Willemijn Boogert is the ‘puzzle piece’ holding Syracuse field hockey together

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Willemijn Boogert helped create the puzzle piece. It was a symbol designed to teach her club field hockey team, NMHC Nijmegen, to play collectively rather than individually.

The puzzle piece became a logo, then the logo was made into a keychain which hung on the team’s stick bag. It brought the players closer and propelled Nijmegen to the highest national level tournament in the Netherlands in 2020-21, a benchmark that the program hadn’t reached for two years.

“As a whole, there’s one team, one puzzle,” NMHC head coach Marit Gijsbers said.

For Nijmegen, and now at Syracuse, Boogert has continued to display her selflessness on the field. During the 2023 season, her third with the Orange, the midfielder has recorded four goals and three assists, ranking third on the team. She’s started all 12 games, a considerable jump from just four during her freshman campaign. No matter which system she’s in, Boogert is willing to shape her game to become a puzzle piece which fits, much like the mantra she originally orchestrated.

“She’s always there to help other people and you could ask her anything,” said NMHC assistant coach Imre Vos. “She’s a connector between all the different people on the team, like the glue.”

Gijsbers has coached Boogert since she was 13. She’s seen her evolution from timid to vocal. But Gijsbers remembered Boogert was always tough. She said she found out after games that she’d been playing through several injuries. Though she finished with swollen ankles, fingers and knee bruises, Boogert never took herself out.

“After the initial pain, she would just be pushing through, carrying on,” Vos said. “Even when it’s maybe painful or not going well, she just keeps on going.”

During the 2017-18 Netherlands Indoor Hockey Semifinals, she started playing from her knees in the waning minutes with NMHC trailing league opponents Utrecht. Boogert’s mother, Scarlett, remembered that she had been pushed down but continued playing though it was “devastating to watch.”

This past offseason, Syracuse head coach Lynn Farquhar said Boogert underwent wrist surgery in the spring. The operation hasn’t impacted Boogert’s play. So far this season, she’s yet to miss a start.

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Boogert is the primary penalty corner inserter, which was the same role she had with NMHC. On Sept. 22, in the 3-2 double-overtime loss to Virginia, Boogert was sent to the sidelines, injured. But she returned later, logging 55 minutes and delivering passes on 11 of Syracuse’s 13 penalty corners.

“She can create and set other people up for success,” Farquhar said. “She’ll have some amazing receptions at the midfield line, forward facing, can find her teammate right away. She also notes how to finish. She fills that space.”

During her last three years with NMHC, Boogert played forward and midfielder. As an attack, she used her long reach to press opponents and intercept passes. As a midfielder, she took away passes while making some of her own, Vos said..

“She was not the quickest but she would compensate with great interceptions,” Vos said. “Defensively and offensively she would make the right decisions at the right time.”

Boogert knows when to make the right pass, always remaining calm under pressure, Scarlett said. On Nov. 1, 2022, during the ACC Tournament quarterfinals against Boston College, Boogert kept her composure. In the 52nd minute, Boogert received a pass from Sabine van den Eijnden and tipped the ball in from her knees, putting the Orange up 6-2 in their win.

“I recognized her ease and comfort in playing the game,” Scarlett said. “She has an eagerness to win. Where there’s a ball, there’s Willemijn.”