BY LAUREN MORAN
Photo Credit: Lauren Moran
Senior year. Senior season. These words can be daunting for many athletes as they face the end of their careers that started in elementary school. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, athletes who were deprived of a season can complete one more year. A fifth year.
A fifth-year can look different for every athlete. Some return to break a record, try to make playoffs, or simply play the sport they love one last time. No matter the reason, these athletes represent the immense passion, dedication, and hard work collegiate sports require to the highest degree.
A group of female athletes that embody these traits and more are the 4 returning fifth-year athletes on the Stonehill Women’s Soccer Team.
Coming back for their final season are seniors Emmy Dumaresq, Yara Fawaz, Meghan Lord, and Kara Moore. Fawaz said, “The moment I found out that I had another year of eligibility, I knew I wanted to take my 5th year to deepen my skills, build the team culture, and cherish every moment I had.”
Beyond the technical side of the sport drawing some of them to return, Dumaresq said it’s also the team that drew her to return. “Our team is so special, and truly inspires me every day. My teammates work incredibly hard, always pick each other up, and make playing the sport I love even more enjoyable,” Dumaresq said.
With this unique and close-knit nature of the women’s soccer team the grueling spring season is bearable as Lord said, “Everyone works so hard in the weight room, on the field, on the court and individually, it's inspiring.” Lord continued to say “The last couple of years we have focused on developing a solid, close-knit team dynamic in the spring season so that's something we will be trying to do again this year.”
Along with the love for their teammates and the sport, there were even more reasons for them to return, one of them being Alex Wilson, Head Coach of Stonehill Women’s Soccer.
“Coach Wilson has pushed me to be better not just on the field, but in life off the field as well,” said Dumaresq, “I’m lucky to have her support alongside the rest of our coaching staff and I’m excited to continue growing as a player and person being lead by them”
Lord has her special reason to return as her sister, Martha Lord, will be an incoming freshman for the 2024 fall season. Due to their age gap, they have never played on the same team together in high school. Lord said, “I am excited for this opportunity to be on a team with her,” Lord continued to say, “It will be fun that my teammates will now become our teammates. This team already feels like family and now it's gonna feel like family.”
It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience to play the sport you have loved for years one last time. Not many get the opportunity to do so and or have the perseverance to continue in collegiate sports. This is an exceptional group of devoted female athletes who are more than ready to conclude their careers on a high note as Moore said “A fifth year means that I get the chance to play another year of the sport I love, with a team and coaching staff that have supported and inspired me over the past 4 years.”
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