FILE PHOTO
Casey Fraher, an Agganis scholarship winner, will play in two of next week’s all-star games.
By KATIE MORRISON
Being chosen to play in one Agganis All-Star game is an honor for local high school students. It’s a testament to what they’ve accomplished in their chosen sport.
But to be chosen for two different Agganis games is special. Just ask St. Mary’s Casey Fraher and Nicki Bendicksen.
The Spartans were both chosen to play in Tuesday’s girls soccer game. Fraher will also play in Sunday’s softball game, and Bendicksen will play in Wednesday’s sixth-annual girls lacrosse game.
“I was so excited to hear I’d been chosen for the games,” said Fraher, who added that softball is her primary sport.
Also an Agganis scholarship winner, Fraher will have some big shoes to fill in the Agganis games. Her older sister, Jenna Fraher, was named the MVP of the South team in the 2009 softball game.
“There are some expectations there,” Fraher joked.
“Obviously I want to have fun at the games, I’ll be playing alongside a lot of friends, but there are some expectations there.”
The recent St. Mary’s graduate says she’s most excited to get on the field not only with her fellow Spartans one last time, but with friends from other schools as well. And she’ll hit both the soccer field and softball diamond with Emily Stephenson, whom she’s played alongside for her whole high school career.
“It’s sad not being able to come back and play again in high school,” Fraher said, “but it’s nice to close out my career with friends like her by my side.”
And as for the girls she doesn’t know? Fraher’s not concerned about hitting the field with a new team.
“I figure girls aren’t chosen for this game just because of their athletic ability, but their sportsmanship too,” Fraher said. “If they’ve been chosen for this, I’m not worried about how it will be on the field.”
Fraher, who’ll attend UMass Amherst in the fall, has been a fixture in the Spartan sports community, playing three sports (she runs track in the winter) and always supporting her school at other sporting events.
“She’s been huge with school spirit, any game she’s there, she’s leading the cheers and participating in the school spirit,” St. Mary’s soccer coach and Agganis girls soccer director Jim Foley said. “Some people don’t get involved, but she does three sports and does great academically. She’s a leader in the school and out in the community.”
Bendicksen plays soccer and lacrosse, with the latter being her primary sport. The defenseman is working on playing collegiately at Hobart and William Smith.
“I haven’t (played in an all-star game before), and I think it’s going to be kind of weird, because we’re so used to playing with the same girls,” Bendicksen said. “(Chemistry) is important, and that helped us on both teams this year, we get close with each other.”
Bendicksen proved what kind of teammate she was during the past couple of soccer seasons at St. Mary’s. After transferring in from Swampscott for her junior year, she joined the team as a goalie, the position she’s always played. She split time with Stephenson in the net during the 2015 season, but Stephenson emerged as the starting goalie late in the season and Foley said that didn’t faze Bendicksen.
“It’s a testament to her, when she came back this year, she just said ‘put me wherever you need me,’” Foley said. “She did whatever we needed. It takes a lot for someone to do that, she’d been a goalkeeper her whole life, but she turned into our best defender.
“She always marked the best forward, every game,” Foley added. “She had a great year. At times, I couldn’t take her off the field.”
To turn into an all-star caliber defender after playing there for just a year is an accomplishment.
“She’s a hard worker and a great teammate,” Foley said. “She worked hard to get better at a position she hadn’t played before. She knew we graduated almost all of the defense, and she went into it with no hesitation. That’s the type of person she is.”
Fraher went through something similar during the soccer season. With Mia Nikolakopoulos out for the season with a leg injury, Fraher had to step into the center midfielder role after playing outside mid previously. A four-year varsity player, Foley looked to her to provide veteran leadership on a young team, and she did.
“I’ll really miss her leadership, she gets along with everyone and kids gravitate toward her,” Foley said. “Anything you need her to do, she does it. I couldn’t take her off the field either. She did an unbelievable job controlling the middle of the field with freshmen around her the whole season. She took on that mentoring role with a very young group.”
Both Bendicksen and Fraher said they’re looking to use the Agganis games as the chance to make one more high school memory. For Bendicksen, her lacrosse season ended with a tough loss in the Division 2 North First Round against Lynnfield, while Fraher’s softball season ended at the hands of rival Austin Prep in the Division 3 North semifinals. But with nothing on the line, the girls will be able to focus on making those final memories .
“I think it’s going to be fun, and it will be like everything’s come full circle,” said Bendicksen. “I’ll be playing with and against these kids I’ve known all through high school and some, since we were little. I’m just trying to have fun and make that one lasting memory.”