Nov 23, 2005
By Joshua Boyd
The world may finally be slowing down a bit for Amesbury native Josselyn Mroz. The last couple weeks, since Nov. 13, have been quite hectic and thrilling.
Finally, she was able to sit down to a calm Thanksgiving dinner and give thanks for a whole heap of things, including a Division 2 national championship for her UMass-Lowell field hockey team.
And, oh yeah, a Division 2 First Team All-American selection at the back position by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association.
Mroz is fresh back from the National Senior All-Star game in Louisville, Ky., where the Division 1 Final Four for field hockey took place between Wake Forest, Old Dominion, Duke and eventual national champion Maryland.
She played in the All-Star game with fellow senior teammates Courtney Hill (of Newburyport), Taylor Kloss (of Georgetown) and Joanna DaLuze (of Harwich). The team she played for was coached by another Amesbury native, Shannon Hlebichuk.
"It's definitely been crazy," Mroz says. "Every time we sit down and talk about the game, something else comes up, certain plays and things that happened."
"The game" was the Nov. 13 final against Bloomsburg (Pa.) College, a game which DaLuze ended with a double-overtime goal to give UMass-Lowell not only its first field hockey title, but its first women's sports title.
"Everyone was really intense," recalls Mroz, a business management major who wants to own her own massage therapy business someday. "When people talked, instead of the normal Let's go girls,' the adrenaline was raised. It was a race against the clock when it comes down to it."
Hlebichuk stayed with the same 11 players on the field throughout the game while Bloomsburg's coach subbed players in and out. That had Mroz begging for a happy ending by the time DaLuze potted her goal.
"What was personally going through my head was Finish this game before it goes into penalty strokes,'" Mroz says. "The body starts falling apart."
Mroz was Ms. Defence for the River Hawks' title team this year, and with her experience and skills, Hlebichuk was not at all afraid to move her up to offense when the play called for it.
"We played a 3-3-2-2," says Mroz. The first two 3's are forwards and midfielders, and the back two digits denote backs. "I was the high right defender in that first 2' group, but sometimes I dropped back to make a 3-3-1-3."
It was an All-American right flank for the team, as Mroz had DaLuze (at midfield) and Hill (at forward) right in front of her on that side of the field all year. Mroz, who posted three goals and five assists in the 23 games played this season, would help to push up that side of the field for the team.
"[Hlebichuk] looked for me to run the defense back there," Mroz adds. "[Sophomore] Lauren Jones was the only other veteran on defense with me, so between me and her and [junior goalkeeper] Nicole Staiti, there was a lot of communication."
The 3-3-2-2 was a new, aggressive formation for UMass-Lowell, even though their 4-3-3 set-up of last year brought them 80 goals in a year which saw them reach the national semifinals.
"This year, being part of that high 2' was like being a midfielder, there were more layers," Mroz says. "This enabled me to let loose, and show off a little. It allowed me to do more - I scored three goals this year. Everybody loves to score a goal, but I never had that opportunity before."
Getting into the game
The last 10 years have really been an uphill climb to the highest reaches of field hockey for Mroz. She began learning field hockey as an 8th grader at Amesbury Middle School.
"They had a Thursday afterschool program for a few weeks, and I think it was Ms. Kelleher running it," Mroz says, referring to current Amesbury High field hockey coach Gail Kelleher.
Mroz was on the freshman team in her first year of high school, though she did get called up near the end, before playing varsity for Kelleher in her sophomore, junior and senior years.
"I remember as a freshman being on the Bentley College turf at the state semifinals," Mroz says. She continued on to be two-time Cape Ann League All-Star and she led Amesbury to the CAL title as a senior.
"[Kelleher] really makes you respect the sport," Mroz says. "She makes it so you end up with a lot of heart and drive. She's not old school, but she's just really big on respect and morals."
Mroz, whose family moved to Salisbury before her freshman year, was able to stay in Amesbury, where many of her siblings have also worn the Red and White of the Indians.
"I'll be home on Wednesday [Nov. 23], so I'll definitely catch the Thanksgiving game," says Mroz, whose brother Jamie is a major cog in the Indians defense. Kyle Mroz was on the freshman team which went 10-0-1 this season, while Alli Mroz played field hockey and softball for Amesbury before going to college.
Youngest brother Perry Mroz is in 5th grade at Middle School and plays football in the Amesbury Jets youth program.
"My parents tried to get us to play everything," Mroz says. Through all that playing, a champion has arisen in the family.
"I really still don't even know how to describe it," Mroz adds. "It's just a great satisfaction, just a great accomplishment, something you dream about as an athlete."
