Kelly |
Smith |
Kelly earns Player of the Week honors for third time this season
Smith tabbed Rookie of the Week for third time
Northeast-10 Field Hockey Weekly Report
EASTON, Mass. (October 19, 2015) – Two members of the Stonehill College field hockey program have collected weekly honors from the Northeast-10 Conference for the third time this season the league announced today.
Senior All-American Erika Kelly (Watertown, Massachusetts/Watertown) has earned NE-10 Player of the Week honors for the third time this fall (eighth career), while freshman forward Kacie Smith (Norwood, Massachusetts/Norwood) has collected Rookie of the Week honors from the NE-10 for the third time after the duo led Stonehill's offensive attack which produced 12 goals in a 2-0 week. Smith leads a Skyhawks freshman class which has earned NE-10 Rookie of the Week honors five of the seven weeks this season with her third selection, having been joined as weekly award winners by goalkeeper Sara Freedman (Hopkinton, Massachusetts/Hopkinton) on September 28 and classmate Carly Andersen (Cheshire, Connecticut/Canterbury School) on October 5.
Kelly played a role in seven of Stonehill's 12 goals during the 2-0 week with four goals and three assists for 11 points. She delivered two goals and an assist in Tuesday's key 4-3 victory over 9th-ranked Saint Anselm College. Kelly scored the opening goal of the game 13 minutes in and then her penalty stroke 12 minutes into the second half answered a two goal burst by the Hawks early in the half to equalize the game. She followed that by assisting on sophomore Alexandra Gerew's (Harrisville, Rhode Island/Pomfret School) first career goal that put the Skyhawks in front for good in the 59th minute. Kelly added two goals and two assists in Friday night's 8-2 win over Southern Connecticut State University, opening the scoring just 61-seconds in and then answering a pair of Owls goals wrapped around halftime that had cut a 4-0 deficit in half with her second marker of the day.
Kelly leads the Northeast-10 in scoring, goals and assists with 16 goals and a Division II-high ten assists for 42 points through 14 games played. She has registered at least a point in all 14 games this season and 15 straight games dating back to last fall. In addition to leading Division II in assists per game (0.71), Kelly ranks second for scoring (3.00 ppg) and goals per game (1.14). She has also chipped in with two gamewinning goals.
Kelly is Stonehill's all-time leader in goals and points, moving her way atop both the NE-10 and NCAA Division II career lists. (PHOTO BY SportsPix) |
Kelly, the reigning National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) North Region Player of the Year, is a two-time first team All-American and first team All-Northeast-10 selection. She ranks second in NE-10 history with her program-record 87 goals, just four shy of UMass Lowell's Sammy Macy's (2007-10) Conference record of 91. Kelly's program record 194 points ranks third all-time in NE-10 history, while her 20 career assists ranks sixth all-time at Stonehill. Kelly also ranks sixth in NCAA Division II history for points and fourth in goals.
Kelly made program and NE-10 history as a sophomore in 2013 when she 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, netting a program-record and NE-10 high ten game winning goals, including two in overtime. Her 1.81 goals per game is a Division II record, while her 3.71 points per game also led the country and her point total shared the Division II lead, finishing just two goals shy of the NCAA Division II record of 40 by Jamie Vanartsdalen of Bloomsburg (Pa.) University in 2008.
Smith, who also earned NE-10 Rookie of the Week honors back to back weeks on September 14 and 21, had a hand in six of Stonehill's 12 goals last week with four goals and two assists for ten points as the Skyhawks won both games. She posted a season-high eight points with her second career hat trick and season-high matching two assists in Friday night's 8-2 win over Southern Connecticut State. Smith also chipped in with a second half goal in Tuesday night's 4-3 victory over 9th-ranked Saint Anselm which gave the Skyhawks a key 4-2 cushion with five minutes to play.
Smith has appeared in all 14 games, starting 12, for Stonehill during her freshman season and ranks second on the team with her 24 points and nine goals, while ranking third on the team with six assists. She ranks fourth in the NE-10 for scoring, fifth in goals scored and sixth for assists. Smith ranks 12th nationally in points (1.71) and assists per game (0.43) and 13th for goals per game (0.64). She also netted a hat trick in a 10-0 win over Southern New Hampshire University on September 12 and dished two assists in an 8-1 win over the Penmen on September 29.
Stonehill (9-5, 7-2 NE-10) is back in action on Wednesday when it visits American International College for a Northeast-10 Conference clash at 4 p.m. The Skyhawks return home the following Tuesday, October 27, to host Merrimack College for its Purple & White game at W.B. Mason Stadium at 7 p.m.
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