Nearly 9,000 miles away from home, freshman goalkeeper Luci Hollister is making an immediate impact on the Hofstra University field hockey team. Hollister has taken the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) by storm in her role as the starter between the posts for the Pride.

Despite all her success, one may be surprised to learn that she did not start playing field hockey until the age of 16.

Hailing from Auckland, New Zealand, field hockey was never much of a consideration growing up for Hollister. Instead, her time was focused on soccer, where she played as a center midfielder. However, when she joined the field hockey team for the social side of it, she quickly fell in love with the sport.

“The more I got into [field hockey] and the better I got at it, the more fun it became,” Hollister said.

Throughout the rest of her high school career, Hollister continued to compete full-time on the soccer field. At the time, she viewed field hockey as more of a side hustle to go alongside soccer. But through playing both sports, Hollister saw how the skills she developed playing soccer translated into her abilities as a goalkeeper.

“As a keeper, you’re kicking the ball with your feet, so I’ve got the basics of coordination and I’m pretty agile so that definitely helps me in the goal,” Hollister said.

Hollister progressed quickly throughout high school, leading her school, St. Cuthbert’s College, to two straight New Zealand Secondary Schools National Field Hockey Championships in 2023 and 2024. Furthermore, Hollister received the St. Cuthbert’s Sportsperson of the Year award in 2023 and 2024 as well.

Hollister credits her high school coach as someone who truly pushed her and supported her as she started playing field hockey much later compared to others.

“She was just really supportive and just told me to just give everything a good go,” Hollister said.

As Hollister’s time in high school came to an end, considerations for university began. She admits that she was not necessarily looking to come to the United States for field hockey, but she was interested in moving away from her home city.

Hofstra was not on the table for Hollister until she heard from fellow New Zealander and schoolmate Jaime Lewis.

“[Lewis] got in contact one day asking if I would think about coming here and then I got in contact with the coaches. It sort of progressed from there,” Hollister said.

Since then, Lewis has been a source of support for Hollister as she’s handled the transition from New Zealand to the United States. Hollister even spent time with Lewis’ family when they were visiting from New Zealand.

“It’s definitely nice to have someone in your corner,” Hollister said, emphasizing how having someone from home has helped her ease into her time at Hofstra and on the team. “She’s always there if I have any questions or need help with things.”

Building confidence was key for Hollister early in the season as she worked a full-time job at home and did not have much time to prepare.

“The first few weeks I was here, a lot of it was building confidence,” Hollister said. “A lot of it was just getting confident in my role as a starting keeper here … just to back myself a lot more.”

Hollister also attributes her success and growth so far to the coaching staff and the time they put into reviewing film with her.

“As the season’s progressed, we’ve been watching back clips and seeing where we’re going wrong and then just trying to address those issues each day. Definitely little bit by bit, just building to try and get a bit more consistent, I think, is the end goal,” Hollister said.

On the field, it looks like Hollister has had no trouble easing into the environment; She has taken the CAA by storm. Hollister has started in 10 out of 12 games for the Pride, while leading all CAA goaltenders in save percentage at .736%. Hollister also reached double digits in an early September loss against Yale University, posting a career-best 11 saves.

“I didn’t have any expectations to be playing lots of minutes or to sort of have this kind of role with the team,” Hollister said. “At first it was a bit of a struggle to adjust to having that sort of expectation.”

While the expectation seemed a bit daunting, Hollister handled it by adjusting her mindset. Hollister reminds herself of two things: “This is what my role is now and how [I can] help the team,” and “[I’m] lucky to have the position that I do.”

Hofstra head coach Hillary Fitts is pleased with the way Hollister has stepped in to take the starting role. “[Hollister’s] doing a fantastic job organizing from the back. She gives a lot of energy and a lot of presence,” Fitts said.

Hollister’s role this year has also come with pressure as she fills in the role of former starting goalie for the Pride, Pieke Roos.

Roos started a total of 32 games throughout her career with Hofstra and started 18 of 19 games last season. In her time with the Pride, Roos received two First Team All-CAA selections in 2023 and 2024.

“I’d heard really good things about [Roos], so I definitely put a bit more of an expectation on myself,” Hollister said.

Following in Roos’ footsteps did not faze Hollister though, as she’s been excellent on the field and her own talent has not gone unnoticed. She has already won two CAA Rookie of the Week awards, following her debut week where she posted a shutout for her first college win and an 18-save weekend performance against Villanova University and Yale.

“It’s nice to be getting noticed for some of the work we’re putting in,” Hollister said.

While Hollister is appreciative of the awards, her mindset is focused on winning games.

“I like winning. But even more than winning, I really hate losing. I have a passion to hate losing,” Hollister said.

Hollister’s motivation comes from giving back to her team and making her family proud.

“I just really want to do well for [my team], and do the best by them, and also just do my family proud back at home as well,” Hollister said.

Fitts believes that this is only the beginning for Hollister and that there is much more to be accomplished.

“At the end of the day, she’s already stepped in and done a great job,” Fitts said. “Each year she’s getting a little more fine-tuned on certain things and I think she can eventually become an All-American at the end of the day.”