By Nate Owen, News Staff

This is the third in the series of articles profiling the five top male and female senior athletes at Northeastern, culminating in the Huntington News male and female’ Senior Athletes of the Year.

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Ashley Bascetta ended her field hockey career at Northeastern the same way it began:’ in the starting lineup.
The midfielder started her first collegiate game Aug. 27, 2005, scoring a goal in the Huskies’ 7-2 win over Ohio.
In the 83 games between her debut and her final game in October at Virginia Commonwealth, the Granby, Conn. native never once left the starting lineup.
‘I went to a really good high school program with a good coach,’ she said of her ability to adjust quickly to the collegiate game. ‘I came in as a freshman and luckily there was a spot open, but it wasn’t an easy task.’
Bascetta said she was drawn to Northeastern because of its urban environment and competitive field hockey program.
‘I really wanted to go to school in the city but I wanted to be close to home so my parents could visit,’ she said. ‘At the time, Northeastern was No. 6 in the country.’
Her starting streak remained intact despite hip surgeries following her sophomore and junior years. Missing practice and having to work on coming back was difficult, Bascetta said, but couldn’t deter her from being in the lineup. This wasn’t lost on her coach, who praised her and fellow senior captain Jill Wilkes’ determination following the duo’s final home game.
‘Both [Jill] and Ashley had surgeries over the summer. Both of them have been fighting every day to be out there on the field,’ head coach Cheryl Murtagh said. ‘I think overall they’re just two great people that have been a good example for some young players.’
Bascetta didn’t just hold down a spot in the lineup, she was also a key cog for NU the last four seasons.
‘ She was named to the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) All-Rookie team following her freshman campaign. That season, the Huskies advanced to the conference finals in their inaugural CAA season, but fell 3-0 to Old Dominion.
As a sophomore, she finished second on the team with a career-best eight goals. As a junior, she served as an assistant captain and garnered All-CAA second team honors and was also named to the Longsreth/NFHCA Division I All-Northeastern Region first team. She almost single handedly advanced NU to the conference semifinals, scoring two goals and notching an assist in the Huskies’ 3-2 win against Towson in the CAA quarterfinals.
Her senior season, she teamed with Wilkes to serve as Husky co-captains, and was second on the team with a career-high 19 points.
Bascetta finished her Husky career with 52 points (21 goals, 10 assists) and was also named to the’ NFHCA Academic Squad twice.
The communications studies major is currently on co-op as an administrative assistant at Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine in Farmington, Conn. She teaches private lessons with her old club team and said she hopes to keep playing field hockey, even if its just pickup games. Bascetta said she misses her teammates and the competitiveness the college game brought her.
‘It’s hard being away from my teammates,’ she said. ‘It’s hard not playing. I’m a very competitive person. I really miss competing on a daily basis.’