Kelly and Smith Collect NE-10 Weekly Awards


Kelly

Smith

Kelly named NE-10 Player of the Week for sixth time in her career
Smith earns NE-10 Rookie of the Week honors for first time

Northeast-10 Conference Field Hockey Weekly Report 

EASTON, Mass. (September 14, 2015) – Two members of the Stonehill College field hockey program have collected weekly honors from the league office today.

Senior All-American Erika Kelly (Watertown, Massachusetts/Watertown) has been named the NE-10's Player of the Week, while freshman Kacie Smith (Norwood, Massachusetts/Norwood) has collected Rookie of the Week honors for their efforts in Saturday's 10-0 victory over Southern New Hampshire University.

Kelly, who earned Player of the Week honors from the NE-10 for the sixth time in her career, posted five points in Saturday's win against Southern New Hampshire with two goals and an assist in Stonehill's lone game of the week. She recorded a goal and an assist in the first half as the Skyhawks opened a 4-0 halftime lead, assisting on their third goal of the day and then capping the first half scoring with a goal at 29:45. Kelly added a second goal in the 60th minute for her third goal of the season.

Kelly has started all three games for Stonehill this season and ranks second in the NE-10 for goals (3), assists (3) and points (9). She leads all of Division II for assists per game (1.00), while ranking fifth for points per game (3.00) and eighth in goals per game (1.00).

Kelly, the reigning Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) North Region Player of the Year, is one of just two two-time NFHCA first team All-Americans in program history. She is already the program's all-time leader in scoring with 161 career points and goals scored with 74, having totaled 13 assists and 15 gamewinning goals in 63 career games played. She is a two-time All-Northeast-10 first team selection and an NE-10 All-Rookie Team pick her freshman season.

Kelly led Division II with a program and Northeast-10 record 38 goals to go with two assists for a program and NE-10 record matching 78 points as a sophomore in 2013, netting a program-record and NE-10 high ten gamewinning goals, including two in overtime. Her 1.81 goals per game remains a Division II record, while her 3.71 points per game also led the country and her point total shared the Division II lead. Kelly finished the year just two goals shy of the NCAA Division II record of 40 by Jamie Vanartsdalen of Bloomsburg (Pa.) University in 2008.

Smith scored the first three goals of her collegiate career in Saturday's win over Southern New Hampshire to collect NE-10 Rookie of the Week honors for the first time. Her first career goal gave Stonehill a 2-0 lead 11:20 into the contest and then she added consecutive goals within a six minute span midway through the second half to help break the game open. The unassisted tallies came at 41:00 and 47:01 to increase the Skyhawks lead to seven goals.

Smith has appeared in all three games in her first collegiate season at Stonehill and shares the team lead and ranks second among NE-10 leaders with her three goals. She is second on the team and seventh in the Conference in scoring with six points. Smith ranks eighth nationally in Division II with 1.00 goals per game and 16th with 2.00 points per game.

Stonehill (1-2, 0-0 NE-10), ranked No. 5 in the Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II preseason poll, is back in action on Thursday when it visits 10th-ranked Merrimack College for a non-conference matchup at 7 p.m. The Skyhawks return home on Wednesday, September 23, to host 7th-ranked Adelphi University at 7 p.m.

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