Lindsay Moyer is quickly establishing herself as the Red’s most dangerous player, but she’ll be the last one to say so.
The sophomore has started the season with four goals and one assist, living up to her pre-season billing as a “vital contributor” to the field hockey team. However, she is focused only on the team’s success.
“I’m really appreciative of whoever wrote it,” Moyer said. “If that’s how they see me, I’ll take that on. I’ll step into that role.”
Moyer comes to every practice and every game ready to push herself to the limit in order to help build a winning season for the Red.
“She has a terrific attitude,” said head coach Donna Hornibrook. “She has the ‘it’, an intangible thing that’s impossible to teach. She comes to practice every day with the attitude that she wants to get better.”
That attitude has been Moyer’s trademark since she first picked up a field hockey stick in the third grade.
“I’m an extremely competitive person,” she said. “In any type of situation, I do the best I can. I bust my butt whenever I can. That’s me and my attitude on and off the field.”
This competitive drive has earned Moyer recognition at every level of the game. In high school, she was a member of the 2003 Delaware all-state team and was a regional All-America selection. She captained her varsity team to a conference championship and the state semi-finals her senior year. She also appeared in the National Futures Tournament, an elite national developmental program for field hockey.
“I have the greatest respect for her,” Hornibrook said of Moyer’s accomplishments. “All good players have the same competitive drive and desire to be the best at everything she does. She’s a hard worker and her confidence is growing. There is an opportunity to work hard every day, and she takes advantage of it.”
Moyer made the transition to the college game with ease. Her freshman year, she appeared in 13 contests and started three games. This year, she scored her first and second career goals in the first game of the season, against Lehigh. She has already been recognized for her skills on the field, earning the first Tompkins Trust Company/Cornell Varsity Athlete of the Week honor of the semester.
“I think she’s just scratching the surface of her potential to become a great player,” Hornibrook said. “She had a terrific spring for us, and she’ll be a key to our success this year. She’s involved in every aspect of the team.”
Moyer is the ultimate team player, reluctant to speak about herself and focused on doing her best to take the team to the next level.
“I was surprised and flattered when I got playing time as a freshman,” she said. “I got to be out on the field with girls who had been in the program for four years, so now I’m not as nervous. I’m comfortable on the field.”
Although the team has struggled in the first few games of the season, Moyer is confident the Red’s hard work and dedication will help turn things around.
“We’ve had a hard time getting the ball up to the forwards,” Moyer said. “We need to play the first five minutes of the game not backing off. We need to score the first goal, and not have to retaliate the whole game.”
Hornibrook thinks that Moyer will be a vital component in helping the team put together a winning effort.
“She’s such a strong player,” Hornibrook said. “She’s got great vision and can read the game. Her technical play and tactical understanding are getting better. I feel she could become a really key player.”
These skills will be put to the test as the Red tackles its second Ivy League game of the season this Saturday against Penn. Moyer is confident the team will be ready for the challenge.
“We’re gonna have ups and downs,” Moyer said. “But we’re such a tight unit we know two games aren’t the end of the world.”
Archived article by Olivia Dwyer
Sun Staff Writer