Smith led the Skyhawks with three goals and an assist this afternoon. (PHOTO BY Mike Tureski/SportsPix) |
Smith posts her fourth-straight hat trick as Skyhawks win sixth straight
EASTON, Mass. (October 4, 2017) – Junior All-American Kacie Smith (Norwood, Massachusetts/Norwood) had a hand in all four goals as Stonehill College ran its winning streak to six games with a 4-0 victory over Assumption College in Northeast-10 Conference field hockey action on Timothy J. Coughlin, '80 Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium this afternoon.
Smith netted a hat trick for the fourth-straight outing as she extended her remarkable run of multi-goal games to seven-straight, finishing with three goals and an assist for seven points on the afternoon. She leads all three levels of NCAA hockey in scoring (69 points), goals (28) and assists (13), moving within an assist of Stonehill's single-season record of 14 set by Kelly Latendresse, '07 in 2005, while her point total ranks second only to Erika Kelly, '16's record of 78 in 2013 and goal total second to Kelly's 2013 record of 38.
Senior Alexandria Sylvia (Brockton, Massachusetts/Brockton) also netted a goal for Stonehill, while classmate Alexandra Dillon (Canton, Massachusetts/Canton) dished an assist and chipped in on the defensive end with a defensive save. Junior Sara Freedman (Hopkinton, Massachusetts/Hopkinton) preserved her fourth shutout of the season with nine saves.
Freedman had nine saves to preserve her fourth shutout of the season. (PHOTO BY Mike Tureski/SportsPix) |
Stonehill finished with an 18-17 edge in shots for the afternoon, but Assumption held a 12-7 advantage for penalty corners, including 9-4 in the second half. Junior Sarah Bodzinski (Southwick, Massachusetts/Southwick Tolland Regional) kept the Greyhounds in the game with eight saves.
Smith opened the scoring just 5:25 into the contest when she picked up a loose ball inside the circle, turned past a defender to her right and fired a shot into the left side of the cage. Stonehill would not score again until the closing five minutes of the first half, but did so twice to carry a three-goal lead into halftime. Smith set up Sylvia with a long pass from the left side into the center of the area and Sylvia turned past a defender for a low shot from seven yards out for her fifth goal of the season at 30:07. Smith added her second of the afternoon off a corner with just 52-seconds left in the half, driving with the ball to her right before firing a shot into the left side.
Smith stretched Stonehill's lead to four goals off another corner at 53:47 as she took a pass from the top by sophomore Michaela Antonellis (Watertown, Massachusetts/Watertown) off a Dillon corner, made one touch to settle, and then fired a rocket into the left side for her 28th goal of the year.
Stonehill weathered nine Assumption penalty corners in the second half to preserve its fifth shutout of the year (fourth at home). Freedman made six of her nine saves over the final 35-minutes, including three over the closing ten minutes, as the Greyhounds forced six corners over the last six minutes.
Stonehill (8-3, 5-0 NE10) returns to action on Saturday, when it opens a three-game road trip, at Saint Michael's College for an NE10 matchup at 11 a.m. The Skyhawks return to W.B. Mason Stadium on Wednesday, October 18, to host Merrimack College at 7 p.m. Assumption (5-6, 3-3 NE10) hosts American International College on Saturday at 1 p.m.
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