Women’s Field Hockey Wins on Mental Health Awareness Night

By Kurana Doobay 

As players grabbed their field hockey sticks, on Oct. 15 they also donned different shades of blues and pink in their AU Athletics T-shirts, inspired by Morgan’s Message, a nonprofit mental health awareness organization that primarily focuses on student athletes. 

The organization’s mission statement on their website reads that they aim to “amplify stories, resources and expertise to strengthen student-athlete mental health, build a community by and for athletes through peer-to-peer conversations and provide a platform for advocacy.” To raise awareness for mental health, the women’s field hockey athletes sported their Morgan’s Message T-shirts, with the organization’s logo of a teal butterfly with a semicolon at its center. 

The Morgan's Message logo includes a semicolon as a message of affirmation and solidarity against mental health challenges. Photo by @adelphifh on Instagram

Their website reads: “Our logo was derived by Morgan’s artwork and inspired by her love of teal… the semicolon is used as a message of affirmation and solidarity against suicide, depression, addiction and other mental health challenges.”

That night was also the 21st all-time meeting between the Adelphi Panthers and the American International College (AIC) Yellowjackets, with Adelphi leading the series 12-8. In the last 10 games against AIC, Adelphi is 9-1. Last time the two teams played was Oct.10, 2023, during which Adelphi won by a score of 2-1. 

As the game commenced, temperatures dipped down into their upper forties and low fifties. Shivering onlookers cheered for both Adelphi and AIC but there was still yet to be a goal made, even by halftime. By the end of the game, there were zeros across the board and the game was forced into overtime. 

Coach Jessica Mulhern, who has been coaching field hockey at Adelphi for three years, said, “One thing to know is that it is not a very high-scoring game to begin with. One or two goals is a normal amount of goals scored in a game.” 

She continued, “Ten is a good amount of shots to have, and I think we had around 35 shots, which is just a crazy number… I have to give credit to our team that we were just not letting up. They were continuing to fight through and were going shot after shot, play after play.”

Adelphi women’s field hockey players wore custom pink shirts in support of Morgan’s Message and mental health awareness. Photo by @adelphifh on Instagram

Alexandra Nagy, a captain at midfield, number 6 on the field and a senior criminal justice major in the classroom, said, “I felt we dominated the entire game offensively but we struggled to break down their defense.” 

Mulhern seconded this. “For us it was difficult to score because they held so many people inside their circle and I think that’s why we had such an insane game.” 

Another captain, number 29, Emiline Biggin, who plays forward, also spoke on teamwork, seeming ready for the challenge. 

“We knew we had to play our game as a unit. We spoke as a team about causing corners if the initial shots were not there, which was something I was focused on,” the graduate student in mental health counseling said. “I felt confident going into overtime. I feel like it is a time our team really shines and shows what we are made of.” 

When it was time to put someone in for the game-ending play, Mulhern knew who to turn to: Nagy. 

“It is a really difficult stroke, but the way that Aly plays – she’s so composed – she is just such a stellar player and athlete,” the coach said. “We practice strokes once to twice a week and she is always very consistent with her strokes, so at that moment, I just knew it would be her to finish the game right now.” 

Nagy described the moment a bit differently. “I was definitely feeling nervous because I don’t normally take them but I was so excited to get the goal and get the win with my team.” Overtime went six minutes in and it was a sudden victory.

At that point, many student onlookers had left, but both Nagy and Biggin, who describe their team as a “unit,” were excited to celebrate.

“I’m so excited for my team to keep progressing as a unit,” Nagy said. “Each game presents a new opportunity for us to show our skills. We have such a strong, talented, hard working group of girls, I know we'll make it far this season and I can’t wait to see it.”

Number 5 Amanda Lee, a senior physical education major and center forward, said, “I'm looking forward to more wins and memories with my team and to cherish my last season playing field hockey.”