Widdall to be Inducted into Greater Binghamton Sports Hall of Fame

Portions of Content Courtesy of WBNG

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - Alesha Widdall, U.S. Women's National Team athlete from 2011 to 2018 and Rio 2016 alternate athlete, is one of 12 individuals and one team in the 2025 induction class of the Greater Binghamton Sports Hall of Fame. The 2025 inductees are Bob Bucher, Steven "Red" Chanecka, Gary W. Farneti, Karen Cornell Funk (field hockey coach), Dave Hogan, Brenda Buglione Kirwood, Emily Mackay, Clarence "Bucky" McGill, John A. Moreu, Brad Penrith, Vickie "Coach" Sax, Alesha Widdall (field hockey) and the 1970 Triple Cities Jets Football Team.

The newest members will be officially inducted and honored in a ceremony tonight, Monday, April 28, 2025 at the downtown DoubleTree by Hilton in Binghamton, N.Y. The event is sold out.

Widdall, a native of Whitney Point, N.Y., was a member of the U.S. Women's National Team from 2011 to 2018 and retired with 57 international caps.

Originally a swimmer much like her immediate family, Widdall found a passion for field hockey in middle school. Since then, she proudly dawned goalkeeper pads for the CNY and Thoroughbreds II field hockey clubs, University of Massachusetts and Team USA.

As a Minutewoman, she was a four-time All-Region selection, earned NFHCA All-American honors twice and Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the year in 2011. Widdall also helped guide UMass to four Atlantic 10 Championships and two appearances in the NCAA tournament.

Widdall’s Team USA journey began in 2006 when she was named to the U.S. U-21 Women’s National Team. In 2008, she was a member of the USA squad that claimed the gold medal at the Junior Pan American Games in Mexico City. She was also a member of the 2009 Junior World Cup team that competed in Boston before being named to the USWNT in 2011.
Wearing the red, white and blue, Widdall recalls several favorite memories, including playing against Ireland at the 2012 Champions Challenge. It was an atmosphere that she would never forget as her career continued to move forward. In 2013, Widdall helped lead USA to a silver medal at the women’s Pan American Cup in Mendoza, Argentina before a gold medal performance at the 2013 FIH World League Round 2 in London.

She also vividly recalled USA’s world-turning performance at the 2014 Rabobank Hockey World Cup in The Hague, The Netherlands. While the team finished fourth in the tournament, it remains as a favorite moment for many USWNT athletes, including Widdall. That goes double for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, where she was an alternate athlete.

Widdall transitioned from athlete to coach after she joined the coaching staff of Cornell University in the fall of 2018. She also acquired her master’s degree in exercise science and rehabilitation from Logan University to add to her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from UMass.