Northborough, Mass., senior leads Skyhawks to 3-0 week to open season
EASTON, Mass. (March 11, 2015) – Stonehill College senior Ashley Armstrong (Northborough, Mass./Algonquin Regional) has been named the Northeast-10 Conference Goalkeeper of the Week for women's lacrosse following the opening week of the season for the Skyhawks.
Armstrong, who earns NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Week honors for the fourth time over her career, led a Stonehill defense which yielded just 4.7 goals on 11.7 shots per game in a 3-0 week to open its season. She posted a 4.67 goals against average with five saves per game and a .517 save percentage for the week. Armstrong registered six saves in Sunday's 9-4 victory at No. 15 Rollins College, adding two ground balls and held the Tars to 2-for-6 on free-position attempts, including 0-for-3 in the first half which finished deadlocked at 1-1. She opened the week with two stops and a caused turnover in Tuesday's season-opening 17-3 win over Franklin Pierce University, before registering seven saves and a ground ball in Wednesday's 20-7 triumph over University of Findlay.
Armstrong ranks second among Northeast-10 leaders for goals against average (5.50) after four games following last night's 15-8 NE-10 win over Bentley University in Central Florida, while also ranking fourth in saves (25) and save percentage (.532) and second for minutes played (240). She also ranks ninth nationally in Division II for goals against average, 12th in save percentage and 35th for saves.
Armstrong has started 52 of the 56 games she has played over her four seasons at Stonehill, posting a 9.81 goals against average and .448 save percentage with 416 saves and a 36-17 record. She currently ranks second all-time in program history for career saves and third for wins. Armstrong sits 11 wins shy of Stonehill Hall of Famer Lauren Stone's, '06 career program record of 47 wins and 63 saves from former All-American goalkeeper Carissa Medeiros', '03 career mark of 479. Armstrong finished her junior year with 157 saves – the second highest single-season total in program history. Her 131 saves in 2013 is the sixth-highest single-season total in program history and her 103 stops in 2012 ranks tenth.
Armstrong, named to the Northeast-10's All-Championship Team each of the last two years, has been named to the NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll three semesters and Athletic Director's Honor Roll once.
Stonehill (4-0, 2-0 NE-10), ranked 11th in this week's Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Association (IWLCA) Division II poll, is back in action next Tuesday, March 17, when it visits Southern New Hampshire University for a Northeast-10 matchup at 7 p.m. The Skyhawks don't return home until Wednesday, March 25, when it hosts NE-10 first year newcomer Pace University to W.B. Mason Stadium at 7 p.m.
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