—Submitted photo Claire Nielsen stands with her family after winning the Div. II women’s field hockey championship for West Chester this past winter. Pictured left to right are, her mother Cynthia, Claire, father Steve and sister Victoria.

WESCOSVILLE, Penn. — When Steve Nielsen was at St. Edmond High School, he was always involved in athletics.

He passed that passion along to his three children.

Nielsen, a 1981 St. Edmond graduate, played football, basketball and baseball for the Gaels. Nielsen and his wife, Cynthia, have three children: son Jacob (24), and daughters Victoria (22) and Claire (19).

Claire, a freshman at West Chester University in Philadelphia, Pa., decided to follow in her father’s path as an athlete all the way into the collegiate ranks.

The youngest daughter of the Nielsen family didn’t compete in softball, basketball or volleyball, though. Instead, Nielsen is the starting goalie for the West Chester field hockey team, who won the Div. II national championship this past season.

Growing up, Claire played softball and basketball, along with lacrosse and soccer. Once she reached fifth grade, however, field hockey became her true passion — and obsession.

“I started in different sports in the youth programs, just like almost everyone,” Claire said. “When I played soccer, I was a goalie and that made for an easy transition to lacrosse and field hockey. I learned good footwork and and defense.

“I played mid-field defense lacrosse through my junior year (at Emmaus High School).”

Steve, the son of Hans and Darlene Nielsen of Fort Dodge, moved to Wescosville in 2002 from New Jersey. He saw his daughter thrive in a sport that wasn’t even close to being popular in Iowa while he was growing up.

“It’s kind of a niche sport,” said Steve, who works for Ashland Railway as a Senior Director of Marketing and Sales. “It’s really big in Pennsylvania (most of the top and the eastern part).

“It’s kind of regionalized in New York, Maryland and New Jersey. Most of the colleges on the east coast have it as well.”

When Claire played high school field hockey, she competed at Emmaus High School for legendary coach Sue Butz-Stavin — the national wins leader with over 1,000. Butz-Stavin has led the Green Hornets to 12 championships.

“Claire started playing soccer and field hockey and was targeted as a goalie because she developed good feet and started playing in fifth or sixth grade,” Steve said. “She did well in high school. She won two state titles and only lost two games in her career. She started the last three years.”

Once she was done with high school, she took the next step to West Chester, where she would help lead the Golden Rams to the school’s third Div. II national championship. They were back-to-back gold medalists as a program 2011 and ’12.

“We are very proud of her,” Steve said. “She thought she was going to have an opportunity to play and possibly to start when she got on campus. She was uncertain of how it would go, but she did very well.

“I think the pressure that she had in high school, playing for Emmaus in high-pressure games and her coach helped. Her coach at (West Chester), Amy Cohen, played goalie (collegiately) and helped build her confidence.”

After the Golden Rams won the national crown, Claire reflected on her program’s accomplishments.

“Last year, they (West Chester) were so close as the No. 1 seed,” Claire said in an interview following the championship. “They went to the final four and we had a lot coming back from that team this season. I wanted to do whatever I could to help them.”

Along the way, Claire had the support from her assistant high school coach Kristin Arnold. Arnold was the goalie for the Golden Rams the last time they won the title in 2011.

“She texted me (the morning of the championship). She told me to focus on the goals and not the outcome. Don’t think about winning the game in the end.”

Claire added the feeling of securing a title in college was unmatched.

“It was so surreal,” Claire said. “Going in as a freshman, I wasn’t sure how it was going to be. I didn’t know if I wasn’t going to be able to start games.

“Being a key to winning it — I was glad I was able to do that.”

With a lot of relatives still in Fort Dodge, the Nielsens make it town as often as they can. They were back for Hans and Darlene’s 60th wedding anniversary this past summer, and in 2018 for a family wedding.

“I was a back for my cousin Neil Flattery’s wedding,” Claire said. “I like going back to Fort Dodge. It’s really different from here. I love visiting my grandma and grandpa.”