Grace Caligiuri ’22, a postgraduate from Windsor, Connecticut and the starting goalie on Deerfield’s Girls Varsity Hockey team, has already left her mark on the Deerfield community on and off the ice. Coming off a year where her entire hockey season was canceled due to COVID-19, she has provided lots of leadership to a team that has a small roster at just fifteen skaters and two goaltenders.
Caligiuri attended Loomis Chaffee for four years before Deerfield. She also played club hockey with a triple-A boys team called Elite Hockey in Connecticut before switching to a girls team, the New England Jr Falcons. When asked about the transition from Loomis to Deerfield, she said, “The transition was pretty easy. I would say the two schools are very similar in many ways. Having been in the boarding school world already made it easier to adjust. Everyone has been very welcoming, and overall the transition has been really smooth.”
Caligiuri expressed her positivity and appreciation for her Deerfield team, despite some obstacles they’ve faced. “Our team has definitely faced a lot of adversity this season. We haven’t played a game with all of our players present due to COVID, yet it still feels like we are a really tight-knit group. The energy in the locker room is always really high and everyone is very committed. Even in the face of adversity, seeing how my teammates have supported each other has been really encouraging, and finally this week we are all back so we’ll get to see the full team in action.”
Annie Dinges ’24 and Bailey Miller ’24 both expressed their gratitude for Caligiuri. “She has a very positive influence on our team and is always checking in on everyone,” said Dinges. Miller added, “She brings a lot of good energy to the locker room and always has a smile on her face. She’s a ray of sunshine.”
Captain Sara Bagshaw ’22 also praised Caligiuri, noting that “she has been such a positive impact on our team and extremely genuine.” Her kind and outgoing personality have been infectious the entire year, and the team is very thankful for her.
Beyond her accomplishments as a goaltender, Caligiuri also knows how to have fun off the ice. She and her father love exploring places on hockey trips and being adventurous. She recalled that one time while playing in a tournament in Finland, she went out to a restaurant and tried reindeer. A movie lover, her favorite is Legally Blonde. Also, when asked what readers might be surprised to learn about her, she shared that she is a barista at her town’s local cafe in the summer. She knows how to make over twenty types of drinks.
Caligiuri spoke about her plans to continue her hockey career at Colby College, where she is committed to play after Deerfield: “My goal for college was to go somewhere I could play high-level hockey but also get a great education, because I probably won’t play after college. I am really looking forward to enjoying my last four years of hockey without the pressures of having to get recruited–and just playing because I love it.” Caligiuri will major in finance at Colby and said she would like to move to Boston after graduating.