Kutztown’s Amy Mucelli signs to play field hockey at Bucknell University

When you get right down to it, Kutztown High senior Amy Mucelli is a pure athlete. She has played four seasons on the varsity field hockey team, three on the varsity basketball team and three on the varsity girls’ soccer team. It would have been four years on the soccer team, but the sport was moved from spring to fall, which meant Amy had to chose between field hockey and soccer. She chose field hockey.

Mucelli had another choice to make this year. She had to choose what college to attend next year, and what sport to play in college. Last week she made it official when she signed her Letter-Of-Intent to play field hockey at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa.

“I chose Bucknell because it’s a great academic school and it has a beautiful campus,” said Mucelli.

Another factor that may have played a part in the decision is that her older sister Kelsey is on the Bucknell team. Kelsey is a sophomore midfielder for the Bisons and will have a chance to play two seasons with her younger sister.

Bucknell Head Field Hockey Coach Jeremy Cook couldn’t be happier to have another Mucelli on the roster.

“We are really excited about Amy joining us,” said Coach Cook. “We’ve been lucky to have her older sister Kelsey on our team for the last couple years, so we know how great her family is which is a big deal to us.

“We were drawn to Amy because of her great basics and how well she can see the field on both sides of the ball. She’s a great competitor and we think that she’ll pick up our system quickly and have a positive impact on our group right from the first training session.”

She’ll need to learn as quick as possible because she’s making the jump from high school to Division 1 college field hockey. It will be quite an adjustment for her.

“ I’m very nervous about playing because it’s going to be so much different than high school,” said Mucelli. “The speed of play will be so much faster and the skill levels will be a lot better. I think that it might take me some time to adjust, but I will definitely get the hang of it.”

She certainly had the hang of high school field hockey. She was an All-Division 1 first team and an All-State AA Second Team selection. Eryn Ziegler, the high coach of the Kutztown High field hockey team knows that Mucelli will be missed next season.

“Amy Mucelli is an all-around athlete who leaves everything on the field,” said Coach Ziegler. “She has dedicated herself to this sport and because of this, has developed the stick skills necessary to succeed.

“Amy was the anchor of our team this past season, and helped lead us to both county and district playoffs. She has the ability to recognize any weakness on the field and fill that void. “Additionally, she is a leader and role model to the younger players both on and off of the field.”

For some, choosing a college can be a very stressful process. For Amy, she pretty much knew what she wanted from the beginning.

“I’m so relieved that I was able to make a decision, but it wasn’t that stressful for me,” said Mucelli. “Yes, deciding where to go to college is a big decision, but I believe that I definitely made the right one.”

Mucelli is coming off a season in which she had seven goals and six assists for the Cougars. She’s hoping to help a Bison team coming off a 9-10 season (3-2 in the Patriot League).

The Bisons haven’t had a winning season since 2009. Now that they have both of the Mucelli sisters on board, things could be looking up.