The Next Play—filmed at Moravian this past summer—is more than a movie about field hockey. Learn about how the film, and Moravian, are tackling student-athlete mental health and raising awareness.
By Christina Tatu; Photos by Nick Chismar ’20 and Rey Gabriel ’28, Fall 2025
At Boade Boarding School in Pennsylvania, Reese is struggling to uphold her legacy on the high school field hockey team while dealing with pressure from her demanding mom and a tough coach. The weight of it all reaches a breaking point when a new and talented student named Cait joins the team, leaving Reese to question her own standing.
The story told by The Next Play—a feature-length film shot this past summer against the backdrop of Moravian’s Main Street and Priscilla Payne Hurd Campuses—may be fictional, but the struggles faced by the student-athletes are very real.
“We didn’t just want to do a regular sports movie. We wanted to add a deeper message,” says alumna Katina Sossiadis ’93, who majored in fine art during her time at Moravian.
Sossiadis, along with her sister, Koula Sossiadis Kazista, cowrote and directed the film about relationship dynamics and mental health among high school teammates. Slated for a 2026 release, the independent movie is the first feature-length film shot at Moravian.
The topic is a personal one for the sisters, who are both field hockey moms from Bethlehem.
Sossiadis’s daughter, Ellie Bozikis ’27, a marketing management major, was an assistant on the movie, lending her perspective as someone who played field hockey in the Lehigh Valley for 11 years, from elementary school through high school.
“There’s intense pressure on young people in any sport,” Bozikis says. “There’s a lot of pressure trying to be the best, trying to carry your team and get onto a good college team.”
There’s a lot of pressure trying to be the best, trying to carry your team and get onto a good college team.”
—Ellie Bozikis ’27
Viewers will witness that pressure in the movie, Sossiadis says, but she hopes they’ll also find encouragement to reach out and talk about it if they are dealing with something difficult.
“We are positive filmmakers; we like to inspire hope. Hope is very important to us,” Sossiadis says.
During the development of the movie, Sossiadis and Kazista collaborated with St. Luke’s University Health Network and Morgan’s Message, a nonprofit dedicated to raising mental health awareness. In the movie, Reese becomes consumed by a journal she finds, written by a relative detailing their mental health struggles, the spiral they fell into from failing to get help, and the repercussions.
Actors Lee Tergesen (left) and Mariana Garzón Toro (right) film a scene on Main Street in front of Comenius Hall. Photo by Rey Gabriel ’28
Breaking the Stigma
The idea to focus on mental health was spurred by a conversation Sossiadis had with Bozikis’s high school field hockey coach a few years ago. Sossiadis was the booster club president for Bozikis’s team at Freedom High School in Bethlehem. The coach approached Sossiadis one day about buying merchandise from Morgan’s Message, named after Duke University lacrosse player Morgan Rodgers. Sossiadis couldn’t stop thinking about Rodgers after reading her story.
From the outside, Rodgers appeared to have everything lined up. She was a bright and curious student; on the field she was a talented athlete with relentless drive; in her sketchbook, she was a gifted artist; and most importantly, those who knew her recognized Rodgers as a beloved and loyal daughter, sister, friend, and teammate.
Rodgers always dreamed of playing for the Duke University women’s lacrosse team and was thrilled to be accepted as a Blue Devil at the Division I school, at the highest level of intercollegiate athletics in the United States.
That dream was shattered in January 2017 when Rodgers endured a knee injury. She spent 12 months determined to return to the field, undergoing surgery and intensive rehabilitation, but struggled with the sudden change in her life. She died by suicide in 2019 when she was just 22 years old.
“As athletes, we are competitors, so we’re always taught that we have to put on that game face, be strong, push through these challenging things,” says Clare Kehoe, cofounder of Morgan’s Message and director of the organization’s education program. “I think we are realizing that winning or being successful in whatever sport you play doesn’t have to be completely separate and isolated from the true human experience that we have, which is very emotional and has ups and downs.”
Mental health among student-athletes has improved since 2020, but they still report a relatively high number of issues, according to a 2022–23 study from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ student-athletes have the highest rates of mental health struggles, the study says, citing as stressors issues such as academics, finances, and planning for the future.
Kehoe, who was best friends with Rodgers when the two were growing up in northern Virginia, is now an inpatient psychiatric nurse at NYU Langone. The pandemic was pivotal in helping to break some of the stigma that surrounds talking about mental health, Kehoe says. The global nature of the pandemic brought mental health concerns to the forefront and forced people to acknowledge what they were struggling with, she says.
Professional athletes have also since started using their platforms to talk openly about mental health. Perhaps best known is Simone Biles, an American Olympic gymnast who made headlines in 2020 when she withdrew from several competitions at the Olympics in Tokyo because of stress that was negatively impacting her performance. Biles has since become an advocate for athletes’ rights and mental health.
Breaking the stigma is the crux of Morgan’s Message, especially for her family and friends who discovered the detailed journals Rodgers wrote about her hidden struggles.
