Playing field hockey in America has become increasingly popular among Dutch girls in recent years. More and more talented field hockey players choose to shape their careers during a college time in America, in order to combine field hockey with a study.
”But where will these girls go when they are done in America? Will they continue to play field hockey at a high level? And then where? ”
This year we are once again investigating which college field field hockey players are focusing on a professional field hockey career after graduation. In this article, we highlight some girls who are currently playing professional field hockey in the main and promotion classes in the Netherlands.
Pien Dicke – University of Virginia
Club: SCHC
College: University of Virginia (UVA)
Pien left the Netherlands for University of Virginia in (you guessed it) the state of Virginia in 2017 to play field hockey for a semester. To say she made an impression there is an understatement. She won multiple awards such as ACC Rookie of the Year and First Team All-American. Our girls also did super last season. You check it out in this article!
After Pien returned to the Netherlands, she joined SCHC via HDM, where she is now a fixture. Her good play in recent years has also been rewarded with selection for the Dutch national team.
Ayeisha McFerran – University of Louisville
Club: Tilburg
College: University of Louisville
This Irish international defended the Louisville Cardinals’ goal from 2015-2018. An unpassable closing post, she earned All-American honors each year.
After her college career, Ayeisha became a regular on the Irish National team and currently fields with Women’s 1 of Tilburg in the premier league.
Eva van ‘t Hoog – University of North Carolina
Club upcoming year: Hurley
College: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (UNC)
Eva advanced from HDM’s youth to UNC’s college team in 2015. With Eva as a creative midfielder, UNC even became national champions in her senior year! An amazing accomplishment. Fun fact: our own field hockey specialist Eva (Smolenaars) played on the team with her for two years at UNC.
Eva (van ‘t hoog) also managed to add another championship to her resume: World Indoor Hockey Champion.
This summer Eva will make a transfer to field hockey club Hurley, where she will join Ladies 1.
Loes Stijntjes – James Madison University
Club: HGC
College: James Madison University (JMU)
Loes decided to leave everything in Belgium behind in 2012 to join the field hockey team at JMU. In Harrisonburg, Virginia, Loes quickly grew into a strong player and leader of her team.
She was able to continue this in the Netherlands, as she has been part of HGC’s team for years and has even worn the captain’s armband here recently.
Charlotte de Vries – Syracuse University
Club: HC Rotterdam
College: Syracuse
Charlotte is an American field hockey star with a Dutch father. She grew up in America and played for USA Field Hockey youth teams. After high school, she chose to play at Syracuse where she received multiple awards during her college career.
After earning her bachelor’s degree, Charlotte decided to focus entirely on Team USA. This coming summer, she made the choice to continue her development and is moving to her home country to play field hockey with HC Rotterdam!
Laura Graziosi – Little Switzerland
Club: Little Switzerland
College: Syracuse University
Laura always played at HDM in her youth. After high school, she packed her bags and left for Syracuse University to combine field hockey and studies. Together with her team, she experienced many cool moments and was often in the finals of conference tournaments. After getting her bachelor’s degree, Laura returned to the Netherlands and now plays at Klein Zwitserland together with her former teammate Caro Hoffmann from Germany. Caro made a transfer to HC Rotterdam ladies 1 this summer and will play field hockey there together with two Syracuse teammates: Charlotte de Vries and Pieke van de Pas.
Eva Nunnink – Duke University
Club: Victoria
College: Duke University
Of course Eva Nunnink should not be missing from this list! After earning her bachelor’s degree in the Netherlands, Eva left for North Carolina in 2020 to become part of Duke Field Hockey for two years in combination with earning a master’s degree. The Blue Devils soon realized what a top player they had brought in, during her second season Eva was even named captain.
Back in the Netherlands, Eva started working in Rotterdam with another master’s degree. She also started playing field hockey there with Victoria who play in the promotion league.
Honorable Mention
But as we mentioned at the beginning, the above seven girls are just a small sample of all former college field field hockey players currently playing in the main and promotion league field hockey in the Netherlands. Below you will find many more girls, including the clubs where they are currently active and the university they played for in the past.
We will highlight new girls next time!
Kiki Rozemeijer – Pinoké, Duke
Amber Ezechiels – Pinoké, UVA
Pieke van de Pas – HC Rotterdam, Syracuse
Margot van Hecking Colenbrander – HDM, Uconn
Lisa Lejeune – HGC, JMU
Yentl Leemans – Breda, UNC
Bibi Donraadt – Klein Zwitserland, Maryland
Sietske Brüning – Klein Zwitserland, UNC
Romee Joosten – Tilburg (Den Bosch from 2023-24), Syracuse
Daphne Voormolen – Victoria, Albany
Ireen Frenken – Were Di, Monmouth
Freeke van Dongen – Push, Saint Joseph’s
Caro Hoffmann – HC Rotterdam, Syracuse
Extra Honorable Mention
And of course in this list we cannot forget our own field hockey specialist Marle! She ended up at Were Di after her adventure in America (together with her sisters) and played hockey there for 9 years in the Transitional/Promotion Class. Without all the training hours and field hockey intensity of American college field hockey, she would not have succeeded. Check out her whole story here.
Want to know if playing field hockey and studying in America is the right path for you to the Dutch field hockey top? Then contact one of our field hockey specialists. They are happy to think along with you.
