Field hockey: MCI’s Gracie Moore to play at Bentley College in fall

Maine Central Institute senior Gracie Moore, center, stands with MCI field hockey coach Nancy Hughes, right, and assistant coach Greg Hughes, left, during her national letter of intent signing Thursday morning in Pittsfield. Moore will play field hockey for Division II Bentley College in the fall. Contributed photo/The Moore family

Gracie Moore’s field hockey career is far from over.

The Maine Central Institute standout signed her national letter of intent at the Pittsfield school Thursday morning to play on an athletic scholarship for Division II Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts. Moore, a senior, will begin play with the Falcons in the fall.

“It was always my goal to play field hockey in college, it was always something I worked for,” Moore said. “It’s really exciting to know it’s happening.”

Moore, who also considered attending the University of New Hampshire, ultimately chose Bentley for academic reasons, as she’s looking toward majoring in business. Moore said she did her own promotion so start her recruiting process, reaching out to the coaching staff at Bentley and sending video of her play.

“At first, I was researching the top business schools,” Moore said “That was one of the best ones that I found. Then I started contacting (Bentley head coach Jessica Spencer), and she was really friendly. She stayed connected with me, and I sent her videos of me. She was just really nice in the whole process, so that also made me really excited about the school.”

The leader of a high-scoring offensive attack, Moore scored 40 goals — a single-season school record — for the Huskies on the way to a 15-2 record. MCI came close to winning it all but fell 3-2 to Winthrop in the Class C championship game Nov. 6 at Fuller Field in Augusta.

MCI’s Gracie Moore dribbles upfield against Gardiner on Oct. 20 in Gardiner. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

“During the summer, our goal was to get to states,” Moore said. “We worked really hard all season, even in the summer, just preparing for that. Honestly, making it there is a huge accomplishment. It’s awesome to know that, in my senior year, we made it that far. Even though we didn’t win, still making it and playing in that game was really cool.”

Bentley, which plays in the Northeast-10 Conference, finished with a 14-6 record (12-2 NE-10 record) in the fall. The Falcons fell 1-0 to New Haven in the conference championship, but still made the Division II tournament as an at-large bid. The Falcons’ season ended with a 2-1 loss to East Stroudsburg in the first round of the tournament on Nov. 13. Moore said she had a chance to travel down to the school and catch a game during the season, as well as talk to the coaching staff in-person.

“It’s just a good environment, I really liked it,” Moore said.

Moore will not be the only central Maine player on the Bentley roster. Messalonskee graduate Emily Crowell recently wrapped up her sophomore season — and first on the field for the Falcons, as last season was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic — starting all 20 games and scoring two goals for Bentley.