“Morgan was someone who, on the outside, had everything going for her. She was a phenomenal athlete, she had a lot of friends, she was smart—she was really excelling in all aspects of her life—but stigma is what prevented her from being authentic and honest to everyone around her,” Kehoe says. “How do we start chipping away at this stigma so someone like Morgan, who is seemingly very successful in a lot of aspects of her life, can feel comfortable?”
Filming in Reeves Library. Photo by Rey Gabriel ’28
From left: Sossiadis and Kazista during filming in Reeves Library. Photo by Rey Gabriel ’28
At table, from left: Actresses Lyla Tsiokos and Abigail Donnelly film a scene in front of Reeves Library. Photo by Rey Gabriel ’28
Mental Health at Moravian
Considering all the hours spent on practice, games, and academics, being a college athlete is a huge time commitment. This group of students tends to have very high levels of stress, says Rosemarie Williams, director of operations and outreach for Moravian’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).
“When we talk about student mental health, we want them to have good amounts of self-care, including doing things they enjoy, having good social support, reaching out for help when they need it, and making sure they have a good work-life balance,” Williams says.
She acknowledges that these things may be challenging for athletes, with their rigorous academic and athletic commitments. The stress increases if an athlete is injured.
“So much of a student-athlete’s identity is wrapped up in the sport, so if you are thinking about not playing, either because of an injury or for other reasons, that takes away a big part of an athlete’s identity and can impact their self-worth,” Williams says.
So much of a student-athlete’s identity is wrapped up in the sport, so if you are thinking about not playing . . . that takes away a big part of an athlete’s identity and can impact their self-worth.”
—Rosemarie Williams, Director of Operations and Outreach for CAPS
To provide support, CAPS has regularly scheduled drop-in hours for student-athletes to connect with a therapist. Williams, who has been at Moravian for 10 years, also organized the Peers and Wellness team (PAW), a group of students and staff who work together to support mental wellness and peer education. The group includes six paid student workers and six volunteer members. For the 2025–26 academic year, there are two athletics representatives on PAW—assistant women’s soccer coach Riley Spingler G’26 and field hockey player Shawna Mamrak ’28.
In addition, there’s the Athletics Mental Health Committee, which meets monthly, and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), created to address student-athletes’ concerns. Football player Mason Ludlow ’27 is on SAAC’s executive board and is the head of the SAAC subcommittee for student wellness.
Moravian is also active in The Hidden Opponent, a nonprofit organization for athlete mental health advocacy, education, and support. The organization has Campus Captain Ambassadors who bring mental health initiatives to campus and organize sporting events where they pass out green ribbons—a symbol of mental health—and information on resources. Both Mamrak and Spingler are active in The Hidden Opponent.
Football player Mason Ludlow ’27. Photo by Nick Chismar ’20
Shawna Mamrak ’28 is a new member of PAW and The Hidden Opponent. Photo by Nick Chismar ’20
Riley Spingler G’26, an assistant coach for the women’s soccer team, is a member of PAW and The Hidden Opponent. Photo by Nick Chismar ’20
Talk About It
Perhaps most important is awareness—making sure students know about the resources available to them and that they can, and should, talk about what they’re feeling, say Moravian athletes and coaches.
Spingler was an undergrad and goalie on the Bloomsburg University women’s soccer team in 2021 when she broke her leg during a breakaway one-on-one in the first 5 minutes of a preseason game. That night, surgery followed to insert a metal rod and screws to stabilize her tibia and fibula.
“It was really bad. It broke my spirituality; it broke my faith,” says Spingler. “I was a big manifester, and I kind of had a feeling something bad was going to happen. . . . I kept thinking, If I would have literally missed this one practice, I could have played the whole year.”
Still, Spingler didn’t seek counseling.
“I felt like I just had to figure it out in my own head,” she says. “I had to process all these things, and it messed up my hopes for the future. I’ve been working through all these things, even four years later.”
Spingler has always been interested in helping others. When she decided to pursue a graduate degree in social work at Moravian, she became involved in PAW and The Hidden Opponent.
“I wish I had used my resources back then. I forced myself to get through it until I got better, but I just healed my body, not my head,” Spingler says.
Ludlow, who plays offense for the football team, says he sought counseling after a stressful time last year. He’s since become an advocate for speaking openly about mental health and encourages others to seek help if they need it.
After ending a difficult relationship, Ludlow felt depressed and lost his motivation. His coaches noticed and connected him with CAPS, where he was able to talk with a counselor. Ludlow wishes more male athletes would communicate about how they feel.
“I think a lot of guys are not really looking for help,” he says. “They try to hide their feelings.”
Through SAAC, Ludlow helps organize events on campus to address stress relief and foster community building. He also has continued with counseling and says he and his teammates make it a point to reach out to each other and ask how it’s going.
You’re not just a field hockey player or a nursing major; I want to know about the things you enjoy outside of that.”
—Sarah Dalrymple, Head Field Hockey Coach
To anyone considering counseling, Ludlow says, “I think the biggest thing is to not be nervous about it. It’s just talking to someone, and they will listen to you without criticism. They are there to help.”
Mamrak became involved in The Hidden Opponent and PAW after a former teammate suggested she would be a good fit for the organizations. “If you see people around campus talking about it, it can make you feel like it’s a safe space,” Mamrak says.
