Smith will participate in the NFHCA Senior All-Star Game as a three-time NE10 Player of the Year and the reigning Division II Player of the Year. (PHOTO BY Matt Campbell) |
Skyhawks among 38 student-athletes selected for annual game on Friday
Victory Sports Tours/NFHCA Senior All-Star Game Information
EASTON, Mass. (November 26, 2018) – Two members of the Stonehill College field hockey program have been named participants for the 2018 Victory Sports Tours/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II Senior Game to be played on Friday, November 30, in conjunction with the NCAA Division II Fall Championships Festival in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at Duquesne University's Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field at 3 p.m.
Senior captains Kacie Smith and Sara Freedman will get one more chance to wear their Stonehill uniforms and represent the Skyhawks among the 38 student-athletes selected as participants for the contest. The all-star game is being held in conjunction with the 2018 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championships at the Fall Festival, hosted by Slippery Rock University, Clarion University and SportsPittsburgh, November 27-December 1.
Freedman |
Smith |
Smith, who recently became just the second three-time Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year in Conference history, is the reigning Longstreth/NFHCA Division II Player of the Year and one of just two four-time All-NE10 selections in program history, earning first team honors for the third-straight year this fall. She leads Division II for the second-straight year with 74 points and 32 goals, while leading the team with ten assists, which ranks third in the NE10, and eight game winning goals. Smith has recorded at least a point in 18 of the Skyhawks 20 games this season, netting multiple goals ten times, with five hat tricks. She has recorded seven-plus points five times, including a career-high nine with four goals and an assist in a 9-0 win over Saint Thomas Aquinas College on September 5.
Smith is one of just two players in NCAA Division II history to surpass 100 career goals and 200 points. She is ranked second in NCAA Division II history with her NE10 record 257 points and 109 goals, to go with her program-record 39 assists, which is tied for fourth in NE10 history. Smith, a two-time Longstreth/NFHCA North Region Player of the Year, had a record-breaking junior season in which she led all three levels of NCAA field hockey in scoring and goals, while leading the NE10 with her school-record 17 assists. She set an NCAA Division II record with 41 goals, while her 99 points set a new NE10 single-season standard. Smith earned a spot on the NE10 Academic All-Conference team as a junior and appeared in the "Faces in the Crowd" section of the November 6, 2017 issue of Sports Illustrated. Smith is a Zag/NFHCA National Academic Squad member and been named to the NE10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor Roll multiple semesters.
Freedman, Stonehill's career saves leader with 465 in 80 career games played, ranks third in the NE10 and 12th nationally in Division II with her 1.42 goals against average, having started all 20 games and averaging 4.95 saves per game in 1,326:49 with three shutouts (5th NE10). She posted double-figure save totals in three games this year, posting a season-best ten in wins over current No. 1 West Chester (Pa.) University on September 1 and at Assumption College on September 22, to preserve a pair of 2-1 victories.
Freedman is the Skyhawks all-time saves leader, having played over 5,300 minutes in goal. (PHOTO BY Matt Campbell) |
Freedman, who earned NE10 Goalkeeper of the Week honors for the sixth time in her career on October 4, has started 76 of her 80 games played over her Stonehill career and is the first goalkeeper in program history to surpass 400 career saves after breaking the program record for career saves during her junior year. She finished her career with a 52-26 record over her career in the Skyhawks cage, posting a 1.79 goals against average and .772 save percentage with 17 shutouts. Her goals against average ranks fifth in program history and save percentage sixth, while her 52 wins rank second and 17 shutouts are third all-time.
Freedman earned All-NE10 second team honors as a sophomore for Stonehill after collecting NE10 All-Rookie Team honors as a freshman. She has been named to the NE10 Commissioner's Honor Roll multiple semesters for her work in the classroom.
Stonehill wrapped up its 2018 season with a 13-7 record overall, including 8-5 in the NE10, making its NE10 record matching 20th appearance in the Conference Tournament and reaching the semifinal round. The Skyhawks are ranked eighth in the most recent Penn Monto/NFHCA Division II poll.
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