Norwood, Massachusetts, junior All-American earns award for second time in career
NE10 Field Hockey Weekly Release
Click for highlights from Friday night's win over AIC
EASTON, Mass. (September 11, 2017) – Stonehill College junior All-American Kacie Smith (Norwood, Massachusetts/Norwood) has been named the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Week for field hockey by the league office this afternoon.
Smith, who earns the weekly award for the second time in her career, had a hand in seven of Stonehill's nine goals in Friday night's 9-0 win over American International College in the Skyhawks lone game of the week. She tallied a career-high 11 goals on a career-best four goals and three assists in the win, playing a role in each of the Skyhawks first six goals with four goals and two assists over the opening 38-minutes of the contest. Smith potted her first hat trick of the year in the first half and then added her fourth marker three minutes into the second half.
Smith took over the NE10 scoring lead with 13 points through three games, also leading the Conference with five goals and sharing the lead with three assists. She ranks third nationally in Division II with 4.33 points per game and 1.67 goals per game and fourth with 1.00 assists per game. Her point, goal and assist output on Friday night is the highest single-game effort for each category in Division II this season.
Smith is now tied for fifth in program history with 97 points heading into the week looking to become just the fifth student-athlete in program history to reach 100 career points. She has totaled 41 goals and 15 assists in 44 career games, including eight game winning goals. Smith ranks sixth all-time at Stonehill for goals and game winning goals.
Smith, who first earned NE10 Player of the Week honors on September 21, 2016, when she was also named the Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II Player of the Week, is the reigning NFHCA North Region and NE10 Player of the Week. She was also a consensus first team All-American as a sophomore and earned All-NE10 first team honors after being named to the NE10 All-Rookie Team as a freshman. Smith led the NE10 in scoring last season with 49 points and 22 goals, ranking seventh with seven assists.
Stonehill (1-2, 0-0 NE10), ranked No. 5 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division II preseason poll, is back in action tonight when it visits Assumption College for a non-conference matchup in Worcester, Massachusetts, at 7 p.m. The Skyhawks head to Merrimack College for another non-conference contest on Wednesday at 7 p.m., and then return home to host the University of New Haven on Sunday, September 17, at 1 p.m.
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