Charlotte Leyland, a 2016 graduate of West Hartford’s Conard High School, has earned All-Conference honors and among those selected for the National Field Hockey Division III Senior Game.

By Ronni Newton

Charlotte Leyland, a 2016 graduate of Conard High School who is now a senior at Union College in Schenectady, NY, has earned multiple accolades for field hockey, including first team All-Conference in the Liberty League, and has been named as a participant in the National Field Hockey Division III Senior Game on Nov. 23.

According to a news release from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA), Leyland is one of 60 senior student-athletes – 52 of whom are field players, and one of only five players from the Liberty League – chosen to participate in the Senior Game. The last Union College Dutchwoman to be selected for the game was Laura Pacheco in 2015, the NFHCA stated.

“Charlotte has led our team in nearly every statistical category, offensively, since the minute she stepped foot on campus as a freshman,” head coach Kelly Harchetts said in the release. “Her quick hands, powerful shot, and competitive drive are just a few of the reasons why she is so deserving of this impressive selection. I couldn’t be more proud to have a player and person the caliber of Charlotte representing Union field hockey.

According to Union College Field Hockey’s website, as a senior Leyland scored a team-best nine goals with four assists for 22 points in 16 games. “Leyland was the key to the Dutchwoman attack again this year, ranking second in the conference with 82 shots in addition to finishing fifth in goals and fourth in points per game. The senior finished her stellar four-year career with 36 goals and 18 assists for 90 points, becoming the first player in program history to lead the team in scoring for four consecutive seasons. She also is the first Dutchwoman to earn four All-Conference honors since Kelsey Powers ’11 from 2007-10,” the website states.

Leyland was named to the NFHCA All-North Atlantic Region second team as a sophomore and junior. In addition to being first team All-Liberty League as a senior, she was named to the second team her freshman, sophomore, and junior years, and was a Liberty League “Offensive Performer of the Week” in October 2018.

Leyland began playing field hockey as a sixth grader, when the West Hartford Youth Field Hockey League’s was first formed. She went on to become a four-year varsity player at Conard High School, where she earned All-Conference and All-State designations and set records for goals and assists.

While at Conard, she traveled to Germany to attend a summer field hockey program the first year it was offered.

Leyland was captain of the field hockey team and also captain of the softball team, where she was also named All-Conference.

At Union, Leyland started in every game other than the first game the fall of her sophomore year, when she was coming back from ACL surgery that followed a skiing injury the previous January. After proving to the coach that she was at 100%, she went on to start the remainder of the season and captained the team for her junior and senior years.

Leyland is majoring in political since and law and minoring in humanities, has been named to the dean’s list, and plans to apply to law school.

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