Cornell field hockey player with the third-highest number of goals for the Red this season. Two-year First-team All-State player in high school. Two-time Class S Player of the Year. All of the above describe sophomore attacker Kat DiPastina, yet when asked to describe DiPastina, both her coaches and fellow teammates immediately commented on her exceptional teamwork and positive attitude.
DiPastina hails from Contoocook, N.H., where she attended high school at the Derryfield School. There, DiPastina played ice hockey and softball, in addition to field hockey. In fact, despite her skill, DiPastina never played on a club team and only took up field hockey in junior high school.
“I only really learned about field hockey back in sixth grade at an information session about fall sports for middle-schoolers,” DiPastina explained. “I decided to play on a whim.”
And what a whim it was. DiPastina continued to play field hockey at increasingly competitive levels as her high school career progressed, and led her team to a state title in 2007. But the success didn’t stop there.
As a Cornell freshman, DiPastina played in 12 out of 15 games, earning two goals and one assist in 2009. This year, she has played in all 11 games and has registered three goals and one assist.
Head coach Donna Hornibrook praised DiPastina’s attention to detail and hard-working manner.
“She cares about details and is a very dependable and reliable player,” Hornibrook said. “She’s also shown that she’s good under pressure, which is key.”
Most of all, DiPastina is recognized by her team for contributing an extremely positive and helpful attitude.
“Kat always puts the team first and is extremely selfless in every aspect, on and off the field. She’s always willing to put herself out there to help any one of us with anything,” said teammate Alexandra Robson. “If she’s on the sideline, she is the loudest player.”
“I feel like if I didn’t play, I would have missed out on a lot of stuff that really changed my life,” DiPastina said. “I’m really glad I’ve had the chance to play field hockey at this level.”
Original Author: Katie Schubauer