1984-1987
Field Hockey
Inducted October 22, 2004
135th Inductee
Heather Mason established herself as one of the top field hockey goalkeepers in Frostburg State history from 1984-1987. The White House Station, N.J., native posted a 54-17-2 career record and 24 shutouts and helped the Bobcats to four straight NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. She was a regional All-American her final three seasons, a second-team All-American as a junior and a first-team All-American as a senior.
Mason made an immediate impact with the Bobcats as a freshman in 1984, going 15-4 with a .850 save percentage and allowing just 11 goals to earn the team’s Most Improved Player Award as well as All-Maryland honors. FSU won the Maryland state championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, where it defeated Fairleigh Dickinson 3-1 for its first-ever NCAA playoff win. The Bobcats then fell to top ranked Trenton State 5-1 in the region final.
As a sophomore, Mason made 130 saves and allowed just 19 goals to help the Bobcats finish 11-6 and advance to the NCAA Tournament, where they dropped a hard-fought 2-1 decision to No. 3 Millersville. She was named a regional All-American for her performance.
Mason continued to excel as a junior, leading FSU to a 15-4 record and the ESAC Championship. She made 126 saves, allowed just 12 goals and recorded nine shutouts en route to earning ESAC first team, NCAA Regional All-America and second-team NCAA All-America honors.
As a senior, Mason went 13-3-2 with seven shutouts and was named to the NCAA All-America first team along with senior teammate Kathy Harding, marking the only time in school history that FSU has had two first-team All-Americans. Mason also earned FSU Female Athlete of the Year honors as well as the team’s Outstanding Defense Award as the Bobcats won another ESAC Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
FSU, which was ranked as high as No. 2 in the country during the regular season, posted a thrilling win over Gettysburg in penalty strokes due largely to the play of Mason, who held the Bullets scoreless through two regulation halves and three overtime sessions before stopping three of four shots in the penalty stroke round, which FSU won 3-1. FSU’s dream of a national championship was stopped short with a 3-1 loss to No. 1 Salisbury in the region final.
For her career, she made 433 saves, 90% save percentage, 24 shutouts.
