Allie McDonough, Norwood Girls Hockey

Participating in her second of three sports for Norwood High School, Allie McDonough is looking to help the girl’s ice hockey team get back to the tournament for the third straight season. As a sophomore, McDonough and her teammates defeated Cohasset-Hanover in the preliminary round, but were ousted in the first round by Dennis-Yarmouth. Last winter, the Mustangs once again secured a position in the Division 2 Tournament only to lose in the preliminary round to Canton.
Skating in her final season with the Mustangs ice hockey team, McDonough would like to get back to the tournament while helping her younger teammates to improve.
“I really would like to get back to the tournament once again after making it the last two years and hopefully do better than our past appearances,” the senior captain said. “As this year goes on, I’m hoping to become more of a playmaker getting my line mates more involved, while trying to be the best version of myself on and off the ice. I also want to set a good example to the younger players and help them anyway that I can.”
Although the Norwood senior feels that she excels in both field hockey and ice hockey, she will be taking her field hockey skills to the next level when she attends Holy Cross next fall.
“I felt that ice hockey would be much more competitive on the college level and too much for me especially being pre-med, so field hockey was the better choice,” McDonough said. “Not to say that field hockey won’t be a challenge, but I’ve always been able to manage my time; this will just be the next step in time management for me.”
McDonough’s original college choice was Stonehill College, but when she got a call from Holy Cross, where her brother Brian is currently a senior and her sister Natalie graduated from in 2015, she jumped at the chance. She felt that with her siblings already attended the school, she was used to the environment as well as the academics being much better than her original choice.
Despite the fact that she will be playing field hockey on the collegiate level, the Mustang senior captain is ready for the challenge of her final ice hockey season.
Ice hockey began back in the fourth grade when the Norwood Youth Hockley Program began an instructional league to get girls involved in hockey. Luckily she had neighbors who had played youth hockey growing up so when she decided to take on the sport she was able to begin with their old equipment before she had to go out and buy all of her own.
However, once she took to the ice, she found that her size might be an issue with some of the much bigger girls.
“When I was younger I was always the smallest one on the ice, getting tossed around quite a bit, but I eventually learned to stand my ground,” McDonough said. “I used my speed to my advantage trying not to get hit as much, but still took a beating, so much the referees were always asking if I was ok.”
Playing in high school she used her speed to draw a lot of penalties and when she did get knocked to the ice she just got up as though nothing happened, which antagonized a lot of the teams she played against.
“She’s a tiny individual, I’d say 5’4” and 90 pounds at the most and just a small bump can knock her off her feet, but she is extremely competitive and no matter what sport she is playing (she also plays lacrosse) she brings the intensity,” Norwood Coach Tim Coskren said. “She’s like the energizer bunny and her energy on the ice is contagious. She gives everything she has, sometimes she can go overboard.”
Back in the early days, McDonough found herself playing on defense for her U14 team, but unfortunately due to her size, she was always getting pushed around in front of the net and her coaches at the time realized that she’d be better off as a forward.
Upon entering high school, she found herself very excited to get the ice hockey tryouts going, but was not a big fan of having to be there for 5 a.m. Despite the early morning tryouts, McDonough earned herself a place on the Norwood varsity team.
“It was definitely not what I was expecting,” McDonough said. “The transition from youth hockey to the high school was hard, especially since I was not used to speed of the high school game,” she said. “Being in a new environment it took some time, but I eventually got it down.”
As a freshman, McDonough scored 13 goals while adding 12 assists; she would put up the same numbers in her sophomore year before making a jump in her goal scoring to 20 in her junior campaign.
“Since her freshman year, McDonough has gotten quicker as well as becoming more knowledgeable about the game. Her quickness frustrated the other teams and she draws a lot of penalties because of it,” the Norwood Coach said. “I wouldn’t consider her a finesse player, but one thing that stands out is her aggression while giving 100% all of the time; she never backs down.”
Not only does her quickness on the ice give opposing teams fits, it also can cause havoc amongst her own teammates. This season, Coskren has paired the speedy senior with two freshman, hoping that the first-year players can not only learn from her but keep up with her on the ice.
As she heads into her final season skating with the Mustangs, McDonough is hoping to get into the tournament and go further than they have in the past. She will also look back at her time spent on the ice with her teammates and what they meant to her.
“My progression through my high school career is mostly accredited to my teammates,” McDonough said. “I had a really good support system around me where everyone was willing to help. I have definitely found my balance on the ice and will miss my teammates, but it’s not over yet; we still have plenty of hockey to play.”