Mamrak played field hockey since seventh grade as a student in the Pen Argyl School District but admits she was on the fence about continuing at the college level. “It was a big adjustment, fast-paced—it’s a lot. I didn’t know how I’d balance my schedule, but I’m glad I joined a sport,” she says. “For me personally, it’s the best way to meet people, especially at Moravian. It was a very good path to take.”
Head Field Hockey Coach Sarah Dalrymple has been coaching at various institutions for 13 years—the past five at Moravian. The topic of mental health has become more prevalent during that time, and Dalrymple makes talking about it part of her coaching style. After every game and practice, she asks her athletes if they want to talk about anything. If an athlete appears to be having a bad day, Dalrymple will pull her aside to talk privately.
“The number one thing for me is it’s important to create relationships with individual players, because if you don’t do that, they won’t feel comfortable having those conversations with you,” she says. “You’re not just a field hockey player or a nursing major; I want to know about the things you enjoy outside of that. . . . In creating that relationship, players are much more open to having the conversation.”
Breaking it Down
During the 2022–23 academic year, 23,272 student-athletes participated in an NCAA study that revealed:
44% of women | 17% of men
felt overwhelmed
28% of women | 17% of men
experienced sleep difficulties
35% of women | 16% of men
felt mentally exhausted
29% of women | 9% of men
felt overwhelming anxiety
For more information: mrvn.co/ncaamentalhealth
Sossiadis in her original South Campus art studio, holding a portrait of herself from when she was a student in the early ’90s. Photo by Nick Chismar ’20
The Next Play
Field hockey is a popular sport, especially in Pennsylvania, where it has a strong network of players, coaches, and fans. But it hasn’t gained the same national attention as women’s soccer and basketball, Dalrymple says. For this reason, the prospect of a field hockey movie is exciting to those devoted to the sport.
“Women’s sports are starting to get the attention they deserve, but it’s taken a long time for the general public and those who are making movies to recognize that women’s sports have a place,” Dalrymple says.
Sossiadis’s and Kazista’s families are so devoted to field hockey that the filmmakers never considered featuring another sport.
“Field hockey is something we feel very passionate about,” Sossiadis says. “We also didn’t want to do a documentary. We wanted a narrative so we could reach a wider audience.”
Filming on The Next Play wrapped in early August, after an 18-day shooting schedule. Comenius Hall was the main setting for most scenes, and students who happened to be on campus probably saw a large dolly transporting the camera along Main Street and the film crew roaming campus. Parts of the movie were also filmed at Liberty High School in Bethlehem.
Sossiadis’s daughter, Ellie Bozikis ’27, was an assistant on the movie. Photo by Rey Gabriel ’28
Of the 50 field hockey players featured in the film, 40 are from the Lehigh Valley, including athletes from Bangor, Easton, Liberty, Nazareth, Northwestern Lehigh, and Southern Lehigh high schools.
The movie is the second feature-length film for Sossiadis and her sister. In 2019 they collaborated on Epiphany, shot in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Epiphany focuses on the struggle of a young girl as she tries to create a relationship with her father after the death of her aunt who raised her.
Sossiadis and Kazista like to create female-centric movies that focus on identity and coming of age. The sisters were influenced by director Peter Weir, and both women are big fans of his film Dead Poets Society, starring Robin Williams and Ethan Hawke.
Despite 12-hour days spent filming, Sossiadis says she was thrilled to be back at Moravian and to share the experience with her daughter.
“It’s fate. I can’t believe I’m back doing a movie at Moravian, and this will be Moravian’s first movie filmed on campus,” Sossiadis says. “My hope is there will be many more movies filmed here. It’s a beautiful campus.”
As a fine arts student, Sossiadis spent most of her days in her South Hall studio. One of the scenes in The Next Play was filmed next door to her original studio. After graduating from Moravian, Sossiadis earned an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania. She briefly lived in New York City before returning to the Lehigh Valley.
“Back 30-some years ago, there was such a strong art department at Moravian,” she says. “I had many professors who were very inspirational, especially Rudy Ackerman, who was the head of the department at the time. Moravian shaped me as an artist, and that’s become my foundation.”
For more information about the movie, visit https://thenextplaymovie.com.
Campus Resources
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS):
CAPS offers confidential, free therapy to all full-time students during the fall and spring semesters. In addition, CAPS provides case management services for all enrolled students. moravian.edu/caps
Telus Health:
Available during the fall and spring semesters and summer, this program offers 24/7 remote mental health and well-being support. moravian.edu/caps/telushealth
Student-Athlete Mental Health:
Moravian strives to create a culture where caring for mental health is the norm and receiving mental health support is no different from an athletic trainer supporting an injured athlete. moravian.edu/caps/student-athlete-mental-health
Peers and Wellness Team (PAW):
PAW is a group of Moravian students and staff who work together, supporting each other in the pursuit of mental wellness and peer education. moravian.edu/caps/peers-and-wellness-team-paw
The Hidden Opponent:
A nonprofit organization for mental health advocacy, education, and support, The Hidden Opponent empowers athletes to prioritize their mental health and shatter the stigma in sports culture. thehiddenopponent.org/about
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