SuburbanOneSports.com recognizes a male and female featured athlete each week. The awards, sponsored by Univest, are given to seniors of good character who are students in good standing that have made significant contributions to their teams. Selections are based on nominations received from coaches, athletic directors and administrators.
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Female Athlete
Maeve Hogan never has a bad day. That’s a bold statement to make about anyone, but according to Upper Dublin lacrosse coach Dee Cross, it’s a fact. If Hogan – a rare three-sport athlete - has had a bad day, the veteran coach has never seen it, and she has seen a whole lot of the recent UD graduate, who was a four-year starter on the varsity lacrosse squad. “I had heard about Maeve from her club coach and in middle school,” Cross said. “I knew she had a lot of energy, and what I knew about Maeve - her personality and her smile are infectious. Maeve never has a bad day, and that was really something that caught my attention.”
A first team All-SOL Liberty Division selection in lacrosse, Hogan was a key contributor to a UD 
squad that advanced to the state tournament. With 69 goals as a senior, Hogan was just two goals behind University of Michigan commit Bridget DiMartile, who had 71. “Maeve’s skill level going to goal and knowing when to take the shot just really showed this year,” Cross said. “Her aggressiveness on offense – she knew when we needed a goal, and she knew what she had to do, and I think that’s what made her a leader this year.” Hogan has turned her talents on the lacrosse field into an opportunity to play Division 1 lacrosse, signing a letter of intent to play for Marquette University in the BIG EAST. “Marquette recruited her as a midfielder, and I think she’s just going to keep getting better and better,” Cross said.
Hogan’s legacy during the UD basketball team’s magical run to both a District 1 6A title and the PIAA 6A state crown last winter is for her contributions when she wasn’t playing. “She has a contagious personality and can always put a smile on her teammates’ faces while also being a strong leader,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said. With the basketball team’s season extended into late March, Hogan missed the first three weeks of her final high school lacrosse season. “Maeve was a bigger part of our state title run than she realizes,” said Funsten. “I know it was difficult for Maeve to put a on lacrosse season with the long postseason run that we went on, but you could never tell by her attitude and work ethic in practice. Marquette is getting an awesome athlete and person. She meant so much to our team and program for the past four years, and we are going to miss her so much next year.”
In soccer, Hogan – a three-year varsity player - started several games last fall but was typically the first player off the bench. There is no mistaking her value. “I’ve had the privilege of coaching Maeve for the past two years, and it has truly been an amazing experience,” the UD soccer coach Darius Gbunblee said. “She is not only an outstanding athlete but an incredible person as well. She was one of our leaders and always cheered and supported the other girls. One thing that stands out most about her is her ability to be a great teammate and an even better friend to everyone around her.”
Hogan also excelled in the classroom, taking mainly honors and AP classes, and she was involved in UD’s student government association for three years. She was named to the PASLA (Pennsylvania Area Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association) All-Academic team. At Marquette, Hogan will major in communications. “I might do something like public relations,” she said. “I’m also taking an education class, so we’ll see. I don’t really have anything set yet,” Hogan left UD with no regrets. “All three sports are very different,” she said. “It was the best thing about high school being on those teams. All the people I played sports with over my last four years – those are some of my best friends, and I am so happy I decided to do it that way. It was the best four years.”
And has Hogan really never had a bad day? “I’m sure I’ve had bad days, but my parents really instilled in me at a young age that it’s a privilege to play and be healthy and live where we do and have this experience,” she said. “I’ve been surrounded by really great people for the last four years, and that makes it so easy to be happy every day and have a good day every day.”
To read Hogan’s complete story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/maeve-hogan-00125129
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete
What do Leonard da Vinci, Michelangelo, Benjamin Franklin and Kris Kristofferson all have in common? All fit the working definition of a Renaissance man, which generally equates to being talented and an expert in multiple disciplines. Kieran Patel, who recently graduated from New Hope-Solebury, fits the description. “To me, he is a renaissance man,” said Lions’ baseball coach Tony Vlahovic, via text from Croatia, where he was visiting his daughter. “Kieran is an incredible young man who is not only a talented athlete but also an accomplished musician and entrepreneur.”
Patel is coming off a dream athletic senior season, having been a vacuum cleaner in center field for a Lions’ team that won a district playoff game for the first time in a long while and – in recognition of his standout season - earned second team All-SOL Freedom Division honors. Still, it was the team reaching new heights that meant more than individual accomplishments.He said: “For me, all four years at New Hope, we hadn’t even gotten to the playoffs, so it was something we all just really tried to enjoy.”
Patel captained both his baseball and cross country squads as a senior with a steady brand of leadership. “He is a quiet leader whose strength is leading by example,” said Vlahovic. “He’s one of the most coachable
and brightest players we have had in our program.” Cross country coach Dana McCafferty added that Patel was both a “great athlete” and a “great leader,” saying: “Kieran made a huge impact on our team the moment he stepped onto it.”
Patel grew up playing soccer and was on the high school team as an underclassman. He would watch the cross country team run by while the soccer team was practicing and wistfully took note of how comparatively satisfied they looked. He decided to shift gears and change fall sports. “It was a huge decision for me,” said Patel. “I liked the running aspect of soccer, and I used to run to train for soccer, so I tried it out. I figured I would at least be fairly decent at it, and I was. It was a big leap though. I wasn’t sure if I made the right decision at first. I went from the soccer team, where I had friends, to the cross country team where I had no friends. The first day, I ended up making a bunch of friends. I used to just run for fun, so I thought I would really enjoy the sport, and I did. I really liked my teammates and made some friends.”
Patel was not only a captain but also the number one runner for the district champion Lions. While Patel placed fourth individually in the district, the Lions – as a result of their first-place finish - earned a trip to Hershey for states. “He was instrumental in helping us win the district,” said McCafferty. “He’s one of those kids who you know will go very far. He’s smart and driven and is motivated to make himself better every day.”
Also an accomplished musician, Patel had the opportunity to play saxophone in a Paris jazz club while on a recent school trip. He has also played for the school musicals and was in the jazz band.
Patel’s achievements included joining forces with a musician friend to raise money for charity. Along with Ben Stein on trumpet, Patel played saxophone. The two played on the streets of New Hope and Cape May to surpass their $10,000 goal.The earnings went to the National Brain Tumor Foundation, in honor of Patel’s aunt (Payal Patel) who passed away in 2018, and the Miracle League for challenged youth to play sports. “I have a passion for doing both music and business,” Patel said. “I had this project that I did, called ‘Music for Miracles,’ where I basically took two of my biggest passions, music and business, and kind of put them together. It felt very rewarding to be able to give back to those organizations.”
Patel gave a glimpse of his entrepreneurial spirit, starting a clothing apparel business called Just2Guys. The company’s mission is to raise mental health awareness. “I started it with some guys from our high school,” said Patel. “We’re a mindful apparel brand that does local events as vendors as well as our online store, and we donate 20 percent of our profits to mental health charities.” This fall, Patel – who boasted a 4.5 GPA and was involved in student government at NH-S - will be attending Cornell University.
To read Patel’s complete story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/kieran-patel-00125114
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