Video: Westminster Grad Sets College Field Hockey Scoring Record

Rachel Kennedy, a Trumbull resident and 2012 graduate of Westminster School in Simsbury, set a Bowdoin College field hockey scoring record Saturday in the opening round of the New England Small College Athletic Conference tournament.

Less than three minutes into the matchup with Bates College, Kennedy worked around a defender before firing a shot into the short side of the net for her 93rd career goal, breaking the school record of 92 held since 2008 by Lindsay McNamara.

Kennedy added her second goal of the game later in the first half, powering unbeaten Bowdoin to a 4-1 victory.

Standing just 5-foot-3, Kennedy nonetheless comes up big time and again for the Polar Bears, and has continued to improve each season since graduating Summa Cum Laude from Westminster.

As a freshman, Kennedy scored 15 goals, including five game-winners, and was named NESCAC Rookie of the Year. A year later, she recorded 21 goals, including the lone tallies in both the NCAA third-round victory against Montclair and the national championship contest against Salisbury. She earned First Team All-NESCAC, First Team All-Region, Second Team All-American, and NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team honors following that season.

In 2014, she led the NESCAC with 32 goals, equaling Bowdoin’s single season record. Nine were game-winning scores, including an overtime goal in the NCAA quarterfinal against Skidmore. She was named NESCAC Player of the Year, First Team All-NESCAC, ECAC New England Player of the Year, NFHCA New England West Player of the Year and First Team All-American.

Through the Polar Bears’ first 16 victories in 2015, Kennedy has found the net 26 times, connecting on nearly 25 percent of her shots. Bowdoing has outscored its opponents 64-11 heading into its NESCAC semifinal matchup Nov. 7 against Amherst.

Photo courtesy of Bowdoin College Athletic Department