Country School Grad Clinches NCAA Field Hockey Championship

From New Canaan Country School: NEW CANAAN, CT — New Canaan Country School congratulates alumna Annie Leonard ’11 (Darien, CT), a member of Middlebury College’s field hockey team, for clinching the NCAA Championship on Nov. 19. The 4-0 win over top-ranked Messiah (22-1) is the second championship Middlebury has secured in three years. The second-ranked Panthers finish their season tying the school-record with 20 wins (20-2), and an NESCAC Championship.

Leonard, a senior forward, tallied a career 74 goals in 81 games, 14 of them game-winners, including the one she scored in overtime against Franklin & Marshall (2-1) Nov. 17, advancing Middlebury into the NCAA finals.

Leonard also picked up a second NESCAC all-conference honor, after having been selected to the second team in 2016. She led the team and ranked fifth in the NESCAC in points (172) and sixth in goals. She was selected as the NESCAC Player of the Week earlier this season when the fourth-year athlete scored three goals in a 3-0 week for the Panthers, including a pair of league road victories at Tufts and Wesleyan.

“Annie had an excellent touch of the ball from an early age. Even in her NCCS days, she had a knack for being in the right place at the right time and finding the back of the net,” said New Canaan Country School Athletic Director and Varsity Field Hockey Coach Keri Kern. “We are thrilled for her success.”

New Canaan country School is a co-ed, independent, day school for students in Pre-K (ages 3&4) through Grade 9. Located on a 75-acre campus in New Canaan, the school provides transportation to families living throughout Fairfield County. For more information, please visit: www.countryschool.net.

Photos: Annie Leonard. Photo credit: Will Costello