Norwood, Massachusetts, junior All-American collects national award for fourth time in career
Longstreth/NFHCA Division II Weekly Awards Announcement
EASTON, Mass. (October 25, 2017) – While in the midst of a record-breaking season in which she has scored nine hat tricks, it's only fitting that Stonehill College junior All-American Kacie Smith (Norwood, Massachusetts/Norwood) has earned Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II Offensive Player of the Week Honors for the third time, the organization announced today.
Smith, who was named the Northeast-10 Conference's Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season on Monday, earns national Player of the Week honors for the fourth time in her career overall. She scored six of Stonehill's eight goals in a 2-0 week, potting back-to-back hat tricks in wins over Merrimack College and No. 8-ranked Pace University as the Skyhawks sealed a first round bye for next week's NE10 Tournament. Smith opened with three goals over a 12-minute span in the second half as Stonehill bounced back from a goal down early for a 4-2 win over Merrimack on Wednesday night, breaking the NE10's single-season scoring record of 82 points by Keliann Margiotta from LIU Post in 2014 with her second goal of the night. Smith followed that up with three more goals, including the game winner with 1:50 to play in Saturday's 4-3 triumph over Pace – the top defensive team in NCAA Division II.
Kacie Smith Interview after Earning NE10 Player of the Week Honors
Smith leads all three divisions of NCAA field hockey in goals and points, while ranking second across the divisions with her Division II-leading and program-record 17 assists. She broke former teammate Erika Kelly, '16's program and NE10 record for goals in a season when she netted her 39th goal of the year against No. 4 Saint Anselm College last night and is now just one shy of the NCAA Division II mark of 40 by Jamie Vanartsdalen in 2008. Smith's program and NE10-record 95 points are seven behind of Vanartsdalen's Division II record of 102 in 2008.
Smith has scored at least a goal in 16 of Stonehill's 17 games this season, with 11 multi-goal games. She leads the NE10 with nine game winning goals and her season goal total is 11 higher than anyone else in Division II, while her point total leads the Division by 33. Smith totaled a career-high 11 points with a career-best four goals and three assists in the Skyhawks 9-0 win over American International College on September 8, and then added a ten point game, with four goals and two assists, in a 12-0 win over the University of New Haven on September 17.
Smith, the reigning Longstreth/NFHCA Division II North Region and NE10 Player of the Year, was a consensus first team All-American as a sophomore. She has totaled 75 goals and 29 assists for 179 points in just 58 career games played. Smith now ranks second all-time in program history for career goals, points and gamewinning goals, and third for assists. She trails Kelly's career goals record by 23, and her scoring mark by 39 points, and is seven assists below the career assists record of 36 by Kelly Latendresse, '07. She is three game winning goals shy of Kelly's program record of 19. Smith ranks 13th NCAA Division II history for career scoring and 14th for career goals.
Stonehill (13-4, 10-1 NE10), ranked No. 6 in this week's Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II poll and No. 2 in the latest NCAA Division II East Regional rankings, looks to claim at least a share of its third NE10 regular season championship when it closes out its regular season schedule at No. 5 LIU Post on Saturday at noon. The Skyhawks will host an NE10 Tournament semifinal next Friday, November 7 (Time & opponent TBA) at W.B. Mason Stadium.
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