For much of her field hockey career, Dailyn Brook was known for setting up her teammates with crisp passes and racking up assists.
When she started playing at the collegiate level for Stevens Institute of Technology, however, she became a goal-scoring machine.
On Oct. 10, Brook became Stevens’ all-time career goal-scoring leader, tallying her 54th goal in a 5–0 win over Nazareth College.
“I just wanted to be a main contributor to the team in any way I could,” Brook said. “I never envisioned myself becoming the Stevens all-time scorer.”
The record was just the latest collegiate achievement for Brook, who has either led or finished second on the team in goal-scoring in each of her four seasons from 2012 through 2015.
Brook’s field hockey journey began as a sixth grader at Rosa International Middle School.
“My next-door neighbor was a coach for Pennsauken,” Brook said. “She brought her stick over and would play with me and convinced me to play in sixth grade.”
Brook loved the game so much, she began playing year-round at the club level with South Jersey Edge Field Hockey in eighth grade.
In high school, Brook played with Cherry Hill East. She said her time in high school combined with playing at the club level really helped with the development of her game.
“We weren’t the greatest, but we were a very hard-working team and it helped me to develop as a leader,” Brook said.
When it became time to choose a college, Brook decided she wanted to find a school where she could study mechanical engineering as well as continue playing field hockey. Stevens fit the mold perfectly.
“I knew that I wanted to do engineering and I knew I wanted to go to a Division III school,” Brook said. “I wanted to prioritize both things for me.”
Brook made an immediate impact on the team in her freshman season in 2012. She started 19 games and tied for the team lead in goals with Marguerite Chavez, the former all-time leading goal scorer for Stevens.
Brook continued to be an offensive force for the Ducks in her sophomore and junior seasons. She finished second on the team in 2013 with 14 goals and tied for the team lead in goals again in 2014 with 17.
Despite being a regular scorer for Stevens over her career, Brook didn’t realize how close she was to the record entering 2015.
“I was really just focused on playing well,” Brook said. “I hadn’t even known that I was going to be break the record.”
The goal scoring record wasn’t the moment Brook remembers most. The moment she enjoyed most in her career was when she eclipsed 100 career points. Brook is one of three Stevens players to score 100 or more points in her career.
“I had a lot of family there,” Brook said. “Everyone was very supportive of that moment.”
Despite all of the individual achievements, there’s one team achievement Brook hopes the team will reach this year. Stevens is sitting in third place in the Empire 8 Conference and is hoping to make a run at the conference tournament in November and qualify for the NCAA playoffs. Stevens has not won a conference championship in field hockey since 2010.
“It’s something the team has really emphasized every year,” Brook said. “I think this is the year with returning all of our starters last year, we have the potential and skill set right now.”
