Coutu earns NEC Player of the Week honors for the first time after leading the Skyhawks with 14 points, including nine assists, over two games last week (PHOTO BY Mary Gettens)

Brookline, New Hampshire, sophomore attack gives Skyhawks consecutive weekly awards and highlights four NEC Prime Performer selections

NEC Women's Lacrosse Weekly Report

EASTON, Mass. (March 4, 2024) – Stonehill College sophomore attack Natalie Coutu has earned Northeast Conference Player of the Week honors for women's lacrosse for the first time in her career after leading the Skyhawk scorers through a pair of games last week that included a second-straight Conference win to start the year, the league office announced today.

It marks the second-straight week a Stonehill sophomore has collected NEC Player of the Week accolades as Coutu joins classmate Grace Murphy, who is also among four NEC Prime Performer selections for Stonehill this week, in earning the weekly recognition through the Skyhawks first two weeks of the season. Coutu earns weekly honors of any king for the first time in her career after totaling a team-high 14 points with five goals and a team-leading nine assists in the 1-1 week, which included a 22-10 victory at Howard University to give Stonehill a 2-0 start to NEC play with a fifth-straight Conference win dating back to last season.

Coutu totaled a career-high seven points in both Stonehill games last week, including two goals and a career-best five assists in Saturday's win at Howard, chipping in a ground ball. She posted a goal and three assists in the first quarter alone as the Skyhawks staked out a 9-4 lead, before adding another goal an assist in the second as the guests stretched their lead to eight goals (15-7) at the half. Coutu opened the week with a career-high three goals and four assists in Wednesday's heartbreaking last-second 16-15 setback to Boston University. She scored Stonehill's first two goals and three of its first five overall, before assisting on three-straight between the second and third quarters as the Skyhawks were even (10-10) five minutes into the second half.

Coutu leads the NEC with her 14 assists, nearly triple her season total from her freshman season (5), sharing the Conference lead along with Murphy with 22 points and ranking eighth in goals with eight. Her career high scoring totals are already more than double the numbers set during her freshman season at Stonehill after just four games, having scored her eight goals on just nine shots on goal and 12 shots (66.7%) overall.

Coutu has started nine of the 15 games she has played over her first two collegiate seasons, totaling 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points. She has added six ground balls, a caused turnover and draw control over her career. Coutu earned NEC Academic Honor Roll status as a freshman.

Coutu	Hughes
Murphy	Leach

Coutu and Murphy also earned NEC Prime Performer status today, along with seniors Molly Mae Hughes, who is the only other NEC Player of the Week from Stonehill over its first two years as Conference members, having earned the recognition in 2023, and Lilly Leach.

• Murphy earns NEC Prime Performer status for the second-straight week after scoring a team-high nine goals with two assists for 11 points in Stonehill's two games. She scored four of her career-high five goals in the final 16:44 of Wednesday's matchup with Boston University, including three-straight within a three-and-a-half-minute span to pull the Skyhawks even for the sixth time (14-14) with 8:28 remaining and then assisted on Hughes' go-ahead goal with 6:03 to play.
• Hughes is an NEC Prime Performer for the second-straight week and third time in her career overall after contributing seven goals and five assists for 12 points over Stonehill's two games last week. She scored a career-high matching six goals to go with a season-high three assists for a season-best nine points in Saturday's NEC win at Howard, marking the second-straight Conference game she has matched her career-best goal scoring total, having netted six against FDU in the Skyhawks NEC opener a week prior.
• Leach earns NEC Prime Performer honors for the first time this season helping Stonehill control possession over its two games, racking up 20 draw controls and nine ground balls, with a caused turnover, while netting four goals. She collected a career-high matching 15 draws, with a career-best nine ground balls in Saturday's win at Howard, adding a caused turnover and career-high matching four goals.

Stonehill (2-2, 2-0 NEC) returns to action on Wednesday, when it visits Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, for a non-conference matchup at 3 p.m. The Skyhawks next home game is on Wednesday, March 20, when they host College of the Holy Cross at W.B. Mason Stadium at 6 p.m.

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