Rebecca Brattole continues her dominant career throughout her senior season.
Photo Courtesy of MSU Sports.
Montclair State University’s Field Hockey team has been in safe hands for the goalkeeper position since 2013, with senior Rebecca Brattole starting for the Red Hawks since her sophomore year.
Despite allowing just over a goal a game in her career and winning 39 of 49 games she’s played in, Brattole still isn’t content. “The only thing that makes me nervous is knowing that it’s my last year and at any minute, we could be done,” said Brattole.
Montclair State suffered its first loss of the season to SUNY New Paltz on Sept. 9, but clearly held an advantage in that game and have reason to be proud of their performance. The Red Hawks held the advantage in shots and corners, but couldn’t find a way to tie up the game in the eventual 2-1 loss.
Brattole shared the frustration that many goalkeepers would find themselves in under those circumstances. “It was one of the hardest feelings, because [in] the second half, I didn’t touch the ball,” Brattole said. “It’s one of the hardest feelings, standing there and watching my team try to get it in and not score.”
This season is sure to be an emotional one for the senior, as the last scheduled game at Sprague Field will be against William Paterson on Oct. 21.
However, Brattole was quick to dismiss any notion that the William Paterson game will be her final home game of the season. “It won’t be the last [home] game. I can guarantee you that,” Brattole replied firmly. “I will refuse to let that be our last game of the year.”
Montclair State could potentially host a matchup in the NJAC Tournament if they find themselves at a higher seed than the team they face.
Due to it being her final year with the team, Brattole is forced to deal with life after Montclair State Field Hockey, but she already has her plans set in place. She will look to pursue her Master’s Degree and become a Goalkeeper Coach.
Brattole also has plans to work with veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Her desire to work with veterans comes from having a family member involved in the military. “My cousin was hit by a grenade in Afghanistan,” Brattole said. “He had open-heart surgery in the field, but he definitely recovered really well.” Her cousin’s story has become such a huge inspiration for her that she wears a bandana with her goalkeeper’s uniform to honor him and all of the armed forces while on the field.
When asked if she made the right decision in choosing a Division III school over a bigger program, Brattole immediately said she made the right choice. “We are playing for the love of the sport. A lot of the people here are unaware of the fact that we pay for everything we are wearing. We don’t get any money to be here. We volunteer all our time.”
Brattole is one of many athletes in Division III that commit to the school and sport that they are playing for, not because they find motivation in the benefits they receive, but for, as Brattole emphasized multiple times, “the love of the sport.”
