Donohoe leads Owls to conference title game
Ex-North Middlesex standout leads team to MASCAC title game
WESTFIELD » Westfield State senior women’s lacrosse midfielder Sam Donohoe was named the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference player of the week for the second straight week, after scoring six goals with two assists in the Owls’ 15- 6 win at Mass Maritime last Thursday.
“She’s done exactly what the team needed,” said Owls head coach Jeff Pechulis. “She didn’t play a lot in a game that we ended up having well in hand, and I didn’t realize at the time she’s there on the bench just two goals from 100 in her career, and she’s not focused on that, she’s focused on the team first.”
Donohoe, a Pepperell native and North Middlesex Regional graduate, leads the team with 22 goals and 27 points this season, and has 98 career goals and 25 assists for 123 points, ranking 13th on the Owls career scoring list, and 11th in career goals.
Donohoe will have at least one more chance to reach 100 goals as the Owls will play in the MASCAC Championship game on Saturday, traveling to Framingham State with the winner earning the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Westfield will be playing in its sixth straight conference title game and it will be four in a row for Donohoe.
“Coming in as a freshman, it was a mindset that our team is going to get to the championship game,” she said. “We played every game with that mindset. That atmosphere and the way we play and the way
we practice is a set tone, for me it’s been amazing because I am an extremely competitive person.”
“We played (defending and eventual national champion) Gettysburg (in the 2018 NCAA Tournament), even though they were the best in D3 we played them our hardest and we never gave up, and that’s something I really, really love about our team is that we never give up and that we’re fighters.”
The never-give-up attitude benefitted Donohoe this year, as after the 2020 season was cut short by the pandemic, she used the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA.
Donohoe coming back for the 2021 season was “huge,” according to Pechulis.
“She was leading the conference in almost every stat as a midfielder last year when the plug got pulled while we were in Florida,” he said. “She was pretty devastated.”
“I was all set to graduate, had finished my major (mathematics) and my minor (business), but then after the season ended in Florida I decided I definitely wasn’t done playing, and I wanted to try to come back, but I wanted to make it academically a good choice,” Donohoe added. “After I figured everything out with my parents and my living situation, I added a second major in economics, and I had to come back and play lacrosse again.”
Donohoe had already been offered a spot in “a financial management program with GE
Healthcare.” But after initially telling her she couldn’t defer the start date, the company changed its mind, allowing her to start in July.
“She had a great job lined up and ultimately she had to convince them that her coming back to school would be beneficial to both her and them. She added a second major in economics even though it would be tough, once she realized it added value,” said Pechulis. “It’s pretty cool that she did all that. I started calling her ‘Doctor’ Donohoe. I’d love to have her around for another year.”
Donohoe has won department awards in both math and economics, been part of the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and the MASCAC All-Academic Team, and was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, the national student-athlete honor society as well.
“Sam has really made the most of being a college student,” said Pechulis. “She’s taken every opportunity presented at Westfield State – she’s played club hockey for four years, she doesn’t just take classes to earn credits, she takes them to learn something new, or something she might find helpful in the future. She told me she was taking legal writing as an elective. It’s amazing.”
Donohoe spent the fall of her junior year studying in Florence, Italy, as part of the Westfield State study abroad program, and visiting “eight or nine European countries” with former teammate and roommate Kirsten Longbottom.
“I think its great for our players to have a chance to experience and take advantage of everything in college,” said Pechulis. “With the caliber of players that we are trying to recruit, one of the benefits
to playing at Division III is that you have more opportunities to do everything – whether it’s study abroad, student government, theater, play a second sport, go ahead and do it while you can.
“Sam was recruited by several Division I programs, but ended up chosing Westfield because it gave her the opportunity to play club hockey, to play lacrosse, to do all of those things.”
Donohoe credits Pechulis for the flexibility accorded her to miss a season of fall ball while studying abroad, and her parents for their support and pushing her to be the best she can be.
“The way team is run, from the moment I came here a freshman I felt like part of a family, and a community,” said Donohoe. “The community in general … I’ve talked to my friends at other schools, and they don’t have the same connection with everyone. My friends, my professors, (coach Pechulis), I
know I’ll have these relationships for the rest of my life.
“My professors are always there to help me, and knew they wanted the best for me. Has made the experience amazing for me.”
Donohoe and the Owls will have the chance to avenge their only loss of 2021 on Saturday.
Playing in a season already shortened due to the pandemic, the Owls’ first two scheduled games ended up being canceled due to protocols. Westfield traveled to Framingham in what ended up being the season opener, where Westfield lost 13-9 after falling being 7-1 early in the game.
“From there we’ve won every game and gotten better each game,” said Donohoe. “It was a little hard to start off the season, we weren’t able to do a lot of team bonding, but we are always playing as a team and working together as a team, and I am excited for the game Saturday.”