Far away from Huntington Avenue, a former field hockey captain reflected on what made her time at Northeastern so enjoyable.

“Honestly, it’s unbelievable having played four years and all of us girls having done it together,” Lauren Edelmeier, the Northeastern News Female Athlete of the Year said from Washington state, where she currently co-ops for Microsoft. “The friendships I made and going through all four years with the support of my teammates; I wouldn’t have been as successful without the team.”

Edelmeier has been a force since she stepped onto the field her freshman season in 2002. She was named America East Defensive Player of the Year her junior season, along with being named to the All-Conference first team. During the senior season when she co-captained with senior midfielder Jay Quinn, Edelmeier was selected to the National Field Hockey Collegiate Association Div. I All-American second team and the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) All-Conference first team.

Recruited all the way from the west coast of British Columbia, Canada, Edelmeier was forced to adjust to a new position, level of competition and culture as a Husky.

“I expected a high level of field hockey, but not the level of competitiveness I encountered,” Edelmeier said. “Before I came [to NU] I wasn’t much of a defensive player, but after I got a couple of years under my belt I had that level of experience behind me and I just pushed myself to the best I could be.”

Edelmeier not only pushed herself, she pushed all those around her, as evident by the 69-21 overall record, and an even more astonishing 21-4 record in conference play, during her career. The Huskies won three straight America East Conference titles from 2002-2004 during her career, before moving to the CAA and finishing second overall. In 2002, she lead the team all the way to the NCAA quarterfinals before losing to Michigan State, 2-1.

She was vital in the 2004 season when the Huskies went all the way to the second round of the NCAA tournament, only to fall to to eventual NCAA champs Wake Forest.

“It wasn’t disappointing losing to Wake [Forest],” Edelmeier said. “They ended up winning, as they had the previous two seasons. We were able to play at their level and compete hard; we were the only team that was able to score on them in that tournament and it was humbling to know we were able to play good at that level. It shows that we were an unbelievable team.”

Edelmeier played and started in all 90 games as a Husky and registered 11 goals, 13 assists and 35 points overall. It isn’t these statistics that Edelmeier thinks about, or the conference titles of NCAA appearances. She hopes memories of her will be simple – a player who was as much of a joy to talk to as to play with.

“I want to be remembered as a great all-around person,” Edelmeier said. “I want people to know that when times were hard I kept my focus and did my best to keep the team morale up. I hope that my play set examples these past four years, and the girls will remember the tall girl who played in middle of the field in the back.”

Edelmeier feels “humbled” by the experience of playing against the elite teams, with the most enjoyable teammates, and being named one of the top-20 players in the nation. Her accomplishments detail a player who has been the best, a notion Edelmeier would be the last person to tell you.

“I went through the years at Northeastern thinking I was doing a good job by just playing my best,” Edelmeier said.