Field Hockey
Favorite athlete: David Goggins
Favorite teams: Eagles & Phillies
Favorite memory competing in sports: Winning the league title and competing in states my freshman year
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Having the coaches walk in on our team dance party
Music on playlist: Alice In Chains, Creed, & Pitbull
Future plans: Play D1 field hockey at Long Island University and major in fashion merchandising
Words to live by: "If you want to be great, you have to be obsessed and driven."
One goal before turning 30: Complete an Ironman Triathlon and compete in the CrossFit Games
One thing people don’t know about me: I enjoy fishing
By Mary Jane Souder
Charlotte McNeill has energy, seemingly boundless energy.
The Souderton senior - an honors student - could be taking advantage of senior privilege to leave school early. McNeill, however, had a better idea.
“I work at a farm every morning,” she said. “I pick corn, pumpkins, eggplants, peppers, beans and other produce. It’s honestly really fun.”
So instead of going to school after an early wake-up call, McNeill – in something of a reverse senior privilege - heads to a local farm where she works 7:30-11:30 a.m. These days she is working in a pumpkin patch not all that far from the high school, catching and then tossing pumpkins into a gator. All to be sold at R&J Farm Market.
“I also saw the pumpkins off the vine,” McNeill said. “Honestly, it has given me such an appreciation for the labor that is behind all produce.”
From R&J, it’s off to school for two block periods, and from there, McNeil heads to the hockey field where she is a captain.
Her days often don’t end there.
“Charlotte lives fairly close to me, and within the first couple days of the season, I’m out walking the dog, and she’s out taking a walk, but she’s a big rucker, so after dinner, she’s putting 20 pounds in a backpack and going for a walk,” Souderton hockey coach Sue Casciato said. “She’s like, ‘It’s good for you, Coach Sue. You have to keep your metabolism going after dinner.’”
McNeill’s work ethic is so intense that her coach actually encourages her to slow down a bit, but that’s not a consideration. In addition to competing on the track team last spring, last winter, McNeill and then senior Julia Blair swam before school to ensure they'd stay in shape in the offseason, their mornings beginning at 5 a.m. This year, both plan to continue that rigorous schedule even though Blair is at Colgate University.
“We will still hold each other accountable,’ MacNeill said. “I love physical activity, I love to work out.”
Field hockey from the beginning
While there’s no mistaking McNeill’s passion for working out, it can’t top her passion for field hockey.
“It was always just field hockey for me,” she said. “My mom really never tried to force me and my brothers into sports unless we really wanted to play.
“My older cousin Collette (Euksuzian) taught me how to play – I was in either second or third grade,” she said. “I remember telling my mom, ‘Oh mom, I really love playing field hockey.’ Collette has always been a mentor for me in field hockey, and it was super nice to have a family member that helped me out.”
McNeill wasted no time before signing up for rec league, and in sixth grade, she joined the club circuit. After one year with the Souderton Strikers, she switched to WC Eagles.
“I think hockey has always been an outlet for me,” she said. “Whenever I would be upset or anything, I would just go out and play, or whenever I was bored, I would play. I just really had a love for the sport.”
It was not uncommon to see McNeill practicing her drives with her father Bill in their backyard.
“I’d give him my old stick, and we’d go out in the backyard and just hit the ball around,” she said. “His poor shins – I remember driving the ball, and it would be hitting him.”
When she arrived at high school, McNeill reaped the benefits for her hard work, earning a spot in the varsity lineup as a freshman.
“I was coming into a team that was undefeated SOL champs, and the whole starting lineup was all seniors, so I definitely had to rise to the occasion,” McNeill said. “Coach Sue definitely pushed, me, which I do appreciate. It was hard to adjust to, but we all got along.”
This year, MacNeill has assumed more of a leadership role on the field
“I’m always trying to upbring the girls, I try to lift their spirits,” she said. “I always am dancing or doing something fun, so they don’t feel the pressure on them. They can let loose a little bit and have fun on the field.
