In Play(er) of the Week, we seek to highlight Wesleyan athletes or parts of games that deserve extra attention. Audrey Pace ’26 is a goalkeeper on the Wesleyan field hockey team. For her performance in the team’s 3–2 shootout victory over Bowdoin on Oct. 21, she was awarded NESCAC Player of the Week and National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division III National Defensive Player of the Week. At the conclusion of the season, she was awarded First Team All-NESCAC honors for the first time in her career. The Argus recently sat down with Pace to discuss her numerous awards, history with the sport, and thoughts on the season overall.

The Argus: When and why did you first start playing field hockey?

Audrey Pace: I, funnily enough, started playing field hockey because my mom made me. My sister played field hockey, and she’s two years older than me. So she started when I was in third grade. I played different sports growing up. I was a big soccer, dance, lacrosse kid. And my mom thought that I would be good at it. So my seventh grade year, she kind of forced/convinced me to go play for my sister’s club team. But I was younger, so I was not on the same team as my sister. And I just fell in love with it. And then it just continued from there. By the time I got to eighth grade, I was doing it all year round. I think by freshman year I knew I wanted to play in college.

A: Is field hockey popular in California?

AP: Not at all, especially when I started, it wasn’t. By the time I got into high school, it got more popular. Now it’s really grown. So our club team, it was just maybe 15 of us. And now there’s enough where they have to hold tryouts. So that’s a big growth from when I started to now. But compared to other states, it’s not at all big.

A: When did you first start playing goalie?

AP: I always played goalie, from day one. I played goalie in soccer. So again, my mom kind of forced me to do that. And I was like, “I don’t want to bend over.” It’s never occurred to me to be a field player. I’m not a big fan of running. So it was just natural to me.

A: What’s your favorite part about playing goalkeeper? And what would you say the hardest part of it is?

AP: My favorite part would probably be the competitiveness of it. I’m a very, very competitive person. I love to win. And so I like having the control of the play and being able to kind of dictate what’s happening. And my least favorite part is getting scored on. Sometimes it is very stressful and there is a lot of pressure. But that kind of makes it fun, too.

A: Is there anything you do to manage the pressure?

AP: I try not to think about it. That’s the easiest way. The more I get in my head, the worse I do. So just focusing on the play and my surroundings instead of the stakes is a lot better. And this season, we started doing breathing practices from Coach [Mike] Fried. He talked about mindset and stuff like that in the beginning of our season and he did breathing practices. But we always do that before a game, so I think that’s really helpful as well.

A: How fast can you get your pads on?

AP: I used to be a lot faster because now we don’t have that big of a time crunch. But probably if I was going quick, I’d say I could get it in a minute and a half, maybe two minutes. Everything has a specific order that it goes on and comes off in. And I’m very superstitious so it’s gotta be that way.

A: What made you decide you wanted to be a part of Wesleyan’s field hockey program?

AP: I think speaking with [Head] Coach [Christine] Kemp, and the players like that are still on the team and that have graduated, really just made it feel like a family. And you can truly tell how much everybody cares about each other both on and off the field. And so I think that really drew me in. And then the NESCAC, it’s the best in [DIII]. And so having that high level of athletics, but also a really high academic school is obviously very desirable.

A: Overall, how did you feel about the team’s performance this season?

AP: I’m really proud of us. I think that we have all worked really hard and wanted to accomplish big things. We also were very focused on the process of achieving these goals. We were very process-oriented this year, which I feel is very beneficial. But as a team, we just really work together. It was a whole team effort. It’s gonna take a village; it’s gonna take all of us to get there. It’s not an individual play or player that’s gonna get us a win.

A: When you guys played against Bowdoin, you won NESCAC Player of the Week. And then you were also awarded the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division III National Defensive Player of the Week. And you were the first person from the NESCAC this season to win it. And you were also the first person ever from Wesleyan to win it. So, can you tell me a little bit about what it was like playing in that game and how it felt when you got those distinctions?

AP: So Bowdoin, I think we all went in knowing it was gonna be a hard game. Last year, it was a really rough game for us. Kiernan [McColgan ’26] broke her arm in the middle of the game. So it’s just kind of a traumatic time. And obviously Bowdoin’s players are really good. So we didn’t by any means think that it was going to be an automatic win. We were up two, and then they came back. So that is kind of tough, especially as a goalie, I was getting scored on. And then the pressure of overtime is crazy. I think we were pretty confident because of our Tufts overtime win. That was huge for us. So I was obviously very nervous because it’s first goal wins. But also I was confident in our team. And then that obviously double overtime went, and then I knew it was shootouts. So the pressure’s kind of on me. And I haven’t done a shootout since high school. The last time I did a shoot out was in our version of states and we ended up losing. So I was a little nervous because I was having flashbacks. But we had practiced them sporadically. And I was like, “I got it. I can’t think too much about it.” I had to have confidence going in that I would be fine. But also confidence in my team being able to score and that’s what happened. You just gotta do what you got to do.

A: You guys were in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC Tournament, which was the first time you guys had qualified for that since 2013. And you guys didn’t end up winning that game. But you set the NESCAC Tournament record and also had a career high 23 saves. Can you tell me about what that game was like and how you felt about your performance?

AP: I actually didn’t know that I had that many saves until we were on the bus. I honestly was more focused on the game. I really just don’t pay attention to it. So back to [the game], we were nervous, obviously, there was a lot of pressure on us. But we also went into the mindset of we have nothing to lose. We haven’t been here since 2013. And so while we were nervous, I think we were all still pretty confident. So going through the game, I think we played really well as a team. Especially compared to the first time we played them. We really held them off. 

A: Looking beyond the season, you earned First Team All-NESCAC for the first time, which makes you only the second goalie ever from Wesleyan to earn that. What was it like when you found out about that and how did you feel to get that distinction?

AP: I was really surprised. There’s only one goalie that gets picked so it’s a big honor to be selected. And it’s nice to know that other coaches are watching. But I don’t want to stop there. I want to keep growing and keep getting better. I want to win the NESCAC. I want to win the NCAA. And I want us to do well as a team. So as much as the award is nice and an honor, it just is not the end.

A: Last question, is there any significance behind the fact that you are number 60? 

AP: Honestly, no. Kemp, my freshman year coming in over the summer, texted and was like, “you have an option between three numbers.” Typically, goalies are like 99 or 00 or something like that. I don’t particularly care about my number because as a goalie, it really depends on just what jersey fits. I typically go for even numbers. And I think the other two were pretty random numbers. So 60’s an even solid number. But I had three choices, and it was one of the three. There was no significance to it.

A: There’s sixty minutes in a game.

AP: Oh yeah, there you go. That’s what I’m gonna start telling people. I took it because there’s 60 minutes in a game.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Erin Byerly can be reached at ebyerly@wesleyan.edu.