Penn field hockey captain Reese Vogel makes her mark, even in virtual setting

Consistency and passion have been the hallmark of Reese Vogel’s career, and they will be her lasting impact after graduation. 

This time last year, Penn field hockey’s Reese Vogel was supposed to be on a spring break trip to Barcelona with her teammates. Vogel, a junior at the time, was coming off a season where she started all 17 games for the Quakers, and tallied a two-assist game against Columbia. 

The trip was meant to be time for Vogel to relax with her team and decompress before the second half of the semester. Instead, the team’s trip was canceled, and soon after, their fall season went along with it. 

Vogel's career has been distinguished by her consistency. She has played in all 51 of Penn’s games since joining Penn, including 21 games where she played every minute. The senior was well poised to put up that same consistency in her senior season with the Quakers. 

“Reese is just a fierce competitor and she brings that competitive spirit to practice everyday,” coach Colleen Fink said. “She’s a rock for our program. When she came out of the game you saw a difference in play.”

Although Vogel was not able to finish her collegiate career on the field with the Quakers, she has still been able to make her mark on the team even during the virtual season. Vogel was named co-captain this past fall, and has worked to keep the team connected and motivated despite the lost season. 

While Vogel has just gotten the captain designation this season, she has been a leader in the locker room long before that. The competitiveness that she brought every time she stepped on the field set the example for her teammates, and made her a role model for the younger players. 

“She doesn’t always fill the silence with just fluff," Fink said. She's the type of player that when she speaks, people listen because when she does speak up, it’s something that is warranted, it’s something that’s valuable and it’s going to be something that is impactful. “Her words carry a lot of weight.”

Vogel’s sister, Leah, plays soccer and lacrosse at MIT. Despite competing in different sports, Vogel's older sister has helped her grow competitively and succeed as a female athlete. 

“The fact that I had a female role model in my life who worked really hard and cared so much about her sport showed me a strong example of passion was really important to me,” Vogel said. 

In her freshman year of high school, Vogel realized that playing collegiately was something that could be a reality for her. The Houston native loved the idea of being in a big city like Philadelphia and knew she wanted to study business, making Penn the perfect place for her. 

“I love the atmosphere and the feel of the team. Since joining the team, I've been really close with all the girls on the team,” Vogel said. “Besides that, I love the competitiveness of the team and the way that everybody works to really push each other and make each other better.”

Senior midfielder and co-captain Erin Kelly has played with Vogel since freshman year, and has been able to watch Vogel grow as a leader. One of the things that stood out to Kelly was Vogel’s ability to be fun and laid back in the locker room, but then turn on her competitiveness when she steps in between the lines. 

“She has such an amazing competitive energy on the field, and I don't think I’ve experienced that with any other player,” Kelly said. “Being able to work off each other and have that kind of chemistry on the field is something that’s been very fun.” 

Vogel will be graduating from Wharton with a concentration in Marketing and Operations Management, and plans on taking a gap year before going to law school. 

Although the pandemic stripped away Vogel’s senior season, the leadership and passion she’s demonstrated will stay with the program and the younger players even after she’s left Penn.