LYNNFIELD — Lynnfield may be a small community, but its student-athletes are making a big splash on the NCAA Division 1 stage.
Over the last few years, more than a dozen students with Lynnfield ties have committed to or are playing NCAA Division I sports, including baseball, football, wrestling, gymnastics, tennis, crew, swimming, women’s basketball and women’s hockey. The schools they’ve chosen include Columbia University, Dartmouth College, Marist University, Harvard University, High Point University, Boston College and the University of New Hampshire, among others.
The latest is Mia Daley, a rising junior at the Williston Northampton School in Easthampton. She recently announced she has committed to play women’s hockey at Yale University.
Daley said she was talking with other Ivy League schools as well as a few other New England schools. She chose Yale because of its academics and her desire to play at the Division 1 level. She hasn’t yet decided on a major, but likely will study “something” in the medical field.
“I chose Yale because I would be able to study at one of the top universities in the world while living out my dream of playing Division 1 hockey,” Daley said. “Also, I loved the campus and the coaching staff. Everything seemed like the perfect fit for me.”
Daley attended Huckleberry Hill Elementary School in Lynnfield before moving on to Lynnfield Middle School for grades five through seven, where she played on the middle school boys’ hockey team in fifth grade and the girls’ team in sixth and seventh grade.
A multi-talented athlete, Daley also grew up playing youth club hockey, club and town soccer and lacrosse until “scheduling started to become impossible.
“I knew if I wanted to play a Division 1 sport, hockey would be the one, so something had to go,” she said. “I actually gave up soccer as a whole in 5th grade once COVID hit. I started losing love for the game and wanted to focus on hockey in order to bring my game to the next level.”
Daley transferred to Berwick Academy in South Berwick, Maine, in eighth grade, where she was the Bulldogs’ leading scorer. She then moved to Williston Northampton, where she was a top-three scorer her first two years and earned New England Preparatory School Athletic Council All-League honors in girls hockey, along with Most Improved Player honors in soccer and track.
For the past three years, Daley’s club teams have qualified for the USA Hockey Youth Nationals, first with Assabet Valley and most recently with the East Coast Wizards. She has been a top-three scorer each year and was selected out of the Massachusetts pool for the USA Hockey National Development Camp the past two years.
Daley said the strength of her game is “how I see the ice, my hockey IQ and being able to see the whole ice allows me to create plays and contribute in all three zones. She may be understating her talent; Neutral Zone scouts say “Daley has great abilities around the net. She has quick hands and is unbothered by pressure around her. She shows good calm play by finishing on pucks in tight and making decisions quickly on her finishes.”
Daley credits her family for their support and sacrifices made along the way to help her get to Yale. She also credits her teachers, coaches and teammates.
“They provided me with endless amounts of opportunities to help me reach the next level,” Daley said. “I would also like to thank all of my coaches and teachers who pushed me to be the best player, student and person I could be. Finally, all of my teammates. They truly sought out the best in me, especially being the only girl on all of my boys’ teams growing up. But all of my teammates have pushed me to limits I didn’t think I could reach. I wouldn’t be the player I am today without the support of everyone in my life.”
