Pearl River, New York, sophomore earns national honors for first time
NFHCA Division II Players of the Week
EASTON, Mass. (September 22, 2021) – Stonehill College sophomore back Madeleine McGee has been named the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II Defensive Player of the Week by the organization today.
McGee, who was named the Northeast-10 Conference's Defensive Player of the Week earlier this week, earns national Defensive Player honors for the first time after leading Stonehill to a 3-0 week that included a 3-2 triumph over No. 3-ranked Saint Anselm College on Tuesday. She led the Skyhawks defensive effort in the 3-0 week that posted a 1.00 team goals against average, with limiting opponents to 16.3 shots, just ten per game on goal, and 7.7 penalty corners per contests – without conceding a goal off a corner for the week in 23 defenses.
McGee keyed Stonehill's 3-2 triumph over No. 3 Saint Anselm to start the week with a pair of defensive saves, while also netting her first career goal to give the Skyhawks a 2-0 lead on their way to the win. The Stonehill defense held Mercy College to just eight shots over the first three quarters without yielding a goal in an eventual 7-1 win on Saturday, and then the Skyhawks held Mercyhurst University to seven shots, including three on target, in Sunday's 4-0 shutout victory.
McGee adds NFHCA Division II Player of the Week honors to her NE10 weekly award on Monday. (PHOTO BY Mary Gettens) |
McGee has started all six games on the Stonehill backline in what is her first collegiate season after her freshman season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With her first career goal against Saint Anselm on Tuesday, McGee is among 11 goal scorers for the Skyhawks through six games this season and she is one of three players in the NE10 to share the Conference lead with two defensive saves this fall.
Stonehill ranks third in the NE10 with a 1.00 team goals against average or the season, ranking fifth nationally in Division II, and leading Division II with its three shutouts in six games.
Stonehill (5-1, 3-0 NE10), ranked No. 5 in this week's Penn Monto/NFHCA Division II poll, is back in action this afternoon, when it visits Franklin Pierce University for an NE10 matchup in southwestern New Hampshire at 4 p.m. The Skyhawks return home on Saturday to close out the week with a Family Weekend matchup with No. 9-ranked Adelphi University at 1 p.m.
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