The following article was previously published on The Flat Hat’s website during the week of Oct. 23. However, due to an unforeseen technological glitch, it was removed from the website for a period of time and was re-uploaded today, Nov. 8.
Fifth-year defender Audrey Domovich has led William and Mary field hockey as both a captain and an athlete.
Throughout her five seasons with Tribe field hockey, Domovich has played in 74 games and started in 55. During her senior season, she was named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Watch List. This year, she has scored six goals for the Tribe, five of which were on penalty corners.
Originally from Hummelstown, Pa., Domovich began her field hockey career in elementary school after a gym coach recommended she try a summer camp. Though Domovich also played soccer until seventh grade, she ultimately decided to continue with field hockey when her older brother told her about the high school team’s success.
“I was a really competitive kid, and playing a sport in college had always been a dream of mine,” Domovich said. “I feel like growing up being surrounded by sports was huge.”
At Lower Dauphin High School, Domovich captained her team to the Pennsylvania state title game as a senior. In 2018, she was also named by Max Field Hockey to the All-Pennsylvania First Team and received all-conference recognition.
Domovich credits her high school coach, Linda Kreiser, to her success as a player. Before retiring last year, Kreiser coached at Lower Dauphin for 45 years and played at Millersville University, where she was inducted into the school’s hall of fame in 1995.
“Her drive for us to have fun really allowed us to fall in love with the game,” Domovich said.
Domovich also emphasized her teammates’ impact on her field hockey career.
“When I came in as a freshman, I had strong leaders above me who could support me and taught me what to do,” Domovich said. “It was kind of taking what they showed me and then replicating that for the next new class coming in.”
According to Domovich, Tribe field hockey head coach Tess Ellis often says she recruits players for the person before the athlete.
“Tess being able to create this culture of being a family and being there to support one another makes time on the field and off the field special,” Domovich said. “We always say she recruited 26 best friends.”
Both Domovich’s teammates and coaches admire her for her leadership on and off the field.
“Audrey is a super good role model on the team,” senior midfielder Jayden Moon, who is also Domovich’s co-captain, said. “I think the best thing about playing with her is that she leads by example.”
Ellis highlighted Domovich’s influence on her teammates.
“The way she practices and the way she plays on the field, it lifts her teammates,” Ellis said. “She’s learned to use her voice to lead people by example, but her work ethic on and off the field is insane.”
Named to the NFHCA All-Academic Team her freshman, sophomore and junior seasons, Domovich is committed to her studies. In 2021, Domovich also received recognition from the NFHCA National Academic Squad, and in 2022, she earned CAA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll distinction.
“She knows what she needs to do to be successful, and you never see her stray from that path,” Moon said.
Ellis believes Domovich will continue leading by example beyond her years at the College.
“Audrey is the true William and Mary student,” Ellis said. “She sets such a good standard, a high standard.”
As a biology major, Domovich aspires to attend medical school and become a doctor in sports medicine and family medicine.
“With sports medicine, you’re linked with family medicine,” Domovich said, reflecting the impact of the family atmosphere on Tribe field hockey.
Domovich has set goals for both herself and the team for the remainder of the season. In future years, Domovich hopes to see the team become more consistent in both Coastal Athletic Association and non-conference play.
“We’re starting to balance the two, but I think still learning to grow and gain that consistency throughout the entire season will be huge for everybody,” Domovich said.
Though Domovich will graduate this winter, she hopes to have fun and be successful in the CAA tournament, which Tribe field hockey qualified for after a 3-2 home victory against Monmouth on Oct. 20. Domovich assisted the tiebreaker during a penalty corner, sweeping the ball from the top of the circle before her teammate tipped it into the goal.
“I’m going to miss it all,” Domovich said. “Being on campus here, having the team, all of the different spots in Williamsburg, it’s this place that has become home.”
