the Informer

Adam Manison

Adam Manison

Adam Manison

This Sunday women’s soccer forward Mary Beth Hamilton, defensemen Michele DeSanti and goalkeeper Lauren Brodeur will play in the New England Women’s Intercollegiate Soccer Association Senior Bowl at Merrimack College in Massachusetts.

These three Hawk seniors exemplify a commonality among all good teams: not a collection of super stars, but a collection of unselfish players willing to do whatever is necessary to benefit the team wherever and whenever, on the field or the sidelines.

Brodeur, with 21 wins that allowed the other team to score a goal against her in only three of those games, was relegated to the number two goalie spot on the roster, this past season, behind the Syracuse transfer Erin Quinlan.

“I have to give my defense a lot of the credit,” Brodeur said about her Hartford goalie career.

Hamilton ended her Hawk career with 11 career goals and 14 assists after this past season’s six goals and six assists, which gave her 18 total points, the third most goals and the second most assists, for the team.

DeSanti, led a defensive brick wall that shutout opponents 11 times during her final year.

“I would rather stop an opponent from scoring than score a goal myself,” she said.

She will play defense in the game on Sunday, along with seven other players from the region.

Additionally, both Hamilton and Desanti were recipients of an America East All Conference selection.

“It means a lot, it shows that you are part of that elite group of players. It is an honor to play against people as good as you,” she said.

Brodeur sees Sunday’s game as “a big honor” and a “pleasant surprise.”

The stellar net minder did not play in every game this season, however she still remained positive, defining a good teammate’s behavior, so much so that she said doing so was her biggest accomplishment this season.

The Wilbraham, Mass. native finished her Hartford career with a .99 goals against average.

With a career aspiration of being a physician’s assistant with the call to help other people in the same way she helped the Hawks, Brodeur will be saving lives instead of goals in her bright future.

Durability has been one of DeSanti’s greatest strengths, which can be seen with the fact that from time that she missed due to injury, she has played every minute of every game of her Hartford career.

The Meriden, Conn. native will graduate with a degree in business management in May, and she hopes to go to graduate school.

“I will miss my teammates the most, we have been through so much emotionally and physically, through a lot of trials and tribulations,” said Brodeur of her time with the Hawks.

One needs no further explanation of why the Hawks finished with a 13-2-3 record this past year beyond the Chemistry.

Brodeur, Hamilton and DeSanti’s play on the field reflected how each one of these young women cared more about each other than themselves.