With Balloons, Friends, and Family, Patterson Signs With Northeastern

Lilli Patterson proved Thursday that a decision she made four years ago was the right one.

Surrounded by family and friends, Lynnfield's senior field hockey star signed her letter of intent to play and study at Northeastern this fall. That her sport of choice is field hockey goes back to that decision she made in August of 2013.

"It was between that and soccer. In middle school there wasn't really a ton of field hockey exposure to me. I didn't have a chance to do that. I know a lot of my friends did play field hockey in middle school and they were like "you should just try it before high school' and I did and I really liked it," said Patterson, who attended a field hockey camp at Gordon College before joining the high school team. "It's really similar to soccer so it was easy to pick up."

And for four years she made playing field hockey look easy, finishing her senior year as the Cape Ann League's MVP. When it came time to pick a college, Patterson knew she wanted to be a nurse. She also wanted to play field hockey. She's getting the best of both worlds on Huntington Ave.

"I'm going to be studying nursing and Northeastern has one of the best nursing programs and they've allowed me to have the opportunity to do nursing and field hockey, which is something I never thought I'd get the chance to do. And they're both great programs, nursing and field hockey."

Why would NU want Patterson? Aside from being one of the best field hockey players in the state, she's also president of the senior class, vice-president of the National Honor Society, and a member of the Habitat for Humanities Executive Board. Throw in the math team and a GPA of 4.11 and the question seems silly.

Her coach has another reason.

"She's such a great leader on our team. She's one of the best leaders I've ever had," said field hockey coach Mamie Reardon, who has been the Pioneers coach for 35 years. "I'm just so happy that she has a chance to play because she's such a force out there. She's a go-getter, she works hard, and we're just so proud of her."

Reardon quickly recognized she had something in the talented but raw freshman.

"She said 'no, I haven't played before' and I brought her up said you're going to play with me. I don't normally do that. I could see the potential in here."

It's been a long time since a Lynnfield player has competed for Northeastern. Ann Mucera graduated from Lynnfield in 1986 and played four years at Northeastern before graduating in 1991. She was inducted into the NU Hall of Fame in 1999.

Now it's Lilli's turn.