By Paul Perillo

Like many youngsters in Canada, Lauren Edelmeier enjoyed playing hockey. Unlike most of her friends, she didn't play in a rink.

She played on a field. And she mastered her game so completely that today she's the captain of Northeastern's top-ranked field hockey team.

Edelmeier grew up just outside Vancouver in the small town of Delta, British Columbia. Soccer, volleyball, and swimming were her early pursuits. Strapping on hockey skates—not a big draw.

"I'm a die-hard ice hockey fan, even with the lockout and the games not being played. But I never had any interest in playing it," Edelmeier says. "I've always been an outdoor girl. I really enjoy playing out in the weather."

When Edelmeier was a sixth grader, one of her friends got her interested in field hockey. By the eighth grade, she was so proficient she'd decided to give up all her other sports. In high school, she landed a spot on the British Columbia provincial select team, which competed against other Canadian provinces. The team was invited to play in a festival in Florida, and that's where Northeastern coach Cheryl Murtagh caught her first glimpse of her future star.

"Canada has some very good field hockey players, and Lauren is certainly one of them," Murtagh says. "She does so many different things well, and it showed."

As a first step in luring the youngster to Huntington Avenue, Murtagh set up a campus visit for her. If the coaching staff had rehearsed any sales pitches, they found they weren't necessary once Edelmeier saw Northeastern.

"I absolutely fell in love with the place," Edelmeier says. "Everything about it. I really wanted to go someplace where I could be on the water, like in Vancouver, and the co-op program was something that was really important to me. If I'd gone to school in Canada, I was going to go to the University of Victoria, because they offer a similar program. Building my resume while in school was something that really interested me."

Off the field, Edelmeier has developed a solid resume as a junior majoring in business. Her on-the-field resume is equally impressive.

During her first two seasons, she worked predominantly as a defensive player, holding down a spot at right defense. Last year, she expanded her role to serve as center defense sweeper and got more involved on offense. She chipped in 3 goals and 8 assists, earning the first 14 points of her career.

According to both Edelmeier and her coach, a deadly accurate penalty-corner stroke accounts for the offensive burst. But it's Edelmeier's ability to prevent goals that's impressed Murtagh more.

"Lauren has been a very important part of the team since her freshman year," Murtagh says of the 2004 America East Defensive Player of the Year. "She has started every game since she's been here. She's just a dominant defender.

"In key situations, when we need someone to come up with a tackle," Murtagh adds, "we know she's going to be the one to do it."

Ironically, Edelmeier came to Northeastern with a totally different mindset. Back in Vancouver, she considered herself an offensive player. But Murtagh had other plans. "Cheryl said, 'You're playing defense,' and that was pretty much it," Edelmeier says with a laugh.

This year, she and her teammates will look to improve upon last season's strong 18-4 showing, which ended with a 4-2 loss to Wake Forest in the Elite Eight. As Northeastern makes its debut in the highly competitive Colonial Athletic Association, the going will get tougher. But top teams like Old Dominion, William and Mary, and James Madison will better prepare the Huskies for tournament play.

With just one year of eligibility remaining, Edelmeier is already looking at life beyond field hockey. She says she has no interest in playing for a national team after college. Yet she may explore the possibility of coaching after taking a couple of years off.

As she winds down her college career, Edelmeier was thrilled to learn recently that Murtagh has added a second Canadian to the roster, largely made up of Massachusetts natives. "It will be nice not to be the only one," Edelmeier says. "I was always teasing Cheryl about bringing another Canadian to the team."

With the standard Edelmeier has set? Rest assured Murtagh plans to keep searching out all the talent she can find north of the border.

  Cory Parks
  Photo by Tracy Powell

Grabbing for Gridiron Glory, and a Title

By Paul Perillo

Like many young football players, Cory Parks expected to sit out his first college season as a redshirt. He didn't expect to actually wear red.

But there he was, less than a month after arriving at Northeastern, donning a red practice jersey as the Huskies prepared for their 2002 season. The color was significant. It meant Parks and ten other similarly clad offensive players would be starters.

"I really had no idea what to expect," Parks says of his freshman season. "I weighed around a hundred and forty-five pounds, so I just assumed they'd redshirt me. Once we got out of training camp and I was wearing a red shirt, I just wanted to contribute any way I could."

Over the past three years, the sure-handed wide receiver from Miami has filled out his 5-foot-11 frame, now tipping the scales at 175. And from the first moment he stepped onto Parsons Field, he's been one of the Atlantic 10's most dangerous targets.

"Cory has an unbelievable knack," explains coach Rocky Hager. "Somehow, when the ball is in flight, he has the ability to catch up to it. It's almost impossible to overthrow him. His ability to bend and twist to make the catch is outstanding."

Even the trip to Northeastern was a winding route for Parks. After being relatively heavily recruited— receiving more than twenty offers—he picked LSU and Toledo as his Division 1-A finalists. Then LSU offered only a partial scholarship, and the Toledo coaching staff that had courted him was fired.

So Parks visited Boston, where he fell in love with Northeastern. Full offers from bigger programs at UNLV and Duke didn't change his mind, and he came to Huntington Avenue.

In his first three seasons, Parks caught 156 passes for 2,510 yards, with 28 touchdowns. He currently trails only Dave Klemic (1997—2000) in these categories; Klemic racked up 217 receptions for 3,419 yards and 41 touchdowns.

But if Parks has another season like last year's, he may surpass Klemic's numbers. Last season, Parks grabbed 65 balls for 1,096 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also completed both of his two pass attempts, scoring a touchdown both times. His performance was good enough to earn him first-team All-Atlantic 10 honors.

Despite the way he's matured, Parks wouldn't mind revisiting his freshman year. That's when the Huskies went 10-3, won their first-ever Atlantic 10 title, and qualified for the Division 1-AA playoffs for the first and only time.

"I thought it was easy," he says with a laugh. "I came in, we won the league, and went to the playoffs. Now I understand just how difficult it is to accomplish those things."

So as Parks begins his senior season, he's looking for more. He thinks the team as a whole will be more successful in Hager's second year, as everyone gets more comfortable in the new system.

He's also looking for more from himself, even though, for the first time in his college career, he'll be catching passes from someone other than four-year starting quarterback Shawn Brady. In fact, Parks has his sights on becoming an All-American.

And down the road? "I think everyone who plays collegiate sports should think of playing in the pros someday," he says. "You should always dream bigger than what you're already a part of.

"It's the same with the team. We want to win the A-10 title. But, ultimately, everyone is thinking about the national title."