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Smith is the second straight Skyhawk to be named the NE-10 Player of the Year. (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix) |
Sophomore forward is second-straight Skyhawk named Player of the Year, is among three first team All-NE-10 picks
Northeast-10 Conference Field Hockey Postseason Awards Release
EASTON, Mass. (November 2, 2016) – Stonehill College sophomore forward Kacie Smith (Norwood, Massachusetts/Norwood) leads a list of four All-Northeast-10 Conference selections for the Skyhawks by being named the Conference's Player of the Year for field hockey as voted on by the league's 13 head coaches.
It marks the second straight year Stonehill has garnered the NE-10 Player of the Year in field hockey as Smith joins 2015 Division II Player of the Year Erika Kelly '16 to receive the honors as the only two Conference Players of the Year in program history. Smith headlines Stonehill's four All-Northeast-10 selections as one of three voted to the first team. Joining Smith on the All-NE-10 first team are senior captains Shea Healy (Greenfield, Massachusetts/Pioneer Valley) and Sarah Morse (Westminster, Massachusetts/Oakmont Regional), while sophomore goalkeeper Sara Freedman (Hopkinton, Massachusetts/Hopkinton) has earned a spot on the second team. Stonehill's All-Northeast-10 quartet gives the program 54 All-Conference selections all-time, including 26 on the first team.
Smith earns All-Northeast-10 honors for the second straight year with her first selection to the first team after being named to the second team as a freshman when she also represented Stonehill on the NE-10 All-Rookie Team. She has started all 18 games for the Skyhawks this fall and leads all of Division II in scoring with 49 points and goals with 22. Smith shares the NE-10 lead with seven game-winning goals, while her five assists are tied for second on the team and sixth in the NE-10.
Smith's 22 goals scored this season rank fourth on the program's all-time single-season list as one of just three student-athletes to score 20-plus goals in a season in program history. Her 49 points and seven game-winning goals are both the fourth-highest totals program history. Smith, a Synapse Sports All-America second team selection as a freshman, has earned Longstreth/NFHCA Division II and NE-10 Player of the Week honors once this season. She also collected Division II All-Rookie Team honors from Synapse Sports as a freshman. Smith has started 37 of the 39 games she has played over her first two seasons at Stonehill totaling 36 goals and 12 assists for 84 points, already ranking sixth in program history for career goals and seventh for points.
Morse earns a spot on the All-Northeast-10 first team for the second straight year, but at a different position. She moved to Stonehill's defensive unit this season after collecting first team All-America and All-Conference honors in the midfield as a junior. Morse has earned NE-10 Defensive Player of the Week honors once this season and leads a Skyhawks defensive unit which leads the NE-10 with eight shutouts, while ranking fourth with a 1.33 team goals against average, limiting opponents to 12.2 shots, including 7.8 on goal, and 6.9 penalty corners per game.
Smith |
Morse |
Healy |
Freedman |
Morse, a CoSIDA Academic All-America At Large third team honoree, has been named to the NE-10 All-Tournament team each of the last two seasons, earning Most Outstanding Player honors in 2015 when she helped lead Stonehill to its second straight tournament title. She earned NE-10 Academic All-Conference honors as a junior and has been named to the NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor Roll every semester. Morse has started 59 of her 77 career games played at Stonehill, ranking fifth in program history with 24 career assists, while adding six goals for 36 career points.
Healy earns All-Northeast-10 honors for the first time in her career with her spot on the first team after being named a Synapse Sports Division II All-Rookie Team and NE-10 All-Rookie Team choice as a freshman. She has started all 18 games in the Stonehill midfield this season and is tied for second on the team with 17 points (13th NE-10), while ranking third with a career-high matching six goals, including three game-winners, and tied for second with a career-best five assists (6th). Healy has posted ten points (4 goals, 2 assists) over the Skyhawks last five games.
Healy, who has been named to the NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll every semester and Athletic Director's Honor Roll three semesters, has started 59 of her 80 career games played and totaled 15 goals and ten assists for 40 career points, including seven game winning goals, while chipping in two defensive saves. Her seven career game-winning goals are tied for eighth on the program's all-time career list along with Smith.
Freedman, a three-time NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Week who also collected Longstreth/NFHCA Division II Defensive Player of the Week accolades once this fall, earns All-Northeast-10 honors for the first time in her career with her spot on the second team. She is just the third goalkeeper in program history to earn All-NE-10 accolades and the first since Dani Ryder '08 collected second team honors for the second time in 2006. Freedman has played all 1,264:56 in the Stonehill goal over 18 games this season. Freedman leads the NE-10 with eight shutouts, which are one shy of the program's single-season record, to go with a 1.33 goals against average (4th NE-10) and .824 save percentage (2nd) while averaging 6.2 saves per game (3rd). Her save total ranks sixth on the program's all-time single-season list, while ranking fourth all-time for saves per game. Her save percentage is on pace to rank sixth all-time, while her GAA is currently good for eighth.
Freedman, a Synapse Sports Division II and NE-10 All-Rookie Team selection as a freshman, has started 35 of her 38 games played over her two year career at Stonehill. She has posted a 1.68 goals against average and .784 save percentage with 218 saves (5.7/gm) and ten shutouts in 2,506:09. She ranks seventh all-time in program history for career saves, fourth in wins and fifth for career shutouts. Freedman currently ranks fifth all-time for career goals against average and save percentage.
Stonehill (14-4, 9-3 NE-10), ranked sixth in this week's Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II poll, is participating in its NE-10 record matching 19th Conference Tournament and is back in action on Friday when it visits second-seeded and No. 5-ranked LIU Post for a semifinal round match at 1 p.m. The winner will advance to Sunday's NE-10 Championship against the winner of Friday's other semifinal between top-seeded and No. 3 Saint Anselm College and fifth-seeded Merrimack College, hosted by the highest remaining seed.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market. Stonehill will serve as host of the 2016 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championship at W.B. Mason Stadium, November 18-20.