The Road for Sydney Dewhurst Led to the NCAA Tournament

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The first season of her college soccer career in 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic.

Two years later, after transferring from Curry College to Bridgewater State University in 2022, Sydney Dewhurst (East Bridgewater, Mass.) had to sit out the final eight games of her first season with the Bears due to a concussion.

Dewhurst was able to play only one full season in 2021 during her first three years in college, so it was hardly the smoothest start.

"Since soccer is my escape, expecting to play soccer at Curry and not having that was definitely a disappointment," said Dewhurst. "But I tried to focus on other things.

"Then I came here and fell in love with soccer here and had the concussion and had to stop playing. It was a bummer, but now it's something I can focus on again."

The 2023 and 2024 seasons have been full of good times for Dewhurst, now a senior defender and captain at Bridgewater State.

She was named this week as the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year after helping the Bears (12-4-3) capture the regular season and conference tournament championships.

Dewhurst has also made the All-MASCAC first team for a second consecutive season and, despite playing center back, is among the conference scoring leaders.

Entering BSU's first NCAA Division 3 tourney game since 2013 on Saturday at 11 a.m. against 10th-ranked The College of New Jersey (17-0-2) in Ewing, N.J., Dewhurst is tied for the team lead in points, is first in assists and second in goals.

Dewhurst ranks second in the MASCAC with 10 assists, is third in goals with 11 and tied for third with 32 points in 19 games.

The versatility of Dewhurst at both ends of the field is obvious, and she has been named both the MASCAC offensive and defensive player of the week this season.

"It's almost like you wish you could duplicate her multiple, multiple times," said coach Yasmina Carvalho. "Can I put you at forward, can I put you center-mid or the outside-mid?

"The fact she gets as many points as she does coming from the center-back position is so impressive. She gets some goals off restarts, but she drives up the field and dribbles by two or three players and rips a shot. She's just so impressive all around."

Dewhurst made the All-Commonwealth Coast Conference third team in her 2021 season at Curry, leading the team with five goals and tying for the lead with 10 points.

After majoring in nursing at Curry, she decided to transfer to BSU in 2022 where she is majoring in graphic design. Dewhurst wanted to be closer to home and joined close friend Makenna Lessard, who also transferred to BSU from Bryant University.

In the first nine games of the '22 season with the Bears, Dewhurst had three goals and three assists, but she suffered the concussion on Oct. 1 at Fitchburg State, right at the midway point of the season.

Dewhurst was unable to play the remainder of the way, forced to watch from the sideline.

"It was defintiely tough, but it was nice because I came back as a student-coach," said Dewhurst. "I was still pretty involved, but it was definitely hard being around the game but not being in the game.

"I would pull people aside and talk to them, keeping team morale and energy up. But it drove me crazy."

Dewhurst returned in 2023 and led the Bears in goals (10), assists (six) and points (26) as they won the MASCAC regular-season title and lost in the tourney final.

She has 24 goals and 19 assists for 67 points with five game-winning goals in 45 games since transferring to BSU. Dewhurst tied the school record with four goals against the Mass. College of Liberal Arts on Nov. 2. She also ranks seventh among the Bears' all-time scoring leaders with her 67 career points.

Dewhurst makes it work on offense while also being a key part of a top defensive unit.

"Growing up, I was a center-forward or center-midfielder and moved to center-back in high school," she said. "But I still had the drive to want to score throughout high school. Here, I'll take the free kicks and take the corners. Even though I don't get that many opportunities, I try to capitalize on the ones I get."

Since making the move from Curry to BSU, Dewhurst has developed into one of the finest players in the MASCAC while bringing leadership and calmness to the Bears.

"I like to say I'm very calm and composed on the field," said Dewhurst. "I know a lot of people when they're in it, it's go-go-go. But I slow the game down in my brain. Coach says I bring a calmness to the game and I lead that way.

"I know a lot of people talk about sports and anxiety, but it's not really something I experience. The soccer field is somewhere I go to calm myself down, so I don't get that anxious feeling."