UMass Lowell Athletics Hall of Fame
Considering the breadth of accolades which Joanna (DaLuze) Monteiro compiled over her career, the list is all the more impressive bearing in mind she played field hockey at UMass Lowell only three years.
After transferring from the University of Albany following her freshman year, Monteiro helped bring the field hockey program to national prominence immediately, evidenced by the team’s late-season surge: The River Hawks won the 2003 NE-10 Tournament Championship and marched into the NCAA Championship match, where it lost to perennial champion Bloomsburg.
UMass Lowell would avenge the loss for the NCAA Championship two years later, where Monteiro became the focal point of perhaps the greatest and most important moment in the team’s history. Not quite two minutes into the second overtime, Monteiro dribbled unruffled into the Bloomsburg circle and tucked home the winner, securing UMass Lowell’s first-ever NCAA title in a women’s sport.
“Joanna scoring the game-winning goal in the National Championship game in 2005 was one of the most amazing feats I have ever witnessed as a coach,” said Shannon Hlebichuk, who will enter her 11th season this fall. “She had been playing for 91 minutes and I believe that goal was a reward for her three extraordinary seasons prior to that game.”
Monteiro emerged a leader on teams that had set very high expectations which remain today. Over her career, UMass Lowell compiled a 44-14 record which included three NE-10 Tournament titles, one NE-10 regular season championship and three appearances in the NCAA Tournament semifinal.
Monteiro was showered with awards, particularly her senior year in which she earned First Team All-America status by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) as well as Co-Player of the Year honors by the NE-10. She also garnered Division II Player of the Year honors by the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) as well as the website women’sfieldhockey.com.
Monteiro was also the recipient of UMass Lowell’s 2005-06 Lester H. Cushing Award for Female Athlete of the Year.
An exercise physiology major, she maintained a 3.3 cumulative grade point average and was named to the NFHCA Division II National Academic Squad as well as the NE-10 All-Academic Team.
“Joanna was a dominant player with extraordinary skills.” said Hlebichuk. “She was a fantastic student, had superior work ethic and was a true competitor. She was relentless in pursuit of excellence both on and off the field.”
Monteiro resides in her native Harwich, Mass., with her husband Jason.
