasn’t really a hard decision to choose nursing. She will graduate in May 2008 with her nursing degree.

“I would love to have kids,” Stoehr said. “And raise them to be great people. I would love for them to play sports. I would love to be a nurse and a mom. Hopefully, when I get out of school, everything will fall into place.”

“I think she'll do excellent,” Coach Blais said. “I think she'll be very successful, if she was a nurse, or if she does something else in life. She's a very driven person and she wants to be the best that she can be in whatever she's doing.”