Smith scored two goals to lift the Skyhawks past Saint Anselm, breaking the NE10 career scoring mark in the process (PHOTO BY Matt Campbell) |
Smith scores both Skyhawk goals, sets new NE10 career scoring mark
MANCHESTER, N.H. (October 17, 2018) – Senior All-American Kacie Smith scored a pair of goals, including the gamewinner with 1:13 remaining in double-overtime to lift Stonehill College, ranked No. 5 in this week's Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II poll, to a 2-1 comeback victory over Saint Anselm College in Northeast-10 Conference field hockey action at Grappone Stadium tonight.
Smith's two goals five her 221 points in 72 career games, breaking Stonehill's career scoring record of 217 points by Erika Kelly '16 with her first goal of the night, and then breaking the NE10 career scoring mark of 219 points by UMass Lowell's Sammy Macy from 2001-2010. Smith has now tallied 94 goals and 33 assists in her career, moving within four goals of Kelly's program and NE10 record of 98 goals and remains three assists shy of Kelly Latendresse's '07 career record of 36.
Senior Sara Freedman made five of her seven saves in overtime to give Stonehill the chance to claim the victory. The Skyhawks also received strong defensive efforts from its backline of senior MacKenzie Greenberg, sophomore Elaine Bachelder and freshman Charlotte Cloosterman in front of Freedman.
Freshman Carly LaCasse scored the lone goal for Saint Anselm, which appeared to give the Hawks a late winner. Sophomore Julia Hand finished with six saves in the Saint Anselm goal, while the Hawks also got a pair of defensive saves from junior Kaeleigh Lord.
Freedman made five of her seven saves in overtime to give the Skyhawks a chance for the winner. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Saint Anselm held a 5-2 edge in shots and 4-1 advantage for penalty corners, but the game was scoreless at the break. The contest seemed destined to head to overtime, but in a scoreless manner, despite seven second half shots by Stonehill, with Smith having a handful of chances. LaCasse, however, appeared to give the Hawks a late winner, when she netted her fifth goal of the season with 8:17 remaining in regulation.
Stonehill was able to earn a corner two minutes later, and after Lord cleared Smith's initial shot off senior Carly Andersen's corner injection, Smith didn't miss with the rebound and knotted the score with 4:54 to play.
As the game moved to overtime, Freedman made three saves within the timeframe of a minute to keep the game tied. Smith had a huge bid on a breakaway, but her shot went wide of the cage, after breaking in one on one with Hand. Shots on target were a premium in the second overtime session, with Freedman recording a save less than three minutes in and then Hand notching a save on a Cloosterman try after four minutes. Smith had two chances lofted high as time dwindled towards a penalty shootout, but her third shot of the second overtime proved to be the difference as she fought off a defender, found some space to the left and then flicked her 17th goal of the year over Hand's shoulder and into the back of the cage with 1:13 remaining.
Stonehill (8-3, 4-2 NE10) returns to action on Saturday, when it visits the University of New Haven at 7 p.m. The Skyhawks return to W.B. Mason Stadium on Tuesday, October 23, to host American International College at 7 p.m. Saint Anselm (6-5, 3-3 NE10) visits American International on Saturday at 4 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.
