Savage ready for final chance at a national title and the professional ranks

As the UAlbany field hockey team enters the America East conference tournament this weekend, one of its key players will take the field for the final time as a member of the Great Danes.

   Nicole Savage, a four-year starter for the team, will be graduating after this year and looking at life after college, a life she hopes includes time as a professional player.

   “I want to leave the country and play hockey,” said Savage, who is ranked sixth in goals scored in school history. “That is what I want to do for a little while. I don’t really have any set plans on jobs or anything like that, but I would like to go to New Zealand or Australia to play hockey.”

   Before attempting to earn her stripes in the professional world, Savage will try to lead her teammates to a second-straight conference title and make another appearance in the NCAA tournament. After winning the program’s first-ever conference title last year, both Savage and her teammates know what it will take for it to happen again.

   “Our team always changes every year,” Savage said. “We get a lot of international players that come in, so each team is a new team. The team that we won with was a great accomplishment, and I hope to do the same this year.”

   Last week, she was named conference player of the week for the second time this season after recording two assists in a 2-0 win over Boston University.

   However, that was not the only honor garnered last week as Savage was also named to the National Field Hockey Coaches’ Association Senior All-Star game, a recognition bestowed on just 38 players across the country. The game will be played Nov. 21 at Wake Forest and will see the All-Stars take on the U.S. Women’s National Team, affording the players a great chance to showcase themselves for an opportunity down the road.

   “It’s crazy to think about out of all of the Division I senior athletes; to be one of the 38 is just amazing. It’s a great accomplishment for me, and I have to say I patted myself on the back,” Savage said.

   With seven freshmen on the team, both Savage and fellow senior captain Jess Lindsey have had the chance to impart their knowledge and experience onto their younger teammates. Lindsey and Savage have formed a friendship that began in their freshmen year when they lived in the same suite. Both Lindsey and her teammates through the years have been a place for her to lean on during tough times, Savage said.

   “She’s been a good team leader,” coach Phil Sykes said. “We lost quite a few important players from last year, and she, by way of her leadership, has managed to carry us to an even better effort than last year so far.

   “She’s been kind of the model-type hard-working kid. She came in very athletic but raw in her basic skills and each year has progressively gotten better on the field and matured off the field. She does a lot of little things that don’t get noticed, and that’s just hard work and hustle that invigorates the team.”   

   With the Great Danes (12-4, AE 4-1) having clinched the regular season title, they will host the conference playoffs at home for a second straight season.

   “[Home field is] massive,” Sykes said. “The toughest thing with the conference tournament is you’re traveling, you’re in a hotel, you’re on a different field, you’re not in your dorm room. Here we have all the comforts of home, and last year you could see how much of a difference that was.”

   With a chance to end her college career with a second title to her name, Savage knows the opportunity presented to her and her teammates and would like to end her tenure with a glowing moment.

   “Everybody likes to go out with a bang,” Savage said.