February 12, 2024 – Story and photos by Joshua Ross
The best thing about choosing the Athlete of the Week presented by College Hype is the uncertainty of the winners each week. Everyone has a clean slate on Monday and can do amazing things over the next seven days. This week’s winner is the perfect example of this process. On a historic night for Harborwomen hockey, senior captain Sara Menesale’s journey stood above the rest. There will be plenty of time to celebrate the milestones of her teammates, but it was how Sara was able to galvanize her teammates, coaches, and fans as she tried to capture her own achievements on Saturday night. As someone who doesn’t see much ice time, Sara played more vs Quincy/North Quincy than the last few years combined. With the game in hand early in the first period, the sole focus of the team was to get Sara her first career goal. With a few near misses in the second period, the moment finally happened midway through when Sara, who had been camped out in front of the net, put back a rebound resulting in an eruptions of cheers from everyone in the rink. It’s clear what Sara’s leadership and impact means to her team and should certainly be celebrated as much as any individual achievement we see each week.
“Sara may not be out on the ice as some of the others, but she’s an integral part of the team,” says head coach Courtney Turner. “She really pulls everyone together. She’s always the first person you can count on for a smile in the locker room. She just goes hard everyday in practice and she knows she may not always get a chance, but she’s ready when she does.”
Fellow captain, junior Caroline Doherty, who reached her own incredible milestone during the game, was more than happy to shift the focus to her teammates.
“I was telling my teammates I was more happy for Sara and (Julia Whitney) getting their first goals than I was for myself,” Doherty explains. “It’s amazing having this hype atmosphere, because going into playoffs we are going to need nights like tonight.”
Congrats Sara and the rest of the Harborwomen on an amazing, historic night.