Hopkinton, Mass., sophomore collects award for third time this season, fourth career
NE-10 Field Hockey Weekly Report
EASTON, Mass. (October 12, 2016) – Stonehill College sophomore goalkeeper Sara Freedman (Hopkinton, Massachusetts/Hopkinton) has been named the Northeast-10 Conference's Goalkeeper of the Week in field hockey for the second straight week, the league announced this afternoon.
Freedman led Stonehill to a 2-0 week with a pair of shutout performances as the Skyhawks extended their winning streak to four games and reclaimed their position atop the NE-10 standings. She played all 140 minutes in the Skyhawks cage and averaged six saves per game for the week without conceding a goal. Freedman made four saves in Wednesday night's 2-0 shutout win against Franklin Pierce University and then followed that up with eight stops, including five in a scoreless first half before Stonehill was able to push two second half goals across, in Saturday's 2-0 win against rival Bentley University.
Highlights & Postgame Interview with Freedman vs. Bentley
Freedman, who has earned NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Week honors three times this season (four career) as well as the Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II Defensive Player of the Week last week, has played all 774:56 (7th NE-10) of Stonehill's minutes in goal this season. She leads the NE-10 with six shutouts (3rd nationally), while ranking second in the Conference with a .845 save percentage (7th), fourth with a 1.17 goals against average (10th) and 6.3 saves per game (10th). Freedman's six shutouts are tied for the seventh-highest single season total in program history – just three shy of the single-season record of nine by Dani Ryder '08 set in 2006.
Freedman, a Synapse Sports Division II All-Rookie Team and NE-10 All-Rookie Team pick as a freshman, has started 28 of the 31 games she has played over her two seasons at Stonehill. She has posted a 1.70 goals against average and .783 save percentage with 177 saves (5.7 per game) and eight shutouts with a career record of 21-8. Freedman is tied for sixth in program history for career shutouts, ranking fifth for career wins and seventh for career saves. She is also on pace to rank second all-time for career saves per game, fifth for goals against average and sixth for save percentage. Her 106 saves as a freshman rank eighth on the program's single-season list and she earned a spot on the NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll for the spring semester.
Stonehill (9-2, 6-1 NE-10), ranked No. 5 in the most recent Penn Monto/NFHCA Division II poll, has a pair of road games this week starting Wednesday night at No. 7 Saint Anselm College at 7 p.m., before closing out the week at Southern Connecticut State University on Saturday at 6 p.m. The Skyhawks return home on Wednesday, October 19, to host American International College, ranked 9th in this week's NFHCA poll, at 7 p.m.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market. Stonehill will serve as host of the 2016 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championship at W.B. Mason Stadium, November 18-20.
