I received a sports release via e-mail from Keystone College earlier this week. Before reading it, I scanned for the bolded-out names seeking out any local athletes. Quite often, colleges who have my e-mail address on their master list will send me sports information updates, regardless if that press release actually includes a former Chenango County athlete.

In this Keystone e-mail, I noticed the name, Melinda Moore, a 2007 Norwich High School graduate. Before reading the entire article, I observed statistics attributed to Moore in which she was credited with shutouts, total saves, and goals-against average. My first conclusion, “oh, she’s a soccer goalie.”

The only rub here was that goals-against average is not a statistic typically attributed to soccer goalies.

Then I read the entire press release.

Six Keystone College players received Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) all-conference honors in field hockey.

Field hockey?

Anyone who follows Norwich sports knows that it doesn’t have a field hockey team. In fact, Norwich dropped its field hockey program around 1986 in favor of girls’ soccer.

During her high school years at Norwich, Moore was a fine natural athlete competing in varsity basketball in the winter and track and field in the spring. In the latter sport, she became a school record-breaker in the shot put during her senior year.

I am not certain if Moore ever played soccer, but I know Moore did not play varsity soccer her senior season, the fall of 2006 under then-Norwich head coach, Scottie Decker.

Moore displayed an interest in Keystone College’s field hockey team last spring, said Keystone head coach, Kacy Manning.

“She practiced a few times in the spring last school year and played in one short game, but this year was her first competitive season,” Manning said.