By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- She made an immediate impact on the former Bridgewater State College field hockey team as a freshman in the 2007 season.

Bethany (Bush) Carey stepped right into the lineup and finished second on the team with 12 goals and 28 points, helping the Bears go 16-6 and win the ECAC Division III New England tournament.

Not long after that season ended in November, Carey turned her attention to a sport she had never played and knew very little about.

She joined the Bears' lacrosse team as a defender in the spring of 2008, playing as a freshman and a senior when Bridgewater State went a combined 32-7.

In both sports, Carey received all-conference honors and is among the all-time career scoring leaders in field hockey.

Carey will be recognized for all her achievements on Friday, Oct. 17, when she takes her place in the Bridgewater State University Athletics Hall of Fame. The ceremony will be at the Rondileau Student Union Ballroom as part of Homecoming Weekend.

"It means a lot," said Carey, a 2012 Bridgewater State graduate from Littleton, Mass. "I appreciate the honor so much. I absolutely loved playing there. Some of my best memories are playing sports at Bridgewater. I felt such an honor to be getting into the Hall of Fame."

Carey, who earned a physical education degree, had 47 goals, 25 assists and 119 points in 77 field hockey games.

She is tied for first in career assists with Shelby Farland, is tied for third in goals with Samantha Hayes and is third in points.

Carey is also third in points in a season with 54 as a senior in 2010.

She was named to the All-Little East team three times, including a first-team selection in 2010, and made the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division III All-New England West Region second team as a senior.

"It definitely was a good career there," said Carey. "I didn't know what to expect going in. I thought I did as good as I could do.

"You get the jitters out in the beginning as a freshman. I felt like I adjusted pretty well with my teammates freshman year."

The Bears played only one-half of a season on the turf field during Carey's career, spending most of the time on the grass field on the side of the Tinsley Center.

It wasn't until the second half of Carey's senior season when the Bears got to play on the turf.

"We were used to the grass at the time, but everyone plays on turf now," she said. "The sport is so much better on turf."

After her Bridgewater State career ended, Carey stayed involved with field hockey by becoming a referee.

She has worked Division II and III college games in addition to high school games for 12 years.

"I just really love the sport of field hockey," said Carey. "I've really enjoyed staying involved."

Carey also played basketball and softball at Littleton High School and there was no lacrosse at the school.

But her Bears' field hockey coach, Erika Smith, was also the Bridgewater State lacrosse coach and recruited Carey to play the spring sport.

Carey had to take a crash course on lacrosse before the '08 season as she prepared over the winter to play defense for the Bears.

"It was after my freshman field hockey season and Erika was like, 'Would you want to play?'" recalled Carey. "I had played basketball, so defensively it's similar and I had played softball. Over the winter, I practiced and got into it and in January started with the team.

"The biggest thing to learn was definitely the rules. I had never seen the sport ever in Littleton. I didn't know anything about it.

"I know sports. I'm very involved in sports. Not knowing the rules. But it definitely took me a minute to adjust. I didn't know what to do with the sport. I had to realize I wasn't going to be one of the better players."

Carey played her freshman year when Bridgewater State won the New England Women's Lacrosse Alliance regular-season and tournament titles.

She did not play as a sophomore or junior because of the heavy load playing two sports, but returned as a senior in 2011.

Carey was named the NEWLA Defensive Player of the Year and made the all-NEWLA first team when the Bears again won the regular-season and tournament championships and played in the NCAA Division III tourney.

Bridgewater State was 32-7 in Carey's two seasons of lacrosse and she had 45 ground balls and 30 caused turnovers in 19 games as a senior.

"I improved a lot by my senior year," said Carey. "As you get older, you develop more as a player and I did a lot better."

Carey has not been to Bridgewater State since graduating and is looking forward to visiting next Friday and going down memory lane.

"I'm really excited about the honor," said Carey. "It was awesome playing at Bridgewater. I would never change anything for the world.

"The best experience I ever had was playing at Bridgewater. I still have friends from Bridgewater who were on my team. All my great memories are from playing sports there. It was just an awesome time for me."