When Union’s Grace Heiting steps on to the lacrosse field, she is often one of the quickest, if not, the most agile, player on the pitch.

“I’m obviously training with them a lot, whether it’s the skating or the running, so it’s nice to have that balance of both,” said Heiting, who plays attack for the lacrosse team.

Her feet never stop moving.

That high level of energy has shown in the stat sheet as the senior from Minnesota leads the Dutchwomen in goals and assists this year.

It’s not bad for a hockey player.

“You have to be fast on the ice with your skates. And when you can translate the footwork out here and work on it, I think they work really nicely with each other,” she said.

In addition to lacrosse, Heiting also plays forward for Union hockey, which is what recruited her to Schenectady. While hockey was her first sport growing up in Minnesota, she also really enjoyed playing lacrosse.

So during her freshman year, Heiting brought up the idea of continuing to play both sports in college.

“So I went into my coach's [Josh Sciba’s] office and kind of proposed the idea, and he immediately pulls up the scheduled and was like, 'what can we do to make this work?'” she said. “So he was setting me up with coach Abi Jackson to talk to her to get it rolling.”

Before she knew it, Heiting was going immediately from the ice to the turf her freshman year. That became the norm for her over the next three years, quickly changing from skates to cleats as the winter season wraps up and the spring season kicks off.

“Systems-wise and just overall concepts, they align pretty well,” Heiting said. “So it’s a pretty smooth transition. Like I said, a little bit of soreness, but once I get through that it works pretty well.”

Even with the physical and mental demand required for both sports, the senior didn’t miss a beat. Just like she’s doing now in the lacrosse, Heiting also led the Dutchwomen in goals on the ice this season.

Lacrosse head coach Jessica Davos said Heiting killed her fitness test and fit right in seamlessly.

“She’s gotten on the draw circle, and she’s been doing very well,” Davos said. “That and she’s not only driving the ball to the cage, but she has been a big facilitator, so she has really been all over the field for us.”

While collegiate lacrosse may be coming to an end for her, Heiting’s hockey career still has some ice time left. She’ll be using her remaining year of eligibility to play at the University of Maine next year.

“I’m ecstatic about that,” Heiting said. “It’s going to be a little more sports before I wrap it up, but I’m very excited.”