Amy Dion would go upstairs and put twin sisters Ainsley and Kelcey down in their separate cribs for naps. When she went back downstairs, a pair of noises would emanate on the baby monitor.
First, there’d be the giggling. Then a loud “thump” that repeated over and over. She would go back upstairs to check on the girls and crack open the door, only the find that the two had taken their stuffed animals and lined them up on the sides of their cribs. One would jump over into the other’s crib and land on the plush toys. Then, they would push each other back and forth over the cribs. Eventually, the game would tire them out, and they would fall asleep in the same crib together.
Every night, this happened. Even when their mom tried to separate them, Ainsley and Kelcey Dion always wound up together.
Now seniors in college, the sisters chose to play lacrosse at separate schools: Kelcey plays for Middlebury, and Ainsley plays for Colby. Even though they decided to go their own ways, the sisters — both of whom major in economics — find themselves together again, competing against each other for the final time Friday in the NCAA Division III women’s lacrosse semifinals in Salem, Virginia.
“We’re both supposed to graduate on Sunday,” Kelcey Dion said. “My family is coming down for the Friday game, and then the loser goes home and graduates on Sunday, which is also wild. My parents are trying to deal with whatever happens.”
Kelcey started playing lacrosse in first grade after watching their older sister, Taylor, play. Ainsley initially didn’t want to, but she joined Kelcey in second grade. From then until their senior year of high school at North Andover in Massachusetts, they were teammates.
They played lacrosse and soccer and ran track. Their first taste of competing against each other came in track, where they ran the same events. Ainsley said one week, one of them would finish first and the other would finish second, only for them to swap places at the next meet.
In lacrosse, their playing styles complemented each other. Ainsley would take the draws and push them forward to Kelcey, who would win them in the air. Occasionally, at practice, however, the sisters would be pitted against each other in ground ball drills, and the whole team would make a big deal out of the moment.
“Oh my gosh, it’s sister versus sister,” Ainsley remembered them saying. “It’s Dion versus Dion.”
During the recruiting process, the sisters wanted to take the opportunity to “be our own people” and go down their own, individual journey. Even when they looked at the same school — Middlebury and Colby were potential destinations for both — they told the coaches they wanted to be recruited individually, having their own meetings in their offices without the other sister.
Ainsley Dion remembered the first visit to Colby was snowy and cold, but when she met head coach Karen Henning, she saw how supportive she was and the “fierce love” she has for her players. She saw the success she could have athletically and academically.
Kelcey Dion needed slightly more convincing to play at Middlebury. Division I was her dream, and she was close to committing to Davidson at the Division 1 level. One of her coaches at Laxachusetts was friends with an assistant at Middlebury. Knowing Kelcey’s desire for a mixture of strong academics and athletics, the coach convinced her to give it another look. After visiting campus and speaking with players on the team, she was sold.
The first meeting between the sisters in NESCAC play didn’t take place until April. Middlebury beat Colby 13-5. Ainsley Dion scored one goal. Kelcey Dion tallied one goal and two assists.
“Seeing her in a different uniform, going against her, emotions were crazy,” Kelcey Dion said. “I have always been her biggest supporter, and she’s always been my biggest supporter. Internally, I’m like, ‘Go, Ainsley.’ I want her to play so well and do well. But at the same time, I was like, ‘Wait, no, I love my team, and I’m too competitive to let her win.’”
