Watertown, Mass., native earns honors for first time after monster weekend

EASTON, Mass. (September 10, 2013) – Stonehill College sophomore forward Erika Kelly (Watertown, Mass./Watertown) has been named the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Week for field hockey by the league office.

Kelly, who collected NE-10 Rookie of the Week accolades once as a freshman, earns Player of the Week honors for the first time after exploding for seven goals to lead Stonehill, ranked 10^th in the Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II preseason poll, to its first sweep of a Pennsylvania trip since the 2005 season. She netted her first collegiate hat trick to lift the Skyhawks to a 3-2 overtime triumph at 3^rd-ranked Bloomsburg University on Saturday, marking the program's first win over the perennial national power in five meetings all-time. She scored goals in each period of play, including the deciding goal on a breakaway 1:20 into overtime.

 Kelly backed that performance up with a career-best four goals in Sunday's 6-5 comeback win at No. 9 East Stroudsburg University. The Skyhawks erased four two-goal deficits in the contest with Kelly netting back-to-back markers two and a half minutes apart midway through the second half to knot the score at 5-5 during the final rally.

Kelly leads the Northeast-10 with her seven goals and 14 total points after the first weekend of the season and shares the Conference lead with one gamewinning goal. She has posted 15 goals and two assists for 32 points in 21 career games played early on in her second season for Stonehill. Kelly ranked third on the Skyhawks in scoring as a freshman as she finished with eight goals and two assists for 18 points in 19 games played (six starts), earning a spot on the NE-10 All-Rookie Team.

Stonehill (2-0, 0-0 NE-10) is back in action on Saturday when it opens its Northeast-10 Conference schedule at Saint Michael's College at 2 p.m. The Skyhawks home opener is slated for Thursday, September 19, with a non-conference matchup with American International College at W.B. Mason Stadium at 7 p.m.

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