Smith extends program's run of award-winners to five-straight years
NFHCA Division II Region Players of the Year Announcement
EASTON, Mass. (January 8, 2019) – Stonehill College senior All-America forward Kacie Smith has been named the Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II East Region Player of the Year for the third-straight season, the organization announced today.
It marks the fifth straight year a Stonehill student-athlete has earned the honors, with 2015 Longstreth/NFHCA Division II Player of the Year Erika Kelly, '16 collecting the award in back to back seasons in 2014 and 2015, leading up to Smith's program-record hat trick of honors. It is the eighth Player of the Year accolade for Smith over her record-breaking career, having also become just the second three-time Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year this fall, to go along with her own Longstreth/NFHCA Division II Player of the Year, as well as synapsesports.com Division II Offensive Player of the Year accolades as a junior.
Smith, a three-time consensus first team All-American, earned All-NE10 first team honors for the third-straight year this fall. One of eight to earn multiple All-America honors in program history, she just the third three-time All-American in program history and one of two three-time first team selections from Stonehill, along with Kelly. Smith led Division II for the second-straight year with 74 points and 32 goals this fall, while leading the team with ten assists, which ranks third in the NE10, and eight game winning goals. Smith recorded at least a point in 18 of the Skyhawks 20 games this fall, netting multiple goals ten times, with five hat tricks. She has recorded seven-plus points five times, including a career-high nine with four goals and an assist in a 9-0 win over Saint Thomas Aquinas College on September 5.
Smith is one of just two players in NCAA Division II history to surpass 100 career goals and 200 points. She is ranked second in NCAA Division II history with her NE10 record 257 points and 109 goals, to go with her program-record 39 assists, which is tied for fourth in NE10 history. Smith had a record-breaking junior season in which she led all three levels of NCAA field hockey in scoring and goals, while leading the NE10 with her school-record 17 assists. She set an NCAA Division II record with 41 goals, while her 99 points set a new NE10 single-season standard. Smith earned a spot on the NE10 Academic All-Conference team as a junior and appeared in the "Faces in the Crowd" section of the November 6, 2017 issue of Sports Illustrated. Smith is a Zag/NFHCA National Academic Squad member and been named to the NE10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor Roll multiple semesters.
Stonehill wrapped up its 2018 season with a 13-7 record overall, including 8-5 in the NE10, making its NE10 record matching 20th appearance in the Conference Tournament and reaching the semifinal round. The Skyhawks are ranked eighth in the final Penn Monto/NFHCA Division II poll.
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