LYNNFIELD — Junior Lauren Mattia has joined an ever-growing group of Lynnfield High student-athletes committing to play a Division 1 sport in college. Mattia recently announced she will continue her field hockey career at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester.
Mattia considered a handful of other schools, a list that included Ivy League, New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), and Patriot League schools. She attended a Holy Cross field hockey camp in March and followed up with another visit this past August. It was that second visit that sealed the deal.
“I knew I wanted to stay relatively local and at a school with a challenging athletics program and rigorous academics,” Mattia said. “Holy Cross checked all the boxes. I loved the staff and the way they coached, and the facilities are fantastic. It’s the perfect size and has a great campus with great academics and coaches.”
While Mattia cannot sign an official letter of intent until her senior year, she said that knowing where she’ll be after her days at Lynnfield High come to a close is huge.
“It feels really really good to know where I am going,” she said. “It’s a big stress reliever for sure.”
Mattia said she will likely pursue a science major in either chemistry or biology. Her current course load is challenging, but her GPA is 4.47.
Mattia also runs indoor and outdoor track, specializing in the indoor 600m and outdoor 800m, as well as running on the 4x400m and 4x800m relay teams.
Mattia is in her second full year of playing club with NorthEast Elite. The last two years, she has been one of 250 players in the nation selected to compete in the USA Field Hockey U16 and U14 Junior Nexus Championships at Virginia Beach.
“Both times were a great experience,” she said. “The coaches technically can’t recruit, but you get the college-coach experience and they get to know you.”
As far as Holy Cross field hockey goes, Mattia believes the Crusaders’ style of play fits her skill set.
“Most field hockey in college tends to be much faster with less dribbling and more passing,” Mattia said. “I feel that style of play definitely fits my game. Holy Cross plays a style where I can really fit in well.”
At Lynnfield, Mattia burst onto the field as a freshman, earning a starting position as an outside midfielder. Sophomore year, she finished with four goals and 10 assists, earning Cape Ann League second team honors and Daily Item All-Star honors.
Mattia credits Lynnfield High School staff members and coach Kerri Doherty for all they do to support student-athletes both in and out of the classroom.
“Since I’ve been there, all of the coaches and teachers push all of us to reach for the stars,” Mattia said. “Coach Doherty, in particular, has pushed our team to be the best we can. We do intense drills until we get them right. All of the coaches want us to do well on the field and in the classroom – they are all pushing us.”
“We are now in Division 3, but know we have such a strong team. The dynamics are there on and off the field,” Mattia said. “We already have scored a lot of goals, so I definitely believe we can go three rounds like we did last year, but if we continue to work hard, we can go beyond that.”
Mattia has been playing field hockey for nine years. She started in the Lynnfield Youth Field Hockey program when she was in the second grade, then moved on to club a few years later. She credits her youth coach, Shannon Cuddy, for jumpstarting her love for the sport.
“I had a great coach in Shannon Cuddy who really introduced me to the game and really made an impression on me,” Mattia said. “I found I really loved the game and wanted to see what I could do at the club level and perhaps even later at the college level. Coach Cuddy really is the person responsible for encouraging that.”
