Field Hockey Signs Six
BERKELEY - California field hockey has signed six signees to National Letters of Intent, as announced by Donna Fong Director of Field Hockey Shellie Onstead. Four of the additions are California natives, along with one from Massachusetts and one native of England.
The California signees are Sophie Everett (San Diego), Cassidy Puleo (Valencia), Gracie Jimenez (San Diego) and Bay Area native Elana Eisenberg (Los Altos). Madeline Zacchini will trek to Berkeley from Bolton, Mass., and Monet Stuckey will cross the pond from Oxshott, Surrey, United Kingdom.
"We welcome this 2021 group to Cal field hockey from California, Massachusetts and England," Onstead said. "Not only will it be a new beginning for them, but we anticipate that the fall 2021 season will represent a complete reset for college athletics. That gives us all plenty to be excited about."
Two of the signees are in Max Field Hockey's Top 100 Players Class of 2021, with Zacchini making the top 50 and Puleo the top 100.
During Zacchini's prep career at Nashoba Regional High School, her team went undefeated in 2020 and were Division I Central Mass District Champions in 2018 and 2019, including state finalists in 2018. Her individual prep honors in 2019 include being tabbed a Max Field Hockey All-New England First Team selection, one of Max Field Hockey's Top High School Regional Players to Watch, named to the Max Field Hockey High School All-American Watchlist and garnering multiple all-star selections. In 2018, she was named to the Max Field Hockey All-Region Second Team. Her successes with her club team – NorthEast Elite – include winning the U19 and U16 Regional Championships, while also taking the silver medal at the U16 National Championships. Her squad went undefeated at the 2019 U16 National Indoor Tournament. Zacchini was also a 2019 Rise Junior National Camp selection, a three-time National Futures selection (2017-19), a two-time AAU Junior Olympic selection (2017-18) and a two-time Stars and Stripes selection (2017, 2019). A member of the National Honors Society, she was named to the Optimal Performance Associates/NFHCA High School National Academic Squad with Scholar of Distinction (GPA higher than 3.9).
Puleo heads to Berkeley with plenty of accolades and USA Field Hockey experience, including being a two-time USA Field Hockey Futures Level 1 (2018, 2019) selection. She was part of two USA Field Hockey National Futures Championship teams in 2017 and 2019, and a member of the gold medal team at the AAU Junior Olympics in 2019. A four-year starter at Chaminade College Prep High School, Puleo, a two-time team captain and two-time all-star selection, garnered MVP honors during her junior year, and, as a sophomore, was tabbed Defensive MVP. Puleo was also selected to play for the Max Field Hockey Elite Holland Tour Team, and was a two-time Under Armour Select Game roster selection (2018-19).
Competing at Serra High School in San Diego, Everett was a 2020 High School Regional Player To Watch after being named a Max Field Hockey Second Team All-State honoree in 2019 when her Serra squad was the CIF runner-up. In 2017, her team won the CIF San Diego Section Open Division Championship. Her accolades with USA Field Hockey including winning bronze at the U16 AAU Junior Olympics in 2019. Also in 2019 and 2018, Everett earned U16 National Futures Championship selections, as well as U14 National Futures Championship selection in 2017 and 2016. Last year, Everett made the All-Tournament team at the Serra Annual Tournament, and her squad was runner-up in the Serra Varsity Field Hockey Tournament after being crowned champions in 2018. Everett also garnered Serra Junior Varsity Field Hockey All-Tournament Team honors after her team won that tournament in 2017. Academically, Everett was named to the 2019-20 all-academic team.
Jimenez follows a long line of Cal grads in her family, including her mother, aunt and older sister, Gabi, who all played field hockey at Cal. Jimenez attended Torrey Pines High School in San Diego. Playing defense, Jimenez was part of three straight league championship teams (2017-19). In 2019, she won her school's MVP award, as well as being tabbed CIF Section First Team and her league's Player of the Year. She was also First Team all-league in 2018. Playing for RUSH field hockey, her club team was 2019 Cal Cup U19 champions, as well as USA Field Hockey Festival U19 champions. She was also part of the 2016 U14 National Futures Championship gold medal team. Academically, Jimenez earned Union Tribune Scholar-Athlete, California Scholarship Federation and National Honors Society recognition.
Eisenberg's father is a Cal grad, while her mother played field hockey at Stanford. Playing at Los Altos High School, Eisenberg was named First Team all-league in 2019 and Second Team all-league in 2018 and 2017, as well as her league's Junior of the Year in 2019. She also earned CCS Honorable Mention honors in 2018 and 2017, and her squad was CCS semifinalists in 2019. Additionally, she was selected to the AAU Junior Olympics in 2019 and selected to USA Field Hockey National Futures Championships four straight years (2016-2019). Academically, she was a National Merit Commended Student, an AP Scholar with Distinction, the Sophomore Scholar Athlete of the Year and a California Scholarship Federation member.
During her prep and club career, Stuckey was part of multiple championship squads including the U16 Indoor Hockey and U16 Outdoor Hockey National Champions, and the U14 Outdoor Hockey National Champions. In addition, she was part of two runner-up squads (U16 Indoor Hockey National Championships, U16 Outdoor Hockey National Championships). She was also part of two bronze-medal winning teams (U18 and U14 Indoor Hockey National Championships).