South Wales to Syracuse: Abby Neitch's Field Hockey Passion
4/3/2024 9:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Syracuse field hockey redshirt freshman Abby Neitch hails from South Wales, New York, where her love for field hockey started.
"My oldest sister played field hockey," said Neitch. "I just wanted to do what my older sisters were doing."
As an emerging athlete, Neitch had accessible role models who would eventually become Syracuse staff. "My sisters and I got into little camps and clinics with Dalton Beaver and Coach Barb. I started when I was young, but it became something that I loved and looked forward to."
Neitch grew fond of Dalton Beaver, a Syracuse field hockey alumna. "I grew up knowing I wanted to play field hockey at Syracuse, and she already had that experience. I looked up to her in a way that I didn't look up to other people because she had been in a position that I really wanted to be in."
Coach Barb was inducted into the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. Living in the same area, Neitch was able to closely watch her journey while creating her own. "She's an umpire for field hockey, playing on the U.S Master's team." On a personal level, Neitch feels like she's the perfect balance between fun and strict.
Neitch continued to work on her game as a goalkeeper while she attended Holland High school and served as the field hockey team captain during her junior and senior years. She competed in the 2018 U14 National Futures Championships, the U16 National Futures Championship, and the U16 Stars and Stripes game at NFC. As a senior, she was named All-Western New York Co-Player of the Year. Later, she decided to try something different and join her track and field team. Neitch gives credit to her small town for her diverse athletic skills.
"Everyone is involved in everything and that opens up a lot of opportunities because you are here filling roles that in a bigger town aren't always available."Â
Off the field, she was president of the student council, member of the National Honors Society, and Key Club. Neitch was a three-time All-Western New York First Team selection and four-time ECIC All-Star. With many schools to choose from she ultimately decided to attend Syracuse University.
Moreover, in the early spring, Syracuse field hockey has the opportunity to get some indoor playing experience. "It's nice to be able to do indoor because not every college is able to do that. For goalies, the only difference is that it's a lot faster pace because it's on hardwood floor and the ball moves faster. It's a different style but the basics remain the same. It prepares me to be a little more explosive when I get back out on the turf."
During her time with the Orange, she has already been named ACC Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 24), played in 10 games and started in the final six games of the 2023 season. "I didn't realize before I got here how dedicated people will be to you if you show up and you want to work; from coaches and teammates to support staff and professors. It's a really wonderful community to be a part of because we want to be here and we're here for each other. The support here is tremendous."Â Â That support propelled her to achieve a total of 59 shots faced in 2023.
The unique playing opportunities wasn't the only thing that pushed Neitch to attend Syracuse. "A huge thing for me was that I didn't want to be super far away from home. It's the closest school that had a Division I level field hockey team, but even more important to me was academics. I knew since I was in eighth grade that I wanted to go into civil engineering and this was one of the schools where I could do both." Very passionate about her academics, Neitch understood that it would be difficult to purse a major that is time intensive, but it was vital to take a geotechnical engineering path. "The biggest thing is just staying consistent, getting up early before class, getting work done, going to class, going to practice and getting more work done, going to bed, repeat. It's a lot. It's a huge commitment and I will never sugarcoat that, but I think that if you want both things bad enough then you can stay committed, it's a struggle at times, but it's worth it."
Neitch may be able to earn her bachelor's degree a year early because she came in with credits and has taken summer classes. Moving forward, she looks to improve in all aspects of her career. "My goal first and foremost is to get my bachelor's in civil engineering. For field hockey, I hope to continue to grow and play and be able to be a presence on the team. I want to keep growing in both of those regards and have no regrets when I leave."Â
