At College: Dartmouth's Ladino fueling up for final season at Stonehill
by Ed Collins
New Bedford Standard-Times
ecollins@s-t.com
January 10, 2010
Jackie Ladino has enjoyed having some time off the last couple of weeks in between field hockey and lacrosse seasons at Stonehill College in Easton.
"I love to play, but it's been nice to have a little time to
myself," said Ladino, a senior from Dartmouth. "I've been able to
get caught up on some T.V. and I've been working out a little on my
own."
The Skyhawks are coming off one of the best field hockey seasons in school history - they dropped a 2-1 decision to UMass-Lowell in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Tournament on their home field - and Ladino is looking forward to her final season of lacrosse in the spring.
"We had a great field hockey season," she said, "but we wanted to win a national championship. The loss to UMass-Lowell was really disappointing, because we were looking to do so much better."
A three-time All Northeast-10 Conference first-team pick, Ladino finished with 12 goals and five assists for the third-ranked Skyhawks (17-5) en route to becoming only the third player in program history to be named a two-time All-American by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association.
When everything was said and done, Ladino ended up second overall in career assists (35), third in career points (97) and fourth in career goals (31) after playing in 84 total games.
Now, Ladino still has one more chapter to write on the lacrosse field and she's looking forward to finishing strong after netting a career-high 25 goals as a junior to help lead the Skyhawks to a 10-6 record and the semifinals of the Northeast-10 Tournament, where their season ended with an 11-9 loss to Southern New Hampshire University.
"My four seasons with the field hockey team flew by," said Ladino, a neuroscience major who plans on working toward a masters degree after she graduates in the spring. "My final season is coming up and it's starting to sink in that this is it. I'm starting to realize that I can't chase a ball forever. It's almost time to move on, but I want to make the most of the time that I have left and make it a season to remember."
