Stasha Waterfield was destined to go to college, but she’ll be going on a scholarship for a different sport than she’d originally expected.

The Lakeland High School senior multi-sport standout recently participated in a signing ceremony formally recognizing her commitment to play NCAA Division II field hockey for Queens University of Charlotte.

“It was very exciting, and I felt that I had accomplished something that was pretty big,” Waterfield said of the commitment.

“I always intended or had hoped to play softball,” she said, but when she began playing field hockey at the age of 11, she started on a different path. “Probably about freshman year, I really started thinking that I’d like to play in college.”

Her skills blossomed in the sport during her high school career, and she was a clear team leader this past season for the Lady Cavaliers (11-6).

Waterfield said she has dealt with the recruiting process a lot more as it related to field hockey than softball, though her father, David Waterfield, noted colleges are starting to show interest in her skills on the diamond, too.

As he and his wife Karyn Waterfield watched their daughter sign, David said, her accomplishment meant several different things to him.

“It’s a culmination of her hard work that she’s put in and of course, there’s a bit of financial reward for us parents, and I’m happy for her,” he said.

She expects to play for the Royals as either a midfielder or as part of their defense.

As she considered which college to attend, she said, “I had a couple different options, and I mainly wanted them to have my major, which is nursing.”

The other significant thing she took into consideration was the distance of the school from home, because she did not want to go too far, and she wants her parents to go see her play.

“We definitely will take some weekend trips and go see her play,” David Waterfield said.

Newberry College, Lindenwood University, Lynchburg College and Roanoke College were other schools in the running.

“I really liked the coaching staff that they have there and the nursing,” Stasha Waterfield said of Queens. “Ultimately, I’m going there to study and to get a degree, and field hockey is just an added-on bonus.”

She noted she has a partial athletic scholarship now, and “once I get accepted into the college later on in December, then academic money will come through.”

David Waterfield confirmed his daughter accomplished a lot this year, but one of the biggest steps, he said, was an achievement related to her future major.

“She’s already got her (certified nursing assistant) certificate from the state,” he said. “That’s a pretty good accomplishment for a 17-year-old girl.”

He added that she has already received a couple of job offers from hospitals, including Sentara Obici Hospital in Suffolk and Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center in Portsmouth.