By By Jared Shafran, News Staff

With 1:07 remaining and the field hockey team tied at three against Boston University, junior forward Pam Aldridge tallied her second goal of the season to secure a 4-3 win Sept. 13.
The performance by Aldridge, who led the team in scoring last season, earned her this week’s Huntington News Player of the Week honors.
‘It felt great because I didn’t feel as though I was having a great game, so to be able to step up when needed felt awesome,’ Aldridge said. ‘I kind of just fed off my teammates’ energy and just decided to put the ball to the net because we’ve been doing that a lot.’
Aldridge said the win was even more important because of the history the Huskies share with BU.
‘It was a huge game going in and we tried to let the freshman know how big of a deal the rivalry between us is,’ Aldridge said. ‘We’re pretty evenly matched, but there’s definitely a rivalry with the Boston schools.’
Aldridge, who grew up in British Columbia, said she has a strong interest in snowboarding when she’s off the field.
‘My family owns a cabin on a mountain in Washington so we snowboard a ton,’ Aldridge said. ‘I try to get on the slopes once every weekend but sometimes we’ll go for a week at a time.’
Even though she has only a year of eligibility left, Aldridge doesn’t want her playing days to end with graduation, she said. She is hoping to take her game to the international level and represent her country on a bigger stage, she said. An international business major with a focus in French, Aldridge said she is excited to explore different job opportunities once she finishes her field hockey career.
‘I wanted to do business but I wanted to put a twist on it and I really like to travel so I can combine the two,’ Aldridge said. ‘I can either go back to Canada or work in Europe; my mom’s British so I could go work in England too. I really want to work in a big corporation when I’m older. Hopefully near the top.’
During the summer, Aldridge took summer classes in France through Northeastern, and she is considering spending her senior year taking classes there.
‘I’m thinking about it, a year is a long time,’ Aldridge said. ‘I talked to my coach about it and she’s been really supportive of me through the whole thing but if I do change, I’d definitely stay with the team and do as much as I can just to help them out in any way.’
Last year Aldridge was invited to the Canadian under-23 development camp and she has been in contact with the coaches often, she said. While training with the Canadian senior national team over the summer, she was selected as a reserve to go to the Champions Challenge, held in Russia, a venue for the world’s top field hockey teams. Although she chose to go to France instead, she is hopeful she can have another similar opportunity.
‘Playing for your country is an awesome thing to do and it’s definitely something I want to think about,’ she said.
With conference play on the horizon, Aldridge said she believes the team can reach new heights this season.
‘I just think our team has so much potential this year and we’ve started to show it lately, but I think this year we just know how to put the ball in the net,’ Aldridge said. ‘I feel that there’s more team cohesion on the field and I feel like everybody knows where each other is. It just feels a lot smoother, so I’m just looking forward to more wins because I definitely think we can do it.’
Since moving to Boston, Aldridge said she has become a fan of some of the local professional sports teams.
‘I don’t really watch baseball that much but I love the Boston Celtics,’ Aldridge said. ‘We don’t really have an NBA team in my part of Canada and I’m getting into the Patriots more.’
When it comes to hockey, though, Aldridge said she is sticking with her countrymates.
‘I stick to my Canadian roots, Vancouver Canucks all the way,’ she said.