Kayla Maret finished her sophomore field hockey season with a vengeance, racking up four goals and three assists in last week’s three games. She rounded out this season with nine goals and tied for team highs with five assists and 23 points.

Maret’s role on the team shifted this season. After a year of taking no shot attempts as a defender, Maret’s coach, Ashley Kishorn, saw promise for her elsewhere on the field.

“She just came up one day and [said] Kayla, you’re going to practice forward today.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, okay.’” Maret shrugged.

“Kayla came in and filled a defensive position for us last season; however, with her scoring potential we moved her up the field this year,” said Coach Kishorn. “She excelled on the forward line and made an immediate impact with her stats. You can visibly see Kayla’s determination and drive when she receives the ball on the field. It is clear that she wants to score and she wants to win games.”

“I knew I would be going from defense to midfield, which I kind of wanted to do because I felt like I could help better, getting the ball up the field, but I didn’t know I was going to be a forward, because I’ve never played forward before,” Maret explained. “It was kind of hard at first because I didn’t know what I was doing but… I think it got better as I got more experience and I’m happy where I am now. I could play anywhere now!”

This is Coach Kishorn’s second year at EMU. Maret thought it was helpful for the team to have continuity and know their coach com- ing into the season.

“We won more games than last year,” Maret said, reflecting on her team’s improvement this season. “We won our first conference game this year since 2016!”

Maret first got into field hockey when she was in eighth grade. She appreciated her middle school coach for teaching her the game.

“She wasn’t one of those coaches that was just there for the paycheck; she actually cared,” Maret said. “Like, she wanted to win, so she actually coached us. So I learned a lot from her.”

Maret joined a travel team when she got to high school.

“It keeps me going,” she said about the sport. “I feel like I’m good at something when I play field hockey, and I feel like I have a purpose and people need me.”

Field hockey was instrumental in Maret’s decision to come to EMU. Now she is a soon-to-be-official biology major looking to become a physician’s assistant after graduation.

In her free time she likes visiting YouTube and thrift stores alike. Besides being Royals Athlete of the Week, Maret is also on the ODAC Hon- or Roll.

“So… my coach texted me and was like, ‘ODAC Honor Roll AND you’re Athlete of the Week?’” She smiled. “I was not expecting this at all this year. It made me really happy.”

This young defender/midfielder/forward still has two years left at EMU. Watch out for Kayla Maret next fall!