On Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, Central Bucks East seniors Avery McCann, Anna Daly & Maddie Mandia were recognized for committing to continue their field hockey careers at the collegiate level.
Anna Daly – Davidson College (Field Hockey)
Major: Political Science & Government
Final list of colleges: Davidson, Colgate, Georgetown
Reasons for choosing Davidson: “It was a myriad of things. First of all – the super strong academics of the school and also just the environment. They’re really big on developing the entire person, which is what I really love about the coaches and the team. I also really enjoy the location. It’s about 20 minutes out of Charlotte on
Lake Norman. It’s everything that really made it feel right for me.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in field hockey at the collegiate level? “Around here, field hockey is pretty big, so our club coaches would always put the idea in our heads starting at a young age – you have the potential to play in college, and they started giving us schools and lists of things that they thought – oh, maybe this is somewhere you can look. But I really didn’t start my college search until eighth grade. That’s when I kind of knew I wanted to play in college, and the summer going into that year was when I started to email a lot more and get my name out there to those coaches. I compiled my list in eighth grade.
Coach Emma Rosenthal says: “Anna’s accolades are amazing and speak for themselves, but knowing Anna as a person and as a competitor goes far beyond her accolades. Anna is the first and only athlete I’ve coached on varsity four years, and it has been an absolute honor to watch her grow. She started as a freshman on varsity that was known as one of the minions and has grown to a senior known as group leader alpha Anna Daly. Anna is somebody that on the field recognizes what the team needs and puts in the work to make that happen. She started as a left back her freshman year, saw the team had incredible defenders but we lost a lot of Division 1 forwards, so Anna said, ‘What can I do to make this team better?’ She worked in the offseason to make sure that she’s not only a great defender but an amazing offensive offender. Anna this year was one of our leading scorers.
“Some things that you don’t see when you look any athlete is somebody that can play literally any position, and that is not just because of the skills that she possesses as an athlete, but that is because of the hard work that she puts in, and she’s not putting in the hard work for herself, she’s putting in the hard work for every single one of her teammates. Anna, every girl on the team looks up to you as a teammate, as a person. You make everybody better. You’re somebody that is so incredibly humble, and it has been an absolute honor to coach you. I can’t wait to see you succeed.”
About Anna:
Favorite food: My dad’s papaya
Favorite TV show: Gossip Girl
Favorite artist: Zach Bryan
Maddie Mandia – University of New Haven (Field Hockey)
Major: Exercise Science/Physical Therapy
Final list of colleges: New Haven, Stevens Institute of Technology, Stevenson, Hofstra, Towson
Reasons for choosing New Haven: “New Haven had the best options for my major. I was looking for a school that had a lot of social opportunities. New Haven 10 minutes from the beach, Boston is right there, so
it’s a really fun campus.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in field hockey at the collegiate level? “I knew in eighth grade that I couldn’t see myself not as a student-athlete in college. It gives you a family of friends and coaches. It really gets you involved in the university, and I knew I wanted that and didn’t want to leave that behind in high school. I started playing hockey in third grade with our rec league – DAA, and I started playing club in fifth grade, and I’ve been playing club ever since.”
Coach Emma Rosenthal says: “Maddie has such tremendous character, and that not only shines through off the field, but it absolutely shines through on the field. One of the best things about Maddie as a player is that – we could have a terrible game and have a loss, and it’s only going to take five minutes before Maddie’s off the field and laughing about something that happened during the game. Or if we have an absolutely tremendous game and she played perfectly, it’s the reflection of – what can I do better? That is Maddie as a person and as an athlete. It’s always – ‘What can I do better?’
“Maddie is the embodiment of hard work. She’s somebody that works hard when nobody’s watching. She truly embodies a leader on the field, off the field. Maddie has worked hard every single year and has made such vast improvements as a person and as a player. I tried to find Maddie’s mile time since her freshman year, but I use Maddie as an example for the underclassmen to show that – we know how much she works in the offseason because when Maddie came back her sophomore year it was so obvious the work she had put in, and that work did not stop there, and I know that work will not stop. Maddie, I am so unbelievably proud of the person and player you have become, and I’m so looking forward to what you do in the future.”
About Maddie:
Favorite food: My mom’s pasta
Favorite movie: Any Disney movie
Favorite music/artists: Rap/Drake & Travis Scott
Avery McCann – Slippery Rock University (Field Hockey)
Major: Biology with a pre-dental concentration
Final list of colleges: Slippery Rock, Lock Haven, Muhlenberg
Reasons for choosing Slippery Rock: “I really liked the balance they had between student-athletes between the sport and the schooling. I really liked the size of it. Slippery Rock also has affiliations with dental schools.”
What was the progression that led you to compete in field hockey at the collegiate level? “I started
playing club field hockey in fifth grade, and then I decided I wanted to play in college around eighth or ninth grade, and that’s when we started really going to all the recruiting tournaments.”
East coach Emma Rosenthal says: “Avery juggles so much - she wears so many hats, and she succeeds in every single thing she does. It is so rare to find an athlete who is so multi-faceted. She not only succeeds on the field, but she’s succeeding in the classroom, she’s succeeding in her future career already, and to find so much success in so many different areas is so incredibly rare.
“When I asked the team what are some fun things about Avery – it’s just that she likes to eat mashed potatoes and hard-boiled eggs at practice and that she’d show up pretty much every day without shoes on. That describes Avery as a player. She is a come-as-you-are player. She brings every little bit of herself to the field and unapologetically is herself to the rest of the team, and everybody loves her and appreciates her for that. She shows everybody that it is okay to be so goofy and silly off the field and to then absolutely kick butt and be the toughest person on the field. Avery this year was the glue of our team. It’s rare that you have to change an entire lineup when somebody is out with an injury, but when Avery was out, we had to change our entire formation because nobody could fill her shoes. Avery, I am so incredibly proud of you, of your growth and of who you’ve become as a person and player. I know you’re going to do incredible things at Slippery Rock.”
About Avery:
Favorite food: Steak & Mashed Potatoes
Favorite TV show: Gossip Girl
Favorite music: Country
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