Smith

Freedman

Skyhawk pair collect NE10 Player and Goalkeeper of the Week honors

NE10 Field Hockey Weekly Report

EASTON, Mass. (September 25, 2017) – Stonehill College junior All-American Kacie Smith (Norwood, Massachusetts/Norwood) and classmate Sara Freedman (Hopkinton, Massachusetts/Hopkinton) were both recognized for their efforts last week with weekly honors from the Northeast-10 Conference, the league announced today.

Smith has been named the NE10 Player of the Week for the second time this season and third time in her career overall, while Freedman collects Goalkeeper of the Week accolades for the fifth time in her career with her first selection this season. Smith paced a Stonehill offense that outscored its two opponents by a combined 14-0 in a 2-0 week with five goals and four assists for 14 points, while Freedman didn't yield a goal in 140-minutes in the cage, averaging 2.5 saves per game for the week.

Smith had two goals and an assist for five points in Wednesday's 5-0 win at Bentley University and then followed that up with her fourth hat trick of the season with three goals and a career-high matching three assists for nine points in Saturday's 9-0 win over Southern Connecticut State University. Freedman made two saves in preserving Wednesday's shutout at Bentley and then added three stops against Southern Connecticut State on Saturday.

Smith earns Player of the Week honors for the second time this season. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes)

Smith, who has a streak of four-straight multi-goal games, leads a Stonehill offense that is leading Division II with 6.14 goals per game with a Division II-high 18 goals, ten assists and 46 points. Her point total is 20 higher than anyone else in Division II and second only to the University of Virginia's Tara Vittese's 49 points across all three divisions of NCAA field hockey. Smith leads the Skyhawks with three game-winning goals, and she has totaled 12 goals and six assists for 30 points over her four game multi-goal streak overall.

Smith has reached ten points in two games this season, including a career-high 11 on a career-best four goals and three assists. She has totaled an incredible 11 goals and eight assists for 30 points in Stonehill's three home games this season. Her ten assists this fall are already within four of the program's single-season record of 14 set by Kelly Latendresse '07 in 2015, while her 46 points rank fifth on the program's single-season list and her 18 goals rank eighth.

Smith, the reigning Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches' Association (NFHCA) Division II North Region and NE10 Player of the Year, was a consensus first team All-American as a sophomore. She has totaled 54 goals and 22 assists for 130 points in just 49 career games played over her career. Smith has already moved into second place on the program's career goals list, ranking sixth all-time for assists, while her point total ranks third all-time – just two points shy of Stonehill Athletic Hall of Famer Caitlin Gleason '08.

Freedman, who enters the week with a shutout streak of 206:09, has played all but 18:24 in the Stonehill goal this season. She shared the NE10 lead with three shutouts this season, having posted a 2.33 goals against average and .700 save percentage, while averaging 5.3 saves per game. She saw a streak of nearly 2,229 consecutive minutes played in the Skyhawks goal come to an end earlier this season, when she was lifted in the second half of a 12-0 win over the University of New Haven. Freedman has two games with double-digit save totals this season, including a career-high 15 at then No. 2-ranked East Stroudsburg University on September 3.

Freedman, an All-NE10 second team selection as a sophomore and Synapse Sports and NE10 All-Rookie Team pick as a freshman, has posted a 1.84 goals against average and .763 save percentage with 270 saves and 13 shutouts in 3,187:45 over 48 career games, including 45 starts. Her 31 career wins rank fourth all-time in program history, while her shutouts rank third and save total fourth. Freedman's career save percentage is on pace to rank sixth on the program's all-time career list, while her GAA currently ranks fifth.

Stonehill (5-3, 2-0 NE10) is back in action on Tuesday night when it visits American International College for an NE10 matchup in Springfield, Massachusetts, at 7 p.m. The Skyhawks return home on Saturday to host Adelphi University for its Alumnae Game at W.B. Mason Stadium at noon.

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