Dartmouth's Kacie Sturgeon Making Noise in Bridgewater State Net

By Mick Colageo, The Standard Times (New Bedford)

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Midway through the current field hockey season, Bridgewater State University was chugging along as a contender in the Little East Conference when head coach Erika Smith made one of those volatile choices that can make or break a season.

That's when Kacie Sturgeon, who wears No. 33, got her chance to be her team's No. 1.

"We were doing well, but we just thought that Kacie ... was improving so much in practices, mentally," said Smith, who gave the former Dartmouth High School goaltender the starter's job. "Since then, we've been doing great. It's exciting for us how much she's improved."

With the season winding down — the second-place Bears (13-2, 7-1 Little East Conference) host Salem State today and Plymouth State on Saturday before an Oct. 27 finale at Eastern Connecticut State — Sturgeon's voice is one of the reasons Smith was willing to make the change.

"She has turned into a real vocal leader, that's one of the things that's helped us out," said Smith. "That's one of her strengths, she's a support system for us back there. She's always been a good goalie."

Talking points have been part of Sturgeon's learning experience, but since becoming the Bears' starter she's taken the ball and run with it.

"It's easier if the whole defensive unit is on the same page," she said. "This year I stepped up my talking game, which helped out a lot."

Sturgeon's voice has been heard as well by the LEC, which named her Goalkeeper of the Week last week after she won three games, making 12 saves for two shutouts, a 0.40 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage. Both Sturgeon, a junior, and senior Cassie Johansen have been solid in 2012, each with three shutouts and each suffering only one defeat. Sturgeon's came in Saturday's 3-2 loss to first-place UMass Dartmouth (10-5, 8-0).

Five goals were scored in the league showdown, an ironically high mark pitting two dominant goaltenders from the local area. Sturgeon and Rochester's Lauren O'Brien (UMD) rank 1-2 in two key individual conference categories: O'Brien's 0.38 GAA leads the LEC (Sturgeon's 0.57 ranks second), and Sturgeon's .929 save percentage is tops in the LEC (O'Brien's .864 is second). Overall, Sturgeon is 6-1 with a 1.14 GAA and a .855 save pct.

Sturgeon's last playoff experience came at Dartmouth High.

"One thing I remember is my nerves," said Sturgeon, who takes an even-keeled approach to her position as starter.

"Me and Cassie, we have an understanding. We're both really good and we both work hard and we push each other to be better," said Sturgeon. "We both want to go to NCAAs and win the Little East, any way that can happen. Early in the season it was Cassie, now it's me. You never know what can happen."

Things happen quickly for college athletes, and Sturgeon's love for sports led to her major in physical education and a desire to teach in elementary schools.

"I had a really good gym teacher," she said, referring to Mickey Raposo at DeMello School — he now teaches at Quinn Elementary, where Dartmouth High plays its home games.

"She played sports at that age and was very good it, but I had no idea," said Raposo of his influence. "That's kind of nice. She's a good kid, I remember her as highly motivated, and a good athlete. She just loved class, loved gym class, and that's half the battle right there."

The BSU junior has come far from those and even the days that followed at Dartmouth.

"My freshman year, we had senior Katie Weaver, so I took my freshman year as a learning year," she said. "In high school, I was a goalie in soccer so I took what I knew. I kind of just winged it. So my freshman year I just learned what I could and worked as hard as I could."

Sturgeon's compete level has always been an asset.

"Kacie just showed in practice and in games, not only to me but to the team ... she knew what the team needed," said Dartmouth High coach Jess Bouchard. "At that point, we didn't have goalie coaches like we do now. She asked questions and I'd do whatever I could to get her the resources that she needed."

In 2008, Sturgeon allowed just 13 goals and posted 12 shutouts including a 1-0 win against New Bedford in the state tournament. In 2009, Sturgeon allowed 26 goals through Dartmouth's regular season with six shutouts and was an Old Colony League All-Star.

Nowadays, Sturgeon has technique and routines to help her focus. She taps her stick on the crossbar and each post of her cage. Before taking the field, she's in deep thought.

"I didn't really have a repetition in high school," she said. "That's kind of what I learned from high school to college. I focus and give us a chance to win."