Written by: Colleen Gonzalez, Assistant Sports Information Director
Former State University of New York at New Paltz field hockey player Deirdre O’Neill ’15 began playing field hockey in the seventh grade after her sister, who played the sport in high school, would take O’Neill and her friends out and teach them how to play.
When she began her college search, O’Neill was looking for a school that would not only give her a good education and allow her to play field hockey, but was also close enough so her family could go and watch her games.
“New Paltz was the whole package for me,” said O’Neill. “The academics are very competitive, the campus is beautiful, and I really enjoyed head coach Shanna Vitale and the rest of the team when I came to visit.”
O’Neill had a rewarding career as a Hawk, finishing her career with 18 goals, 11 assists and 47 points. In her senior year, she was named to the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) All-Tournament Team and earned First Team All-SUNYAC and is currently tied for first in single game assists (three), tied for sixth in single season assists (eight), and eighth in single season points (26).
Although she boasts many accolades and records, there is no better memory for O’Neill than the moment her team won the program’s first SUNYAC title in 2012.
“The game went into a double overtime shoot-out against our rival SUNY Cortland. The excitement and nervousness throughout the entire game was something that is incomparable,” said O’Neill. “When we finally won after the shoot-out, the sense of pride in being a Hawk was amazing.
“All of our hard work had finally paid off. It was something I will never forget; I still get chills thinking about it.”
Throughout O’Neill’s career, the team made SUNYAC playoffs all four years, won three SUNYAC titles and made three appearances in the NCAA Tournament. However, what she enjoyed most was the hard work that was put in to accomplish these achievements.
Now the head field hockey coach at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., O’Neill passes on the life lessons she learned as a student-athlete to her team.
“I learned the true meaning of hard work and not giving up on something until it is exactly how it should be,” said O’Neill.
She also learned the importance of responsibility and accountability as the team was always held accountable for what they did and their work ethic, a lesson that has carried over into O’Neill’s coaching career.
“Playing for Coach Vitale for four years taught me dedication, hard work, time management, leadership, and the list goes on,” said O’Neill. “I have taken my experiences and lessons learned throughout my four years as a student-athlete and am now teaching those to the girls that I coach.”
In addition to her responsibilities as a coach, O’Neill is also the Assistant Sports Information Director, a passion she developed after interning at New Paltz’s own sports information department under the supervision of Brian Savard and Ryan Novitsky.
“Working for them taught me how much hard work goes into the sports information department,” said O’Neill. “As a student-athlete you don’t realize how many people in the department are helping out to make your experience the best it can be. They also taught me how fun it is work in college athletics and they are the reason I started my career in Sports Information.
“I am so honored and excited to have this opportunity to turn my passion for field hockey and college athletics into my career.”