“Sometimes at this time of the season, you’re in the grind, but we’re also here on the field – we’re having fun. We won’t look back and have any regrets. We’re out there playing and having a good time.”
And perhaps no one has more fun than McNeill.
“She’s definitely our big rah-rah,” Casciato said. “You could even see that as a junior – you knew she was going to be a captain because when we’re running suicides or whatever, she’s always the one yelling, ‘Let’s go girls.’”
Apparently, her teammates recognized that as well.
“I have quite a few seniors this year, and when we voted for captains, seven or eight got votes,” Casciato said. “I had everybody pick two – she got 34 votes, and there were 35 people at practice.
“I happened to see her that night – she was out rucking, and I was walking the dog. I said, ‘Charlotte, I have a question for you. Did you vote for yourself for captain?’ She said, No,’ and I was like, ‘Well, you’re the only person that didn’t vote for you.’
“She’s enthusiastic about the game, she’s probably the head cheerleader on the team. She always has a little dance she’s got to do. She does the ‘Gritty’ after she scores a goal.”
“I always celebrate,” McNeill said. “I know Coach Sue is not always the biggest fan. I always try to do something fun to get the girls excited.”
McNeill has played a lot of defense for the Indians the last four years, but this year she is also contributing offensively.
“Technically, she’s a very good player,” Casciato said. “She’s got a great aerial, a good drive. She’s a striker on corners, and even if she’s not scoring, she’s getting the ball hard on cage that somebody can tip it in.”
The Indians’ senior captain acknowledged there are many who helped her along the way.
“I want to give a special thank you to Mr. Wagner, Julia Blair, and Jayden Bergey for always pushing me, believing in me, and helping me become the athlete I am today,” McNeill said.
Moving on up
Inspired by her aunt Collette, who played at Hofstra, and playing for a club team that sends most of its players on to the collegiate level, McNeill always had her sights set of playing collegiate hockey. She will be playing hockey at the Division 1 level 15 minutes away from Hofstra at Long Island University, a school that was not initially on her list of potential colleges.
“Honestly, last summer my mom and I spent two weeks just going around to all these clinics,” she said. “I was really interested in going to Quinnipiac, and I saw on Instagram that Long Island was having a clinic, and it was sort of last minute.
“I was like – ‘Maybe I should just go and check it out,’ and I fell in love with the school, the coaches, the girls, and it just really felt like a good fit for me.”
She also considered Quinnipiac, Ohio University and Mercyhurst.
“I just feel like everything worked out for me with Long Island – just the school, the team and the culture there,” she said. “It also had my major – a lot of schools don’t have it. I’m doing fashion merchandising. I want to do something with the marketing - I hope to work for one of the brands in New York City.”
The decision to pursue fashion merchandising was a fairly recent one.
“I always thought I wanted to do something in the medical field, but then I took honors chemistry, and I was like, ‘This is definitely not for me,’” McNeill said. “I was working on our school show, Red Alert, and I was doing some of the camera stuff and editing. I started getting into the clothes, and I thought - maybe I could do something with film and clothes, and that’s when I thought about advertising and fashion merchandising.”
An excellent student, McNeill is a member the National Honor Society and also the school’s Athletic Leadership Council.
For now, she is focused on her final high school field hockey season, which is coming down the home stretch.
“It’s really sad that it’s going to end, especially this season,” she said. “I’m really enjoying this season. I think it’s the best season so far that I’ve been part of at Souderton.
“Definitely, I’m going to miss all the girls. I’m going to miss the coaches and just our team culture this year, but I’m definitely happy to be a senior though. I’m ready to take the next steps.”
In McNeill, LIU is not just inheriting an outstanding field hockey player.
“She’s very likable, she’s very kind,” Casciato said. “You wouldn’t be able to say anything negative about Charlotte. She’s just a good person.”
