Years ago, Northern Lehigh head field hockey coach Jess Frew saw a world of potential in seventh grader Erika McKay.

"I knew that if she wanted to embrace her talent, she would be a Division 1 player," Frew said. "When she came to me during her freshman year and said that was a goal of hers, I knew I would help her achieve it."Fast forward to 2014, Frew and McKay have both played huge roles in the success of the Lady 'Dawgs field hockey program over the past four years.McKay's sensational play during her time at Northern Lehigh included a senior campaign that saw her rack up 15 goals and 19 assists. Her assist total ranked second in the Lehigh Valley area in 2014."My teammates really pushed me to be the best that I could be during my time here," explained McKay. "Coach Frew taught me everything she knows and I can't thank her enough for everything."After years of stressful research and campus visits, it became unanimously clear between McKay, her family, and coach Frew that the right decision to continue her journey of athletics and education at Towson University was the right choice."I started looking and seeing what was out there at the end of my freshman year to see what was the best fit for me," explained the future Tigers' midfielder. "I've been to a lot of showcases. Although it sounds cliché, I knew Towson was the school for me the first time that I stepped onto the campus. I love everything about it and it's a perfect distance from home."Frew said, "Towson is very lucky to have her as a player. She has great communication skills, is extremely coachable, and is very intelligent. Towson is just in the building stages of their program and I think she has the possibility of starting in college as a freshman. Everyone there speaks highly of her and she's truly an excellent talent."It's no coincidence that McKay has great communication skills on the field, as she intends on studying speech pathology during her time at Towson."At first I wanted to go into elementary education, but I chose speech pathology because I have a strong desire to work with children," McKay said. "I really like what the Towson program has to offer."Frew explained that some of McKay's best qualities on the field are her intelligence and ability to learn quickly.""Some players you have to show what to do," explained Frew. "I can verbally tell Erika to go out and do something, and she takes that instruction and instantly makes it happen."Erika's intelligence shows when she plays. She makes great decisions on the field especially when she passes. She makes everyone else look good because of her excellent distribution skills. She's not a selfish player who always does her job and plays her part. She's going to be missed and she won't be able to be replaced. I'm excited to see her play on another level."McKay said, "College hockey is a different style of play. It's a lot faster and more technical. I'm really looking forward to taking that next step."