CLEVELAND, Ohio – Hudson has been part of a field hockey logjam in Northeast Ohio, one that has routinely seen a few top teams in the region bottleneck into the regional finals.
For Hudson, that has meant three losses to Shaker Heights in the regional final and another to Magnificat in the regional semifinals over the last four seasons.
But that hasn’t kept Lexie St. Pierre from rising to the top.
The Explorers senior finished off her high school career with a second-straight first-team All-Ohio selection this season, along with being named player of the year in the Northeast Ohio Field Hockey League.
She is also this season’s cleveland.com field hockey player of the year.
St. Pierre finished this season with seven goals and six assists for the Explorers, who finished 11-1 in the league and 14-7 overall to earn the No. 2 seed in the Northeast Region behind Shaker Heights, the eventual state runner-up.
While her favorite moment from her high school career was this year’s 2-0 regular-season win over Thomas Worthington, which won its third straight state title earlier this month, St. Pierre said her best memory this season is much different.
“Definitely finishing out the year with all my friends for my senior year,” she said. “We’ve all been playing together since middle schools, and it was really nice to just have the freeness of playing together one last time.”
The Explorers’ only league loss was 3-1 to Shaker Heights. They topped Magnificat 1-0, and Hawken 2-0.
“We knew that in order to go to states we would have to get through those other teams first,” St. Pierre said. “Mags, Hawken, Shaker. Shaker, especially. We always seem to meet them in the regional finals.”
St. Pierre was at one point committed to play lacrosse at Louisville, but has decided to attend college elsewhere, without competing in a sport. She leaves Hudson as part of a senior class that also includes Mackie Stickler, Olivia Ott, Gabi Censoprano and Sara Killeen, who each earned all-state or all-league honors this season.
“I think we left (the program) at a good point,” St. Pierre said. “I think a lot of leadership was really represented this year throughout our captains, especially Gabi and Sara, and there’s a lot for the upcoming seniors to live up to. So I’m excited for the next season for everyone else. They’ve been set up to succeed.”
Here are the rest of the cleveland.com All-Stars for the 2024 season:
First Team
Sloan Fenton, Shaker Heights, sophomore
Fenton earned first-team all-league after a season with four goals and 20 assists.
Charlotte Juann, Shaker Heights, senior
Juann, who was first-team all-league and second-team All-Ohio, led the Raiders in total points this season, finishing with 62, on 27 goals and eight assists. That includes eight game-winning goals.
Eleanor Miller, Shaker Heights, junior
Miller, who was first-team all-league, was had 17 goals and six assist for the Raiders.
Anna Morgan, Hathaway Brown, senior
Morgan was first-team all-league after a season with 17 goals for the Blazers.
Olivia Ott, Hudson, senior
Ott earned first-team all-league after holding down the defensive midfield for the Explorers this season.
Veronica Santelli, Hathaway Brown, senior
Santelli scored 15 goals this season to earn first-team all-league for the Blazers.
Alice Stein, Magnificat, junior
Stein, a first-team all-league and first-team All-Ohio selection, was Magnificat’s Offensive Player of the Year with six goals and 11 assists.
Mackie Stickler, Hudson, senior
Stickler had five goals and 11 assists for the Explorers this season. She warned first-team All-Ohio and all-league.
Nina Yacovone, Shaker Heights, sophomore
Yacovone continued her path to becoming a four-time All-Ohio player by earning her second straight selection, along with first-team all-league. She had 12 goals and 17 assist for the Raiders.
River Zashin, Hawken, senior
Zashin was first-team All-State and all-league selection this season for the Hawks.
Honorable Mention
Katherine Adams, Shaker Heights, junior
Gabi Censoprano, Hudson, senior
Zoie Garnett, Shaker Heights, sophomore
Elena Girault , Shaker Heights, senior
Tea Jerro, Magnificat, senior
Sophia Khoury, Magnificat, senior
Sara Killeen, Hudson, senior
Brooke Perry, Hathaway Brown, senior
Olivia Thompson, Magnificat, junior
Charlie Solganik, Hawken, junior
First appeared on www.cleveland.com