By Sophia Oppedisano Sports Editor The Framingham State field hockey team has named Bella Kondi to their coaching staff as co-head coach in partnership with Allie Lucenta, the MASCAC 2023 Coach of the Year. Kondi is a program veteran, having played four seasons with the Rams and receiving three consecutive all-conference selections. She served as a team captain for three of her four seasons with the program. Kondi anchored the Rams' offense in 2023, notching 32 points with seven goals and 18 assists. Four of her seven goals were game-winning. Kaylee Beck, a captain for the 2024 Rams, played alongside Kondi for two years and said she is a “hard-hat player,” which Beck described as a player that exudes the principles and sportsmanship the team has come to value. “It's like being a ‘come-with-me’ teammate, and if I could describe Isabella Kondi as anything - it would be the hard-hat,” Beck said. “When I came onto this team, I just immediately gravitated toward her and I feel like everyone did because she just has that presence about her,” she added. Athletic Director Thomas Kelley noted Kondi’s “competitive nature” and said, “She's going to step [the program] up - with the two of them [Kondi and Lucenta], somebody's always out recruiting, and that's the lifeblood of every program.” Kondi graduated from Framingham State with her graduate degree in May and was officially hired in August when it was proposed that she would be co-head coach alongside Lucenta. The staff is rounded out by assistant coaches Holly McGovern and Hannah Wilkins. Lucenta is entering her seventh season with the Rams and has served a pivotal role in rebuilding the program, guiding it to its first conference tournament appearances since 2009. Kelley said, “I just talked to Bella last week, and she's been out on the road [recruiting]. I'm very happy with what's going on with that program, and Allie's done a fantastic job. We need to do a little more recruiting to get to that next level.” Kelley said when the department hires alumni, “there's that connection to the institution, there's that loyalty, and there's the love for the school, and I think that drives you harder sometimes.” Kondi played in the MASCAC championship game last season, which the Rams lost to Worcester State. The shift from player to coach has not diminished her drive to come back and win the title this season. “As a player last year, I had this mentality of, ‘I'm going to do whatever I possibly can for this team to do exactly what it needs to get where it needs to go’ - like, ‘I'm going to drive this team as hard as I possibly can,’” Kondi said. “I’m not out on the field anymore. I can’t be the spark,” she said. “If I’m able to lead [the team] in a direction to want to accomplish [winning a title] and see it come to fruition, I’d start crying with absolute joy - because I think it would mean that I’m doing what I need to do, I’m exactly where I need to be, and these girls are exactly where they need to be.” Kondi said her goals for her first season as a coach include a MASCAC title, but “I want these girls to fall in love with the game.” The team currently holds a record of 1-2 with conference play commencing Sept. 20. The Rams play at Fitchburg State and Eastern Connecticut State Sept. 20 and Sept. 25, respectively. Their next home game is Sept. 28 against Salem State. “Ultimately, we're trying to just go one game at a time and achieve as best as we can. I feel like as a coach, that's a clean slate,” Kondi said.
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