BOSTON, Mass. – The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) released last week the first installment of the NEWMAC Superfan of the Month. After receiving numerous nominations from campus SAAC groups the month of December's Superfans of the Month is the Mount Holyoke Soccer Team. Voting for the award is done by the NEWMAC SAAC Executive Board.

The Superfan of the Month Award is an initiative by NEWMAC SAAC and the campus SAAC groups at our 11 member institutions. The goal of the honor is to promote good sportsmanship through the conference and recognize those who support their favorite teams and represent their institutions respectfully. The NEWMAC Superfan of the Month is released during the monthly segment of NEWMAC News.

The Mount Holyoke soccer team showed incredible support of the Mount Holyoke College field hockey team. Despite their own NEWMAC quarterfinal loss at Babson, the team put aside their disappointment and traveled to MIT to support the field hockey team in their quarterfinal competition.

Senior Ally Madden explained, "We all decided to go support field hockey, even, or especially, after our loss, because we know that Mount Holyoke athletics are about so much more than winning or losing, but the support we receive every week, every game, every practice from the entire athletic department. We appreciate field hockey always yelling over, "Go soccer!!" when they file out for their games, so we wanted to reciprocate our support." 

The field hockey players felt the positive impact of their fellow student-athletes' support. Senior captain Anna Hartman said, "We

knew that soccer had their own NEWMAC game earlier in the day in Boston and their support was such an amazing surprise. It meant the world to be able to look at the stands and see a crowd full of Mount Holyoke soccer players there, cheering us on with enthusiasm after just previously playing their hearts out in their own game. Along with family, friends and alums it was especially awesome to see current student athletes going out of their way to support us!"

Later in the week, after field hockey claimed the NEWMAC championship, the soccer team gave them a well-deserved welcome back, decorating the outside of Kendall Sports and Dance Complex with posters and streamers.